Dot Kent and her husband Lynn “Chirps” Smith share music and dance with lovers of old-time traditional fiddle music across the country. Dot started attending Chicago barn dances in 1984, and has danced to stringbands and callers from all over. She attended workshops, researched dances and poured over old manuscripts and recordings, and has been calling for many years. She gets folks of all ages up and moving to the music, helping a roomful of individuals dance together easily and joyfully. She chooses from a variety of dance formations, including circles, lines, contras and squares, from multiple sources to create a festive dance scene

Dot loves encouraging newer callers, and has led a number of caller workshops in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado and North Carolina. She also enjoys learning the dance traditions of other communities and old-timers.

She will also introduce all comers to the basics of old-time freestyle clogging, the solo dancing she uses to accompany fiddle tunes. This traditional stepdancing (also known as jigging, flatfooting or buckdancing) is percussive, improvisational, and connected with the rhythm of the music. Although not a competitive dancer, she did win first place in the Appalachian String Band Festival Dance Contest some years back

Places where Dot has called dances include:

• Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington, DC
• Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Port Townsend, WA
• Wheatland Music Festival, Remus, MI
• Fox Valley Folk Festival, Geneva, IL
• Augusta Heritage Workshops at Davis & Elkins University, Elkins, WV
• Buffalo Gap Camp (English & American Dance Week), Capon Bridge, WV
• Folklore Village near Dodgeville, WI
• Moosejaw Dance Camp near Detroit Lakes, MN
• Pinewoods American Dance Week near Plymouth, MA
• California Traditional Music Society Camp in Malibu, CA.
• Bear Hug Contra Dance Weekend in Rollins MT
• Sugar Maple Festival, Madison, WI
• Merlefest in North Carolina
• Dare to Be Square, Asheville, NC
• Old Time Gathering, Portland, OR
• Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week, Mars Hill, NC