Rick Gittelman – Tucson AZ
Rick began calling and teaching Square Dancing in 1974, in Philadelphia, PA while still in high school. He was inspired by his uncle and aunt- Henry and Lydia Vender (deceased) who were avid Dancers and Round Dance Cuers. Rick’s parents Dave and Shirley (deceased) were also very supportive of his calling career. He co-founded one of the area’s first single dancer friendly Square Dance Clubs- Lone Rangers, in the Philadelphia area. He served as the club caller from 1976-1985 and became busy guest calling for several other area clubs. His friends at Lone Rangers, which is still in existence, helped and supported him in the early days of his calling career, he still calls for them, he is very grateful to them. Rick became very busy calling and teaching in the Philadelphia area in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and at the same time worked full time in a retail business with his father. He began traveling out west to Arizona and Colorado in the mid 80’s and began to expand his career to part time traveling caller. He fell in love with Arizona and in the mid 1980’s began spending part of the year in the Phoenix area. Rick is well known for his creative choreography, excellent teaching skills, variety of music, great sense of humor and singing voice.
GO WEST YOUNG CALLER
Rick’s dream was to be a full-time caller and to live in the southwest. In 1985 he began traveling back and forth- Phoenix- Philly then in 1990 he gave up his retail career, moved to Phoenix and never looked back. He became a full-time caller. He soon became very busy calling and teaching all over Arizona and expanded his travels to California, Colorado and eventually all over the U.S.A. In 1995 he relocated to Tucson and immediately called for several clubs. He was the club caller for the Green Valley Squares from 2004-2024, calling and teaching, making wonderful friends and memories over the 20 year stint. “I am fortunate to actually have pursued my dreams and had my dreams come true,” Rick.
CAREER as a FULL TIME TRAVELING CALLER (1993-2023)
Rick began traveling extensively and has called all over the United States. His annual spring-early summer tours (mid-April through June) expanded over the years and eventually encompassed over 20,000 miles of driving, flying and calling for several clubs in several states. This annual tour included Colorado, the Midwest, the East Coast and South. The summer would find Rick calling in the Sacramento area, Nevada and southern California.