[ Records ]

[ Shop ]

[ Choreography ]

[ Youtube ]

About ... Steve Kopman

Steve’s earliest memory was calling at the NY World’s Fair at 7 years old.  With a father (Lee Kopman) so passionate about the activity there was no doubt he was destined to be a square dance caller. 

By the age of 13 Steve started his first club in his parent’s basement.  He’d teach 2 squares of friends 8-10 calls a week.  Thank goodness he was the son of the most prolific choreographer in the business.  Steve believes his dad kept writing new calls to entertain the kids.

Steve attended a local college (Adelphi University) so he could pursue his love of square dance calling.   He was calling 4 nights a week while attending the university and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in education in 4 years.

His last year in college he met the women of his dreams who would become his wife of 44 years, Debbie.  She was a deaf education teacher in NY and had recently graduated from the University of TN.  

Steve thought it might help his calling career if he moved away from his dad to make a name for himself and they settled on Knoxville, TN.  He worked full time for a swimming pool company while calling 26 weekends a year around the world.   He still maintained a great relationship with his dad, and it was nothing for them to call together one weekend in England, the next in Las Vegas and the following weekend in Bartlesville OK.  Lee and Steve spoke every day on the phone.   Not about sports or politics but choreo.   Lee would bounce ideas of new calls off Steve and they’d discuss fractionalizing the call or cleaning up the definition.

Currently Steve still travels around the globe calling square dances while maintaining a full-time day job as Treasury officer for Citizens Bank.

Steve and Debbie just became grandparents for the 2^nd time.   They have a beautiful girl named Peyton Blake Hammer and boy named Robert Cole Hammer.  The kids and their mom and dad currently reside in Knoxville, TN.