Bill grew up participating in community square dances, sometimes called by his father. In the 1990s a square dance caller suggested he might enjoy contra dancing, and he was immediately hooked. Bill grew up and spent most of his life in southeastern PA; before moving to Maine he often attended the weekly Philly dance, and sometimes Baltimore or Glen Echo, along with the monthly dances in Lancaster and Arden. He gets to several dance festivals each year. He moved to Maine in 2003.