Charlie Pergrossi

When early colonial settlers came to America, they brought many forms of dance to their new home. Square dancing, one of the oldest forms of American folk dancing, evolved from several different Old World group dances, mainly the English country, or contra, dance and the French quadrille.

In the American version of square dancing, four couples form a square and dance. An American addition to square dancing is the caller.

The caller is someone who calls out the dance steps in time to the music.

At first dancers memorized all the steps for a particular dance, but eventually the dances became so complicated that it was necessary to have someone yell out cues so that dancers didn't have to remember so many steps. The caller didn't just call out "do-se-do your partner"; a good caller also came up with colorful sayings or witty lines that he would say in between the cues such as "Don't be bashful and don't be afraid. Swing on the corner in a waltz promenade." A caller might also come up with new dance steps and routines.

At a typical square dance, the caller will first put on a piece of music and do freeform calling, or patter, for about 7 or 8 minutes, then do a singing call where the lyrics of a piece of popular music are modified to include square dance calls.

Who's Who In The Square?

A square consists of four couples, with one couple stationed on each of the four sides of the square. Everyone starts facing the center of the square. Each couple consists of a "boy"/"man" and a "girl"/"lady", with the boy standing on the left. The actual sex of the dancer is unimportant as long as everyone remembers who is the "boy" and who is the "girl". Each member of a couple is the other member's partner. The lady on a man's left is his corner, and conversely the man on a lady's right is her corner. Couples are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 starting with the couple closest to the caller and moving counterclockwise. Couples 1 and 3 are the heads, and 2 and 4 are the sides.

Why not join us? Find out more. You won't be sorry.

• No experience needed for basic lessons!
• Easy! We'll have you dancing the first night!
• No special clothes required!
• Come alone or with a partner!
• Great music!
• Friendly people!
• Lots of fun and good exercise too!