Square Dance – Let's Dance Together

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Square Dance is a ‘Folk Dance’ that is enjoyed in a ‘Community’ of dancers.

Folk Dance

Western Square Dance is a traditional dance form that has evolved over the years to keep pace with today’s tastes and music. It is much more than the old-time dance as it has more structure and more variety of movements for dancers to enjoy. It is usually danced to live performance of popular songs and is easy to learn and enjoy because the dance caller does the choreography, leading the dancers to perform the dance movements at his direction. The Triangle area is fortunate to have professional callers that can lead very entertaining dances.

Many people are exposed to square dancing in a single fun-filled evening. Even at that introductory level, anyone can experience the enjoyment of square dancing. It gives healthy aerobic activity in a social setting. There is also a sense of satisfaction with the mental activity that is involved, as well as the camaraderie with fellow dancers. With a little practice, anyone can do it, even those that claim they have two left feet.

Modern Western Square Dance has several well-defined levels of dancing; ranging from Basic to Challenge. Most dancers dance at the Mainstream level which is easy to learn and offers the fun, entertainment, and exercise that makes square dancing so popular. Additional levels can be experienced by dancers who look for more challenge in their dancing. Some dancers like the more comfortable, some like the more challenging.

squaredance

A square dance is a dance for four couples (eight dancers) arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances were first documented in 17th-century England but were also quite common in France and throughout Europe. They came to North America with the European settlers and have undergone considerable development there. In some countries and regions, through preservation and repetition, square dances have attained the status of a folk dance. The Western American square dance may be the most widely known form worldwide, possibly due to its association in the 20th century with the romanticized image of the American cowboy. Square dancing is, therefore, strongly associated with the United States. Nineteen U.S. states have designated it as their official state dance.

The various square dance movements are based on the steps and figures used in traditional folk dances and social dances from many countries. Some of these traditional dances include Morris dance, English Country Dance, Caledonians and the quadrille. Square dancing is enjoyed by people around the world, and people around the world are involved in the continuing development of this form of dance.

In most American forms of square dance, the dancers are prompted or cued through a sequence of steps (square dance choreography) by a caller to the beat (and, in some traditions, the phrasing) of music. The caller may be one of the dancers or musicians, but nowadays is more likely to be on stage, giving full attention to directing the dancers.

The American folk music revival in New York City in the 1950s was rooted in the resurgent interest in square dancing and folk dancing there in the 1940s, which gave musicians such as Pete Seeger popular exposure