CHAM is a Square and Round Dance event
NOW….
held every year during Easter week in Cham, Germany
and organized now by
Dave and Randy Preskitt
click here for information and a registration form for the upcoming Cham-week
…and THEN (a little history)
The original purpose of “the College” was to educate and train new Square & Round dance leaders in Europe. For this, they also needed some dancers so the new leaders could practice. The last actual actual callers school during the week was given in 1989 with Jim Robar & Al Stevens. Since then there have been different (shorter) training/education sessions for callers and/or cuers in different years.
The first European College of American Square and Round Dancing was held in Garmisch, 21-26 June 1964 with Bob and Virginia Millican on rounds and John and Freddie Kaltenthaler and Bill and Kathi Higgins on squares. The same staff repeated the College in Garmisch, 12-18 June 1965. The third College, again in Garmisch, was held from 26-31 March 1967 with Cal Golden, Chris Vear and Dave and Lucille Fike on staff. In 1968, the College moved to Chiemsee, with Cal and Sharon Golden, Howard and Bobby Mason and Corky and Paulette Pell on staff. The US Army Recreation Facility at Chiemsee was home for the College until it moved to the city of Cham, Germany in 1988.
- From 1988 to 1995 the organizational staff couples were Jim & Lorna Robar and Dave Preskitt.
- In 1996, when Dave Preskitt went back to the States, Gert-Jan & Susie Rotscheid became part of the organizational staff, together with the Robars until they left.
- Gert-Jan & Susie Rotscheid, together with Dave Wilson, were the organizational staff from 2005 till 2013, until Dave Wilson went to the States.
- Gert-Jan and Susie retained the organizational staff position alone until 2019. They asked Dave Preskitt if he would join them in 2020 as part of the organizational staff, with the purpose of in due course handing the organization over to him.
- During the time that the Rotscheids retained the organization they were very thankful for their Staff Assistant, Don Casper. Don calls and cues and has come to the aid of the week in each category at a moment’s notice as needed. He also was in charge of the famous “Cham Afterparties”.
- In 2023 the Rotscheids retired from the organizational staff and Randy & Marie Preskitt came on staff to organize the event together with Dave.