Larry Davenport is the caller of the Belle Swingers Square Dance Club in Sunnyvale. He began calling for the club in 1992. He is a member of CALLERLAB, the International Association of Professional Square Dance Callers, and currently serves on the Callerlab Board of Governors. Both Larry and his wife Kathy are very active in the organization. He and Kathy began dancing in Pennsylvania in 1982. Larry has been calling and teaching square dancing since 1984. He was a regular visiting caller for many clubs throughout the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York area, and was the regular caller for three clubs there. About Larry
Larry and Kathy moved to the San Francisco area in 1992, when Larry joined Genentech in South San Francisco. He has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and is currently an Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs. Larry calls for three other Bay Area clubs. In addition to calling for our club, the Belle Swingers, on Wednesday nights, Larry also calls Plus for the Caper Cutters of San Francisco on Monday nights (since 1993), Advanced for the Gingham Squares of Millbrae on Tuesday nights (since 1995), and Plus for the Square Hoppers of Los Gatos on Thursday nights (since 2000). Larry is a member of two local callers associations, the Square Dance Callers Association of Northern California and the Santa Clara Valley Callers Association. He is a past president of the Santa Clara association.
Square dancing brings people together for fun and fellowship. Square dancers are all kinds of folks sharing a love of action and teamwork. Larry and Kathy enjoy bringing this great activity to others.
"Square dancing brings people together for fun and fellowship. Square dancing is movement to music. It is done in couples, with teams of four couples. Learning the basic steps is easy. In Larry's Words
"Modern square dancing has an American heritage. The ancestors of this dance came to America with the earliest settlers. Over the centuries it has changed into what we know today as modern square dancing.
"Modern square dancing provides mental and physical stimulation. It is dancing, it is thinking, it is teamwork. Moving in rhythm to the music keeps you physically fit. Reacting quickly to the square dance caller's calls keeps you mentally on your toes.
"Square dancers are all kinds of folks sharing a love of action and teamwork. Come out and try it!"