Raised in the cradle of Vermont’s Green Mountains, Mary Wesley found her way to a Burlington contra dance in the fall of 2005 and was immediately hooked.  She was later happy to learn that the tradition is in her DNA – she is the granddaughter of two square dance callers!

It wasn't long before she took to the mic herself.  She started calling in 2008 and keeps a full schedule, which includes gigs up and down both coasts. Mary loves to share her infectious joy for traditional dancing with dancers of all ages and she has something to offer every crowd.  After unearthing her grandparents' collection of dance records she was inspired to start practicing patter and add some squares to her arsenal. She calls family and community dances with great joy and finds "chestnuts" absolutely irresistible.

After taking a course with Ralph Sweet and Nils Fredland at Pinewoods in 2011, Mary has also been working on building her repertoire of singing squares.  Her calls are sure to make dancers smile and sing along.

Mary is proud to be a founding member of the Mad Robin Callers Collective – an innovative consortium of dance callers who work together to provide peer support and create opportunities for callers of all experience levels. She helped found Burlington’s “On the Border Morris,” Vermont’s only Border side, and served as their Fore-woman for five years.

When not calling, Mary works for the Vermont Folklife Center and is an amateur documentarian, oral historian and radio producer.