What are the characteristics that we look for in a dancer and a caller? The ones we thought of when we were making up this profile are patience, a friendly smile, and a love for what they are doing. Alice LaRochelle certainly fits this profile.
She is a self taught clogger and a self taught clogging teacher. Any of you who are cloggers or who have watched this type of dancing will know that this requires a lot of skill and dedication. After learning on her own Alice decided to help others and taught in St. Bruno, Quebec. She was on a ½ hour CBC television program to help promote dancing in Quebec.
Most callers can tell you about many experiences they had while taking part in dances and they can be very interesting. However, we believe this caller can top them all when she says she called a dance while hanging from the sky. Well this could be a little exaggeration, but she did call a dance while swing back and forth in a tram on a ski lift. If you have ever gone up in one of these as it swings back and forth on a cable you can imagine dancing on the way up. I won’t mention this but she also called a dance in a washroom.
In the mid eighties Alice came to Moncton to visit a lady friend who was also involved in clogging and continue to visit the maritimes each summer. She has called for the the Quebec Federation annual dance and also at National Conventions in Canada.
In the Spring of 1998 she was hired by the Plus Club in Riverview and called her first dance for this club on September 23, 1998. Alice drives over 60 kilometers every Wednesday evening and has even came in early to call a dance and demonstrate clogging for a seniors group.