Square Dance News Digest

Recent examples of square dance news on a variety of topics from various publications around the United States. Excerpts appear below, please follow the link to the original article.

October, 2010

It's hip to be square: Provo square dancing club promoting 'friendship set to music'

Daily Herald
Provo, Utah
October 24, 2010

Once upon a time, people in the same social network actually saw and spoke with each other in person, face to face. That’s what Provo resident Kathy Racine enjoys about square dancing. "So many of our social things right now are just pseudo-interacting," Racine said. "This is actual hands-on getting together."

Racine, 61, is a retired schoolteacher and square dance caller. She’s been square dancing for about four decades, but it’s not the actual dancing that keeps her involved — it’s meeting people and making friends. At its most basic, Racine said, that’s what square dancing is: "It’s friendship set to music."

Thurgood, 45, and her husband, Russell (also a club president and also 45), moved to Utah Valley from Cache Valley 10 years ago and have been dancing with the Mavericks club since 2005. The Thurgoods have been square dancing since their college days.

Thalman said she’s always been active — prior to taking up square dancing, she had a 20-year run of clogging — and has good joints. "I’ve never had trouble with my ankles, my knees or my hips," she said. If she keeps up her square dancing, she might just live forever. "I can dance for three straight hours and come home and not feel a thing," she said.

You don’t have to wait until you’re a senior citizen to begin dancing, of course. Thurgood first learned to square dance when she was in college at Utah State University, and Racine said that it’s a wonderful pastime for families. "Children from about 10 years and up can learn the dance and have a good time doing it," she said.

Club offers square dancing every Friday in Hayden

Craig Daily Press
Craig, Colorado
October 23, 2010

Every Friday night during the school year, the Greenridge Mountaineers, a 24-member square dancing club, meets at the American Legion in Hayden. The club’s members — who range in age from 10 to 79 and ability levels from beginner to advanced — perform square dances and round dances.

Elaine Sturges, who has been square dancing for 44 years, said there are only two requirements to be a square dancer. "You just have to be able to walk and listen," said Sturges, 64, a Steamboat Springs resident.

"It’s an easy way to dance. If you take ballroom dancing, you’ve got to memorize the dance steps. In square dancing, the caller tells you what to do."

Environmental student society hosts contra dance

The News
Murray, Kentucky
October 21, 2010

Do-si-do, circle right and forward and back were dance calls that could be heard at Murray Environmental Students Society's Contra Dance Monday at St. John's Episcopal Church.

"We had a great turn out, somewhere between 30 people," said Sarah Kelty, co-president of MESS and senior from Louisville. "I was really nervous at first about everybody being beginners, and me never having called a dance before and about our band never having played for contra before. But, everyone was great."

People of all ages were welcome to come to the event. Lacking experience or not, the dance had a no-pressure feel as everyone laughed and had a good time, Kelty said.

Old-fashioned barn dance brought back great memories

The Daily News
Batavia, New York
October 20, 2010

Last Saturday I had the best time. Al and I went to an old-fashioned barn dance, which took place in John Torrey's barn on Route 98 to benefit the Elba Historical Society. I had a hard time convincing Al to go. He isn't a big fan of country music, and he sure doesn't like to do the fast dances. But I begged and pleaded and, finally, he agreed.

Saturday's fund-raiser was a definite hit, and one I'm sure the Historical Society will do again. Several times I heard someone in the crowd ask if they were going to do this every month. But that's not possible, because the Torrey's need the barn to store their equipment in for the winter. Also, there is no heat, so it wouldn't be very comfortable there in cold weather.

It was also heart-warming to see many young people on the dance floor.

Ron Komar came up with the idea for the barn dance, and it went off so well, the Historical Society has nominated him for its next president. The barn was packed and the dance floor quickly filled with dancers for both the round and square dances.

Richard M. Spencer Jr.: He outfitted square dancers, cowboys and wanna-bes

St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg, Florida
October 19, 2010

In the beginning, there was no fiberglass horse, no rattlesnake boots, no tack shop, no website, no customers placing orders from England and Australia.

