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Shirts 'N Skirts
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What is Modern Western Square Dancing?
First and foremost, square dancing is people; socializing, dancing, playing music, and having an experience together! It is a centuries-old social dance form with European roots, alive and growing in many parts of the world. Square Dancing has changed a lot since Colonial times. Gone are the fiddlers and live bands, replaced by sophisticated sound systems and recorded music. The barns and fields have given way to modern air-conditioned halls, with larger dances being held in Hotel Ballrooms and major municipal convention centers. Weekly dances at local Square Dance clubs average 50 to 150 dancers, with special weekend dances being attended by 500 to 3,000 dancers. A “National” festival is held in a different city each June, and is usually attended by upward to 10,000 dancers.
Today’s Square Dancing is a fun activity, set to a wide variety of music that offers great social interaction while providing both physical exercise and mental stimulation in a drug and alcohol free environment. Today’s dancers move to modern music and come from all walks of life. A pleasant mix of Classic Rock, Top 40, Country, Latin, and “Oldies” is used at most Square Dances today. Dancers might be promenading to “Pink Cadillac” one minute, and circling to “You Are My Sunshine” the next. In short, everyone can find his or her favorite music at a Square Dance.
How Do I Get Started?
Learning to Square Dance is a little like learning to type. At first you have to think about where each letter is on the keyboard. But with repetition, it starts to becomes automatic.
In a similar fashion, in square dancing you learn how to do each of the calls. Each week you learn new calls and have fun dancing with the calls you've already learned. Over time, doing the calls pretty much becomes automatic— just like typing.
And, along the way to learning the calls, you'll be having fun and making friends from the very beginning. During the course of your lessons you will be able to go to “Progress Dances” (all the callers know what you've learned so far and use just those calls). Come join us and have the time of your life.
In a similar fashion, in square dancing you learn how to do each of the calls. Each week you learn new calls and have fun dancing with the calls you've already learned. Over time, doing the calls pretty much becomes automatic— just like typing.
And, along the way to learning the calls, you'll be having fun and making friends from the very beginning. During the course of your lessons you will be able to go to “Progress Dances” (all the callers know what you've learned so far and use just those calls). Come join us and have the time of your life.
