2012 National Square Dance Competition

Anywhere in the world, you can find a dance near you simply by entering your address at http://www.WheresTheDance.com It is amazing. Do try it. About this video: Each year, starting in 2009, at the National Square Dance Convention, a Mainstream competition takes place. In 2012, it was in Spokane WA. The team captured here won 1st place. It is all done in fun with the hopes of elation by all who participate. The tip is danced with a personal, 'How long can I last' thrill. Everyone who wants to give it a try is welcome.

Square dance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.[1][2][3]

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_dance

When I was in high school in the mid-60's in Arizona, my Canadian girlfriend and I would sometimes tag along and go square dancing with her folks, who belonged to a square-dancing club. Everyone would go out for pizza after the dances and pack the pizza parlor.

We broke up when her family moved back to Canada and I never square danced again. But I remember it being a fun activity, especially the pizza part. :-)

Plus-level dancer here, round dance as well.

Most people don’t know that round dancing - directed ballroom dancing in a circular pattern around the floor - are commonly called between the more rigorous figure 8 patterns of the country music square dances. But I started ball room dancing as credits for PE class at A&M. Sure beat running a track in the Texas heat or gymnastics or swimming in the January winters.

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