There was just a basement room in the house occupied by Richard M. Spencer Jr., a Boston Navy Yard supervisor and part-time square-dance caller, and his wife, Gertrude, who made square-dance dresses.

In 1963, the Spencers launched a small business in their basement, selling clothes for square dancers. Five years later, when Mr. Spencer retired from his Navy Yard job, they moved their home and their business to Florida, to be near his sister, and opened a store.

And that's how Spencer's Western World landed in Pinellas Park.

It’s hip to be square

Minot Daily News
Minot, North Dakota
October 17, 2010

Square dancing enthusiasts Fred Brooks and Don Siebert hope to bring the tradition of square dancing back to Minot by beginning to teach classes. A club that had been operating in Minot, the Souris Valley Dancers, has since dissolved and Brooks and Siebert hope to bring some dancers back.

Brooks began dancing in 1978, and started calling dances in 1985. He now hopes to teach others to square dance in a series of classes Monday nights, and has reserved a hall for the lessons. "Some people worry they won't be able to learn it because it looks so intricate, but it's just a combination of moves that the caller calls out. In the first level of square dancing, called mainstream dancing, there are 68 moves that you learn," Brooks said.

Once a dancer learns the basic moves, they can attend a dance at any location. Brooks explained that square dancing moves are universal and stay the same from club to club. "Square dancing moves are universal, and once you learn, you can be welcomed on a dance floor anywhere," Brooks said.

Square dancing club members often like to travel and participate in dances at other clubs, and have a tradition that encourages the travel.

Virginia Dancer Will Help Yellow Rockers Celebrate Fall

The Pilot
Southern Pines, North Carolina
October 15, 2010

Sonny Thomson, from Richmond, Va., will help the Yellow Rockers Square Dance Club celebrate fall with a barbecue dinner Saturday, Oct. 23.

Starting at 2 p.m., there will be an introduction to square dance and a workshop. Those who want to participate in the lesson and square dance workshop should arrive by 2 p.m. Following dinner there will be a mainstream dance for anyone wishing to participate.

The whole day, including the meal, will cost $10. Those who don't want to dance can eat for $8.

Food shelf seeks Thanksgiving donations

Greece Post
Greece, New York
October 15, 2010

When it came to community outreach, the Belles ’N’ Beaus Square Dance Club decided they wanted to help out a family at Thanksgiving through the Greece Ecumenical Food Shelf’s annual basket drive. Before each Thanksgiving, the food shelf seeks donors to prepare a basket of Thanksgiving food for a family in Greece and Charlotte and to give the basket to the family personally. The Belles ’N’ Beaus asked for a large family last year. And they got one. The group of about four dozen helped out a mother and her six children.

It's hip to be square at Wyoming dance club

Trib.com
Casper, Wyoming
October 10, 2010

Marla Sproul isn't your typical square dancer. As she looks up to the men on either side of her on a Tuesday night, she seems a little out of place. The 8-year-old looks up and smiles at her grandpa, Steve Sproul, before she wraps her tiny hand around his wrinkly index finger. The pair begin to promenade.

Marla is the youngest member of the Levi's and Lace Square Dance Club. Despite her youth, Marla graduated from the spring session of the club's lessons and joined as a full member during the summer. She is now working with a new class of dancers to teach them some of the 68 calls that make up modern square dancing.

Ten Mile Grange celebrates its centennial

The News Tribune
Tacoma, Washington
October 10, 2010

Granges have maintained that mix of political and practical concerns through the decades, even as Grange halls have dwindled in number with the shift away from farming and the rise of other groups and activities for rural residents. Over the years, 51 granges have been chartered in Whatcom County. Now just seven remain.

Ten Mile Grange is one of them and will be celebrating its 100th anniversary today, Oct. 10, with guest speakers, music, dancing and refreshments. Like other granges, Ten Mile and its 55 members also provide a place for community groups to gather. Rainbow Squares Square Dance Club, for example, has rented the hall for years.

