On just about any night of the week, though certainly on almost every Friday and Saturday, there’s bound to be a square dance happening somewhere in Ohio.
According to the Ohio Corporation of Dance Clubs, there are more than 70 square dancing clubs around the state — and that’s only those that are members of the corporation; numerous other clubs are independent of that organization.
Centerville first grade teacher Kathy Crow and her husband, Doug, a retired engineer, say there’s a reason for square dancing’s popularity — especially as compared to traditional ballroom dancing. “It’s easier to learn,” Kathy says. “The only requirement is that you can listen and follow the caller’s direction. You don’t even have to move to the beat of the music.
Kathy and Doug Crow say square dancing is a great way to have fun, exercise, and socialize.
The Crows got into square dancing by chance. They went to dinner late one summer evening to a restaurant where many of the other patrons were wearing what they later learned to be traditional square-dancing attire: the women in ruffled skirts worn over fluffy crinolines, and men in western-style shirts that matched or complemented their partners’ outfits.
Curious, Kathy and Doug struck up a conversation with a few of the other diners and realized they had stumbled into a local club’s social event. One dancer gave them a flyer about lessons offered by the club, and they decided to give it a try.
When the lessons began that autumn, the Crows were there, and they’ve been dancing ever since. They’ve found that square dancing offers some significant benefits. “It’s easy for beginners to learn, and learning the different calls helps your brain,” she says. It’s also effective exercise that isn’t dependent on good weather. “Two hours of dancing is like walking 5 miles,” she says.
It’s also social — as they found out during that very first interaction, club members often go somewhere with other dancers before or after an evening of dancing. But it’s broader than that. They dance with their local club, Gem City Square Dancers of Kettering, but also visit other Ohio clubs, and they also travel to state and national square- dancing conventions. “We’ve haven’t missed a national square-dancing convention since 2012,” Doug says.
Through those conventions and other dance-related travel, they’ve become friends with other square dancers all over the U.S. Kathy says that square dancing is popular in other countries, too. And since the calls are always in English, an American can join in square dancing anywhere.
Doug adds that square dancing is fun, you don’t need a partner, and it’s cheap, for both lessons and dances. Admission to a dance, which includes snacks provided by club members, is typically about $8 to $10. The admission fees are to pay for the caller and sometimes rental for use of a hall.
Square dancing involves sets of four couples who each stand on one side of their own square. A caller tells
the dancers what moves to do, to either live or recorded music.
“There are two types of square dancing,” Doug explains. “In the hoedown-type, you swing your partner by the elbow. The modern western that we do is more gentle.”
Kathy notes that occasionally a caller will announce that the next dance is “hot hash” style. “That means the caller calls the moves as fast as he can, and the dancers move as fast as they can. I dance with a 94-year-old man every Monday and he can dance hot hash. Dancing that way definitely keeps your brain and your body active.”
“There are 100 moves in square dancing,” she explains. “That sounds like a lot, but the majority of them are easy to do, like ‘all join hands and circle left,’ and some are combinations of two moves.”
There are different levels of square dancing, from beginning to advanced. Square dance clubs include on their websites the dance levels they host.
Many of them also list a specific time for round dancing, which can be waltz, fox trot, tango, or any other type of ballroom dance. The couples all dance in the same direction around a big circle.
Kathy says that more experienced square dancers are always willing to help beginners. “We all work together to help less-qualified dancers learn the moves. And callers will announce some dances as ‘high-low’ so new dancers know there will be advanced dancers to help them.”
To find a club near you, visit squaredanceohio.com to find a list of regional councils, then search those groups to find individual clubs within that region. Many clubs offer reasonably priced lessons, which often begin in the fall.
