Over 50 years of dancing tradition ends in San Angelo after club calls it quits

SAN ANGELO  — Over half a century of a San Angelo tradition will end this week with the final steps of the Promenade Squares Dance Club.

John Geen, caller for the square dancing club since 1991, announced the group's last dance, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, at the Promenade Square Dance studio, 618 Locust Street.

"It's time to say goodbye," said Geen, 88. "My health hasn't been what it used to be, as has attendance. This will be the end of square dancing in San Angelo."

Others are reading:Angelo State punches ticket to Division II quarterfinals

The group's first major square dancing festival was held at the coliseum in 1966 with an attendance of about 400. As time passed, festivals moved to the convention center, then Fort Concho until they stopped in the late 1980s.

The Promenade Squares Dance Club kept the tradition alive in San Angelo for decades, with their dancers performing in local and state fairs. Festivals they performed at include the Texas Square Dance Festival, Heritage Folk Dance Exhibition along with 23 years at Christmas at Old Fort Concho.

"This will be the first year we won't entertain a stage (at Fort Concho)," Geen said. "We will miss those folks."

With 20 years of calling, Geen mentioned some of his favorite moments with the club involved going to festivals.

"We were kind of recognizable, when we arrived, people would say 'San Angelo is here,'" Geen said. "We had a lively group."

In 2017, Geen was also honored with the prestige award in the Texas State Callers Hall of Fame. Another special memory involved his late wife, when they celebrated their anniversary at the club.

"I'm sorry to see it end, and I'm leaving with a lot of fond memories," he said. "While here, I taught several hundred people. I hope they enjoyed it, as it brought joy to my life."

Alana Edgin is a journalist covering Crime and Courts in West Texas. Send her a news tip at aedgin@gannett.com.