In a moment of madness, I decided to join a square-dancing class. I figured it would be good exercise and wouldn’t be that hard to learn. I mean how hard could it be to do-si-do?
Well, I got the first part right. It is good exercise. I clock more than ten thousand steps during class. Dancing is also good for the brain. According to Psychology Today,research shows that dancing reduces incidences of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
As for the easy part: forget that. Square-dancing requires memorizing hundreds of steps and learning a new language. The director told us that if we got lost, to just stand still and look confused. Now That I can do.
In s
pite of the challenges, the one thing I really enjoy is the courtesy. Call me old-fashioned, but I love the way partners bow and honor each other. Though dress is informal, almost everyone dresses up a bit, which adds to the fun. The best part? There’s no shortage of cowboys. Yee-haw!
The various square dance movements are based on the steps and figures that were used in traditional folk dances from different countries. Folk dances were originally gala occasions where news would be swapped, and courtships formed.
The early colonists brought popular folk dances from France, Italy and Britain with them. 
However, following the American Revolution, the British dances fell out of favor and the French dancing styles took over. Many French terms like “do-si-do,” “allemande” and “promenade” are still used in square dancing today.
The French were not satisfied with the long double line of an indefinite number of couples, so they concentrated on the square limited to four couples. These squares were known at first as “French contra-dances,” or more simply as “French dances.”
Dance historian Phil Jamison writes in his book, Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance that in addition to European dances, African American and Native American dance forms contributed to the development of square dance.
The dances done in early America didn’t have a “caller,” or someone who yells out the moves to dancers. Rather, the expectation, Jamison says, was that dancers went to school, memorized the moves, then went to the ball.
“Square dancing in those early days was done to live music that was almost always played by African-American musicians. It’s believed that many of these musicians became callers due to the gap in literacy and formal training among slaves of the time.”
Jamison says he found evidence of an African American caller dating back as early as 1819 in New Orleans. Other African American dance moves, instruments like the banjo and fiddle, and call and response traditions were also incorporated.
There have been several attempts to have square dancing designated the national dance but, so far, the efforts have been defeated. However, according to The Smithsonian, thirty-one states now claim square dancing as the official state dance.
Square Dancing has changed through the years to fit the needs of the people doing it. All ages can join in the fun and there are many LGBT clubs. There are also groups for the handicapped.
Though square dancing, as we know it today, is now an American dance, it’s popular the world over. S.Foster Damon wrote in his book, The History of Square Dance, “Square-dancing is greater than any one nation: it is democracy itself, in dance form. Can anybody think of a better way to spread the spirit of democracy?”
What new and exciting things do you have planned
for the New Year?
Meet the Haywire Brides
s
The Outlaw’s Daughter is available for preorder 
Amazon
Margaret has published more than 46 books and is a N.Y. Times Bestselling author and two-time Romance Writers of America Rita Finalist. She writes historical novels set--where else?--in the Old West! She has written for a day time soap and is currently working on a new series. Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.
Congratulations! I remember seeing a lot of square dancing when I was a child. It was popular at the campgrounds, and there was a western store nearby which sold the regalia. Plus, we learned to dance it in gym class.
I have lots planned for the new year–writing and reading and family.
I always thought clogging was a variation of square dancing, too. Not sure if it actually is, but it was fun to watch.
Wow, Denise, sounds like you have a full year planned!
I am moving in a few months. That is a big undertaking. I used to love to square dance.
That is a big undertaking. Maybe one day you’ll square dance again.
Have never square danced. It wasn’t taught where I lived.
It wasn’t taught where I lived, either. Now I know what I missed.
Square dancing looks like a lot of fun, so you should really enjoy it. I am just not much of a dancer.
Hi Gail, I didn’t think I was much of a dancer, either. I’ve now been proven wrong. Have a happy New Year.
Welcome Margaret. I love your dress. Yes this is one dance that is more than just a few moves. When I grew up on the farm, we had square dances and I loved them. Especially the dress part. I loved how the partner honors each other and how the men treat the women. Well, there is so much to love about this dance. Hope you have a lot of fun. Happy New Year.
Hi Lori, you’re so right about the way partners honor each other. I, too, love the way the men treat the women. Who-hoo! I’m having a blast!
Our Grange held “round and square” dances every month when I was middle school age. By the time I was in high school there were only a few every year. My dad used to fill in for the caller when he needed a break. In high school and college our county 4-H teen group participated in the square dance festival at the New York State Fair. What fun that was.
Hi Alice, what fun memories you have. I wished I’d learned as a child. The young people in the group seem to catch on a whole lot faster.
I belonged to a 4-H square dance set in high school. It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed it. I haven’t done any since then. We tried contra dancing, but it wiped my husband out and my sense of balance no longer exists (Years later, I now need a cane to make certain I don’t fall over just when I am out walking.) A few years after trying contra dancing we were at a Celtic festival and tried Scottish folk dances. They were in sets of 4 couples lined opposite each other and very nice. Some of the moves were a bit like square dancing and it was really enjoyable. It wasn’t as energetic as the contra dancing we did. I would love to try it again, but not sure I could do it.