"Ten Mile is well known for square dancing," said CoCo Lomas of Bellingham, a Rome Grange member. "They go out and spread the joy." That's the reason Gaskill joined Ten Mile. A member of Rainbow Squares, he teaches and calls square dancing, with assistance from his wife, Lew.

Popular music festival returns to Eustis

The Daily Commercial
Leesburg, Florida
October 8, 2010

Luck has nothing to do with the success of the Lake County Folk Festival. Hard work and vision have been cornerstones in building the event into a community treasure during the past 12 years. The lucky 13th year begins Saturday morning.

Event planners have added a couple of new twists to this year's festival. For the first time a beer garden will be available, and Contra Dance also will be making its debut. It's described as being a combination of square dance and an old-fashioned barn dance.

"It's good for all ages," Carter said. "Before every dance they walk you through it. It's just a lot of good family fun."

Group launches last-ditch effort to save dance hall

Mountain Home News
Mountain Home, Idaho
October 7, 2010

The Sagebrush Shuffler Hall, located on McMurtrey Road and visible from Highway 30, will soon be torn down, unless a small committee dedicated to saving the structure receives significant and immediate help.

The facility has served the community since the 1960s and is one of the oldest square dance halls in Idaho.

Minshalls Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

The Sidney Sun-Telegraph
Sidney, Nebraska
October 7, 2010

Mal and Shirley (Sam) Minshall are names recognizable in this community as neighbors, teachers and friends. Perhaps you were or know of someone who learned to square dance under Shirley’s direction. Perhaps you’ve even danced to one of Mal’s calls. It would come as no surprise, considering the duo’s dancing career spans more than half a century.

It’s a lifetime achievement celebrated by the Minshalls on Sept. 18, the day they were inducted into The Nebraska Square Dance Hall of Fame. The Minshalls traveled to Hastings to attend the Nebraska State Annual Square and Round Dance Convention to receive their award.

Gay Square Dance Club Offers Lessons in Arlington

ARL Now
Arlington, Virginia
October 6, 2010

Square dancing isn’t just for straight people dressed in goofy outfits anymore. It’s also for gay people dressed in goofy outfits. Now, DC’s top gay and lesbian (and "straight-friendly") square dancing club is offering lessons in Arlington.

On Saturdays starting on Oct. 9, the DC Lambda Squares club will teach you the fine art of spinning one’s partner round and round. It’s a beginners class, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Lessons run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break. A total of four classes will be held, on Oct. 9, 16, 30 and on Nov.6.

Staten Island Senior Olympics continues with square dancing on the bill

Staten Island Advance
Staten Island, New York
October 6, 2010

The drab weather didn't stop Staten Islanders from showing off their dance moves and ball-tossing skills, as the Beatrice Victor Senior Olympics moved into its third competition day. The biggest moves came from yesterday's square-dancing competition.

Event chairwoman Barbara Kanter offered her teaching skills. Initially, dancers learned only 20 steps. "Then we picked up the pace a little, and dancers were asked to sit out if they missed a step. The winning eight dancers included some who started dancing in September and two who were new to square dancing today. ... It was a winning day all around."

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Reporter

Vashon-Maury island Beachcomber
Vashon, Washington
October 5, 2010

Islanders will have the opportunity to celebrate autumn and its bounty when several Vashon groups come together to host the third annual CiderFest this Saturday.

Events there will include cider seminars, cider tasting, barbecue chicken dinner, a barn dance and a day-long silent auction, complete with a chance to bid on a week-long stay at Pascal Py’s home in Provence, France.

Though every event is expected to be a good time, several organizers point to the Satuday night dance as a highlight of CiderFest. "It was just a ton of fun last year," said Jan Milligan, the president of Rotary.

