BIOGRAPHY

It was September 1981 when my parents took their first steps into Square Dancing. For the period of their class, I was "forced" to go with them because of the fact that I wouldn't stay at home alone. My parents graduated in April 1982.

As a consequence of the several club nights and festivals that I had seen, I became interested in Square Dancing and started in October 1982, when Wil Stans started a new beginners class at the Tulip Twirlers in Haarlem. After just 5 months I graduated at the Mainstream level and one year later at Plus.

A few years later I found myself interested in the world of …. Calling ! It was 1986 or 1987 that Wil offered me a record and said to me: "Just practice and see what you can do". A couple of weeks later, my first singing call was presented. Now there was no point of return.

In October 1989, I went to my first Callerschool with Bill Peters and Al Stevens. Three years later, in 1992, I attended a second school, again with Bill and Al. With this knowledge and together with Wil Stans, we had our own Callerschool in 1995, with just a small group of dancers who were interested in calling. Several dancers/callers who attended our school are still calling.

In 1994, Wil Stans and myself attended the first MiniLab Convention, held in the UK. Eight years later we attended the second MiniLab Convention, this time in Germany.

Also in 1994, I had the opportunity to organise a trip to Roskilde, Denmark for "the Square and Round Dance Convention of the World". A full week of sight-seeing and Square Dancing… a perfect combination.

I'm Calling Mainstream 53 thru A2, and presently I'm calling for 2 clubs; the Tulip Twirlers and the Sjelter Squeezers. Both are Mainstream & Plus clubs. In the past, I have had the privilege to call for the Coast Riders, Dom Town Square Dancers, The Hedgehog Dancers and the Swinging Squirrels. I was also a part-time caller for the Nashville Dancers for many years.

Since 1991, I have been invited to call at dances in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, the United kingdom and the USA. I was also invited to call at the European Square Dance Convention in Denmark. Additionally, I have called at many club-nights, all over Europe and the USA. Calling engagements in Holland and the rest of Europe keep me busy for up to 20 weekends each year.

I had the privilege to work with some of the Worlds finest Callers such as Tim Marriner, Lone Blume, Barry Wonson, Jerry Story, Al Stevens, Kip Garvey and lots of the Sting and Snow staff including Paul Bristow, Thorsten Geppert, Kenny Reese, Uli Schingen, James Wyatt and Tommy Larsen.

I'm proud to be a member of ECTA (the European Callers and Teachers Association) and Callerlab (the International Association of Callers and Teachers). Furthermore I am the President of the Tulip Twirlers in Haarlem.

Besides this, I'm happily married to Wil (don't get confused with the name Wil… Wil Stans is my caller-buddy and Wil (Wilhelmina) Weijers is…. yep, you've got it right…) and we have two kids running around the house; Martina (born in 1995) and Patrick (born in 2001). We live in a place called Kudelstaart. A small town 20 KM south of Amsterdam, which is a part of the city Aalsmeer. Here we have the biggest flower centre of the World.

Looking at the past but also into the future, Square Dancing has been and always will be a part of my life.

RECORDINGS BY THIS CALLER

TITLE	DATE	LEVEL	LABEL ID
A Girl Like You	2002 / 06	MS-53	SNW 701
My Very Own Lucky Star	2003 / 09	MS-65	SNW 702
A Coin In The Fountain	2004 / 03	MS-28	SNW 703
Any Dream Will Do	2004 / 09	MS-67	SNW 704
Fly Me To The Moon	2006 / 03	MS-62	SNW 705
Uptown Girl	2005 / 12	MS-53	SNW 706
Hometown Honeymoon	2006 / 10	MS-65	SNW 707
Wind Beneath My Wings	2008 / 06	MS-57	SNW 708