Square dancers hope youth will step up to the tradition

Women twirl and their skirts swirl, revealing poofs of petticoats beneath.

Dancers swing and circle their partners under the direction of a caller.

It's called square dancing, and high steppers from across the state recently gathered at a “federation dance/meeting” at the Gillespie Community Center at Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Spartanburg.

Square dancing originated from folk dances that settlers and immigrants brought with them to the United States.

It's like learning a new language, said Lorena Cushman, president of the Peach Blossom Square Dance Club of Inman. But to the uninitiated, it's as if they're speaking a foreign language.

Someone compared the dance to arithmetic. People learn steps or “calls” in a progression.

Joe Bolt with the Piedmont Square Dance Association began dancing with his wife, Merilyn, in 1983. The couple was inducted into the South Carolina Square and Round Dance Hall of Fame in 2007.

The Anderson County man said in western – also called modern - square dancing there are 64 basic calls. At the plus level, a dancer learns 26 additional calls, and more than 70 at the advanced level, he said.

Callers have two kinds of calls: Singing and patter. The former is just what you would expect, while a patter is the caller directing the people through a dance they have choreographed themselves.

Brenda Holt of Boiling Springs began calling two years after she started square dancing.

Holt saw a square dance demonstration at a church social in 2002. She began taking classes the following year. “If you can walk and you know your right from your left, you can square dance,” she said.

Four couples make up the square and if one person forgets a call, it can break down the square, she said.

Her heart was “pounding” at the first dance. Yet, she and others say connections and fellowships are another enjoyable aspect of the dance.

Callers attend classes and are mentored. The mentors are called “square angels” who help novices.

One such angel is Bob Johnston of Charleston. He began square dancing in 1980 after his former wife saw a classified ad for square dance lessons. The Louisiana native said he'd never heard of the dance. But it was something different.

“I'll never do this,” Johnston thought after the first lesson.

Johnston said there's no competition. People are recognized for their dedication and hours of service they give to the dance.

“It's a lot of fun if people will just let themselves go,” Johnston said.

Enthusiasts here say square dancing has since become a global pastime with dancers around the world, even as the number in South Carolina dwindles.

Bolt said 11 years ago, there were at least 64 clubs, while today there are about 40. The Peach Blossom Square Dance Club formed 33 years ago.

Cushman said square dancing is “dying off.” People have the misconception that it's for older people, which makes it difficult to recruit younger people, she said.

She said there are all kinds of people who dance from a retired police chief to a neurosurgeon to an auto mechanic.

There were two fresh-faced attendees on the sidelines at the federation dance. One was Cushman's 15-year-old granddaughter, Haley Edwards. She said it's a lot of fun that combines physical with mental exercise. “You have to really think about it,” she said. Haley started a couple months ago.

Rheannen Davis, 15, was spending the night with Haley when Haley's mother mentioned square dancing lessons and she decided to participate, too. Her boyfriend has even joined her.

“It's really fun,” Davis said.

Edwards usually dances with her grandfather.

“Anyone can do it. Anyone can have fun,” Haley said. “I wish people would just try it. Once you try it, you like it,” she said.

Davis said others their age might not consider square dancing because of preconceptions they have. “It's not just for old people…it's something everybody can do and it's very challenging.”

The teens looked at the crowded dance floor and said the dancers make it look easy.

They're working to change preconceptions people in their generation might have and invite them to try it.

The square dancers did not just dance to country music. At one point, they played “YMCA.”

Calls are played to various types of music, from Mozart, to rock, to rap.

Ben and Norma Grizzard are presidents of Spartan Spinners. The couple started dancing in the early 1980s. Norma wanted to dance. She thought it looked like a fun thing to do. Ben had no interest. Then he tried it. The people drew him back.

“It's more like a family,” he said. He also liked the challenge.

Participants say it's an inexpensive hobby. Where else can you have a meal and three hours of entertainment for $6, the Grizzards said.

And “its good exercise mentally and physically,” Ben said.