It’s true that some folks react with eye-popping astonishment when ladies in sugar-plum-fairy skirts and men in neck-clenching string ties sashay into local restaurants, like Barone’s in Glen Ellyn, for a snack after square dancing.
“We look different, from another era,” explains Nancy Nicholson, member with husband John of Wheaton’s Circle Eight Club.
But that’s the point. That’s part of the stress-busting fun, square dancers say.
“When you wear something totally different from your everyday clothes, you forget about everyday stresses,” says Nicholson, whose everyday job is in pharmaceutical research.
Carolyn Rakosnik, member with husband Art of Circle Eight, says, “You can’t square dance in blue jeans. It just isn’t the same.”
So gents in western duds and ladies in 30-or-more yards of petticoat is de rigueur?
“It’s romantic,” says Karleen Suhribier, member with husband Don of Roselle’s Yellow Rockers.
Ahh. That’s really the heart of it. Romance.
Modern square dancing borrows much more from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers than it does from hoedowns and foot-stompin’ barn dancing.
Bob Duda, member with wife Betty of the Naperville Squares, says, “Since square-dancing calls were standardized (around mid-1940s), modern square dancing is basically four couples in a square (or any number of individual couples on the floor during a round dance) doing ballroom steps–the fox trot, waltz, cha-cha, rhumba and others–in response to the direction of a caller, to any tune at all, from classic to country to pop.”
Any tune at all.
Favorites mentioned by dancing couples include the tune “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” pop country’s “Fishing in the Dark” and anything by Elvis Presley or Alabama, the soft sounds of “Rachel’s Song” and the driving beat of “Neutron Bomb,” among others.
Those who do it say square dancing is romantic in other ways, too.
It’s cozier than line dancing, which is choreographed steps that single dancers perform without a caller to a country-western tune.
It’s chummier than country-western dancing in which individual couples simply dance the Texas two-step or the Texas swing, among others, to country western tunes without a caller and without conforming to other dancers’ movements.
It’s more intimate than the tap-dance steps of clogging or the foot-stomps of barn dancing.
“If it’s performed correctly, the only thing you hear during a four-couple square dance or a round dance is soft, shuffling feet,” says David Rocks, member with wife Nancy of the Lombard Sidekicks.
Art Rakosnik, Wheaton, explains: “Many people remember square dancing as the grab-your-partner and swing her in a do-si-do stuff of barn dancing. It’s lively but there’s nothing raucous about modern square dancing, which evolved from pre-revolutionary French ballroom dance (branle) and English spring-ritual dance (Morris dance).”
Of course, that doesn’t rule out lively hand clapping and more than a little ye-ha-ing.
Rhea Britton, member of the Batavia B’ and B’ (Bachelors and Bachelorettes) says: “Square dancing is as physical as your own energy level. Some of us kick up our heels a little higher than others of us. It’s whatever you’re in the mood for.”
And some square dancers have been in the mood for a long time.
Bernie Hurley, member with wife Eileen of Wheaton Circle Eight, likes to brag on his wife’s experience. “Ask her,” he insists. “Just ask her how long she has been square dancing.” Eileen gives Bernie her put-a-cork-in-it look but admits proudly she has been square dancing for 46 years.
Others are newcomers. Jim and Carolyn Orme, members of Wheaton Circle Eight, were looking for something to do together after their three children were grown. They began square dancing this year.
Carolyn says, “We tried cross-country skiing and some other things, but square dancing is something we can do together. It isn’t serious. It’s sociable. It brings out your fun side.”
She smiles and adds, “Jim says I get a kind of sparkle when we go out sqaure dancing.”
It may be that the go-a-courtin’ flavor that square dancers savor explains why 4,000 Chicago area dancers are members of 58 square dancing clubs in the Metropolitan Chicago Association of Square Dancers (MCASD), which is one of nine similiar regions in the state. More than a dozen clubs are located in DuPage County. Membership is open to couples, families and singles. A regional dance, scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 11 at Shepard High School in Palos Heights, is expected to attract about 1,000 dancers.
Not to mention the fact that it’s a cheap date.
Square dances, which are held by each club two or three times a month in local schools and halls, cost $8 or less per couple and include refreshments in a smoke-free, alcohol-free atmosphere.
Sam Danca, member with wife Midge of Wheaton’s Circle Eight, says, “Square dancing is just like a date for Midge and me. And there’s a bonus: No matter where we go in the world, we can meet other square dancers and join them because the calls are universal and they are always in English, even in Japan or Sweden or Germany.”
Closer to home, area clubs have devised a friendly way to promote even more togetherness.
Dave Seidler, member with wife Carole of Downers Grove Squares says, “It’s called banner stealing. To steal another club’s banner, you have to arrive at their dance with a complete square (four couples) ready to dance the first call. To retrieve their banner, the club must reciprocate the visit. It keeps things very friendly.”
It’s a square dancing favorite second only to yellow rock.
“Saying ‘yellow rock’ at a dance is a code for requesting a hug,” says Jim Orme, Wheaton.
He adds, “I don’t know how it started or where the phrase comes from, but it seems like as good an excuse as any.”
WHERE TO WORK YOURSELF INTO SHAPE FOR SQUARE DANCING
Square dancing involves 75 basic moves (advanced levels require as many as 1,000 moves). Lessons are necessary if you want to give it a whirl.
Every DuPage County club listed sponsors lessons locally. A series of three 10-week sessions run from September through April each year (30 lessons). The cost of each 10-week session is $30 ($90 for three sessions).
During the lesson period, dancers can attend a dozen new-dancer dances where veteran square dancers, called angels, also will help you learn to strut your stuff.
Clubs also hold one-nighters (dances open to the public) and are available to give demonstrations for community groups, nursing homes and schools and to perform at community events.
For further information on Chicago-area square dancing, contact MCASD at 708-437-5270, or any of the following clubs:
Argonne. Call & Caper. Duane and June Bradley, 708-739-6748.
Batavia. B’ n B’. Rhea Britton, 708-896-7133.
Downers Grove. Square Thrus. Elmer and Eileen Mears, 708-629-2942.
Glen Ellyn. Calls & Cues. Ralph and Nancy Cox, 708-892-6024.
Lombard. B’ n B’. Sherry Wright, 708-344-5951.
Lombard. Oceanwaves. Arlen and Mary Edmundson, 708-961-3318.
Lombard. Prairie Schooners. Rudy and Joanne Ehrweiler, 708-543-4817.
Lombard. Sidekicks. Dave and Nancy Rocks, 708-717-7522.
Naperville. Naper Squares. Julian and Mary Lou Gordon, 708-964-0565.
Roselle. Yellow Rockers. Carin and Mary Jo Udell, 708-668-3576.
St. Charles. Fox Valley Mixers. Max and Bonnie Heimann, 708-584-1194.
Villa Park. Midwesterners. Michael Veltri, 708-544-5299.
Wheaton. Circle Eight. Art and Carolyn Rakosnik, 708-668-8673.
Wood Dale. Circle & Swing. Richard and Mary Dubovik, 708-366-3943.