Stratton said he had expected mostly Rotarians to attend the first barn dance, held last year, but instead a cross-section of the Island came — gay, straight, young, old — all to kick up their heels in an old-fashioned square dance. This year the same caller will be back, and Poultry in Motion will provide the dancing tunes. Some instruction will be provided. "Absolute novices are encouraged to attend," said Gib Dammann, another organizer.

It's hip to be in a square

C-Ville
Charlottesville, Virginia
October 5, 2010

When I was given the assignment of traveling to a local elementary school to square dance, the first thing I did was panic. (I’m not much of a dancer, or at least it terrifies me.) The second was to go home and beg my girlfriend to come along. Fortunately, she had nothing else to do on that evening, or at least she had no excuse —- I knew for a fact that she had already washed her hair -— and so she grudgingly agreed.

First up was "Dosado" —- the only square dance call that most non-square dancers know -— where two partners stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and circle around one another in opposite directions. With my big, fat left feet, I feared that I might trip poor Nancy from behind. But as a joyful, instrumental country tune plucked its way through the room, we ran through the move a couple of times. With each full circle, dear Nancy greeted me with a shallow bow and smile. I returned each one, at first in spite of myself, and then more naturally.

John Faulkner -— who I have since forgiven for stealing my girlfriend -— is a retired UVA mathematics professor who says that, aside from the camaraderie, it’s the geometry that appeals to him. The dances themselves are brain exercise. Pay close attention to the calls and it’ll keep you mentally acute. In particular, the logic of the "Grand Square" doesn’t reveal itself to a new dancer —- I have the bruises to prove it —- but as we repeated the move, galloping in and out of four interlocking and slowly unfolding squares, I began to envision the kaleidoscopic complexity of the move and felt stimulated, like I was playing with Legos.

I didn’t have a moment to think about the irony of me, square dancing. I couldn’t even think about that story I would write. All I could think about was executing the maneuvers, and bowing to my partner. Ah, square dancing! The panacaea for all of my postmodern woes.

Square dancing is fun, good exercise and a social time
*** International ***

The Edson Leader
Alberta
Canada
October 4, 2010

It's inexpensive, it's a good workout and the social values are enormous. Another square dancing season for the Yellowhead Square Dance Club starts on Oct. 17. Club spokesman and founder Tom Stad said the club was quite active throughout the year, making special appearances at the Edson Trade Show, Sidewalk Jamboree and at a youth camp near Hinton. He hoped that in watching the performances people would be inspired to join the group.

At $5 per session the price is right. Square dancing and the airline industry have one thing in common — all the conversation is in English. So whether you're in Japan or the Middle East allemande left or Do si Do will always be in English.

Senator Joe Sam Queen to Speak on Leadership and Call Square Dance at Leadership NC’s 18th Orientation

Wake My NC
Raleigh, North Carolina
October 3, 2010

Fifty-two leading citizens from different counties across the state will form the 2010-2011 class for Leadership North Carolina, the state's premier leadership networking and development program.

Among the many talented speakers sharing their expertise with the Class will be The Honorable Joe Sam Queen. Senator Queen will be speaking to the participants on the importance of service in leadership and will also call and lead the class in a square dance on Tuesday, October 5 at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center.

Antigonish takes art to the street
*** International ***

The Chronicle Herald
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada
October 1, 2010

Antigonish is fast turning into the go-to spot for arts excitement in north-eastern Nova Scotia. Hard on the heels of Contact East, the major Atlantic performing arts conference that was in Antigonish last weekend, trots the fledging Antigonight.

Taking place Saturday from 6 to 9:30 p.m., this "magical evening of delight" places the audience at its centre, providing nearly as many opportunities to join in art-making as there are artists in Antigonish County.

The hub of all the free activity will be Antigonish’s Chisholm Park, next to the post office downtown. The focus for the event is very much about creation, experiencing and appreciating the processes of all kinds of art making. There will be storytelling, a public square dance (in a public square), music making, painting, creative dance and short films projected on the sides of buildings.

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