Harlan Kerr

Harlan Kerr
AKA Belle Whatling
AKA The Funpants Kid

Clubs & Associations

BOQ (founding member)
CALLERLAB
Diablo Dancers
Doppler Dancers (founding member)
El Camino Reelers
Emerald City Squares (founding member)
Fistful of Crinoline
Foggy City Dancers
GCA
Hard and Easys
Interlocked Squares
Martinez Swingers
Midnight Squares
Outlaws
PACE Nor-Cal
Puddletown Squares (founding member)
Redwood Rainbows
Stanford Quads
Western Star Dancers

Biography

Harlan began square dancing in 1983 as one of the founding members of Puddletown Dancers. As first chairperson of the IAGSDC he was an instrumental member of the committee that put together the first convention, All Join Hands, together, Soon Harlan found himself teaching Advance and Challenge dancing in tape groups. His reputation as a tape leader soon spread throughout the state of Washington and he found himself with several straight as well as gay tape groups. This led to requests for him to teach workshops at I.A.S.G.D.C convention.

When he was asked to teach a Mainstream class, Harlan made the decision to begin calling. Soon he calling through the C-2 level. He made his debut as a convention caller in Phoenix, and called all levels at the New York convention. Northstar Promenade marks his third convention of calling.

Harlan supports and promotes square dancing at all levels and has made appearance at many fly-ins including Advance and Challenge Fly-ins.^[1]

Quick Facts

calls Beginners thru C3B
danced and called for Puddletown Squares in Seattle, WA before moving to San Francisco, CA
caller for Diablo Dancers, El Camino Reelers, Foggy City Dancers, Interlocked Squares, Martinez Swingers, Midnight Squares, Outlaws, PACE, Redwood Rainbows, Stanford Quads
1st president of the National Gay/Lesbian Square Dance Association, which became the IAGSDC
has attended every IAGSDC convention to date (2019) and therefore was in the first group to receive 10, 20, 25 and 30 year Medallions
on the IAGSDC convention calling staff at
has been known to call Moonshine, Bear, and Leather Specialty Tips
helped organized the first GCA Caller School in 1989
is the first person to have both boots (the Honky Tonk Queen crown and the Golden Boot Award). Bob Young who, like Harlan, was also a chairman of the IAGSDC, is the second. Ross Crawshaw-Lopton is the third
his alter-ego, Belle Whatling, as part of The Christmas Belles, won the Honky Tonk Queen crown in 1998
Harlan's caller profile on ceder.net

GCA Caller School

caller coached 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
teaching assistant 2019

Media Features

appears in Ten Years IAGSDC: A Collection of Pages From Our Memory Book

Service

served on the IAGSDC Executive Committee as Chair, 1983-1984; Secretary, 1985-1987
helped organize the first convention in Seattle, All Join Hands in 1984
wrote one early newsletter for GCA in 1989
chair of CALLERLAB for 2021-2022