The Square Dance Blog

This week I am going to talk about just how long does it take to learn to square dance.  About 5 minutes.  No really, about 5 minutes.  Now in that 5 minutes you would only know about two square dance calls, probably Circle Left and Circle Right.  The rest of the story goes like this: Square Dancing is divided into different programs and I am going to talk about what most people consider to be the first program, Mainstream.  There are 68 different calls in the Mainstream Program.  You don’t learn them all at once, it takes time but then everything worth doing takes time.  If you start out in a beginner class then it should take about 4 months to learn all of the the calls.  You will have lots of help and it’s a lot of FUN!! If you want to find a club to learn what all of the Fun, Friendship and Fitness is all about, drop me a line and I’ll help you find a club.

Last week I talked about the clothes square dancers wear, this week I am going to talk about music.  No it’s just not country, although I have nothing against CW music.  I even have some that I use.  But I’ll bet that you did not know that you can square dance to just about any type of music.  We’re talking, Rock, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, Classical, Gospel.  Frankly all you need is a beat (something to walk to).  If you ask your friendly neighborhood square dance caller what they have in his or her record case (or a lot of callers use a laptop so ask them what’s in their library).  I’m betting you will get surprised.  As I write this I just got some brand new music samples and one that I know I am going to order is “Never Can Say Goodbye” (yes the Michael Jackson song).  If you are at a dance and see me ask me about it sometime. 

If you still need proof, here’s a link to a major seller of Square Dance Music.  Take a look and see what is offered.  Oh and by the way, you need to find out what all the Fun, Fitness & Friendship is all about!

Brian

Note from Brian: I hope to write something every week for the next few weeks about some of the myths about square dancing

If you asked the average person to say the first thing that comes to mind when you say square dancing, I would bet that at least 50 % (if not more) would say “Old people and funny clothes”  I hope to clear up some myths about square dancing for you.

What about the clothes?  It’s true that some people do wear the traditional square dancing outfits it has become more common place to wear jeans and a polo shirt for the guys and maybe a prairie skirt or jeans for the ladies.  Now I am not saying that you show up in shorts and a tank top although sometimes you might just see that.

One thing I can say is that I have never witnessed anyone being asked to leave because they were not in ‘square dance attire’.  I am not saying that it could happen but for the last few years square dance clubs have gone to a casual style of dress if that’s what you want to wear.

One thing to keep in mind is that square dancing is a family oriented event so maybe use some common sense.

If you want to see what square dancing is all about just go to the page with the state listings or if you want to try your hand at square dancing  go to the square dance abc page  If you still want more information drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do.  Come see the ‘Fun, Fitness and Friendship” that square dancing brings

Brian

Thanks to good friends,  Ken and Dee I got the chance to call in Hollywood (MN that is) today.  They hosted a squre dance for new callers and Dee called me to see if I could come over.  I got to try out a lot of new patter and some new singing calls also.  Bob Maiden joined me on stage today.