Spartan Daily

Nothing square about square dancing

Samantha Clark is a Spartan Daily staff writer.

Square dancing has a stigma for being lame, but as a twenty-year-old square dancer, I see it differently.

I realize square dancing lacks the sex appeal of hip-hop or salsa.

I initially became involved to be a good daughter because my father is a budding caller — the person dictating or singing the calls.

I used to drag my feet to classes and hoedowns, but I changed my mind after talking to the older dancers.

They taught me that square dancing promotes good health.

The overwhelming majority of dancers are old folks, and a few reasons why they dance are because of the social environment and physical and mental exercise.

Many dancers dance anywhere from two to four nights a week, getting them out on the floor doing light aerobic exercise for a few hours, but the most beneficial aspect of square dancing has to be what it does for the mind.

It’s not uncommon to hear elderly people comment on their forgetfulness, but square dancing keeps the mind sharp.

Square dancing is a giant eight-person puzzle that requires you to be ready to respond to hundreds of calls at the tip of the caller’s tongue.

You have to learn, remember, hear and execute the calls, all of which are no easy feat.

A usual dance partner of mine is Tillie, a 92-year-old and who has been dancing since 1947.

Tillie dances three nights a week, still drives and keeps busy by tending to his orchard.

His mind is still sharp, and he's fast.

But square dancing isn’t just for a bunch of senior citizens.

There’s actually a big movement towards modernization. Baby boomers do make up the base, so there’s a need to get youth involved.

Lots of callers, such as my father, integrate hip-hop beats and pop songs to make square dancing more mainstream.

At El Camino Reelers in Mountain View, a LBGT square dance club, we dance to Lady Gaga and Santana.

We also add flair — or “style” — to the traditional dance moves.

Instead of the no-touching do-si-do, you wrap your right arm around someone else’s midsection — so you’re hip to hip — and raise and curl your left arm in the air like a ballerina and quickly spin together in a short circle.

Also, buttons saying “Straight as a pretzel.” pinned onto rainbow suspenders are not a rarity.

At El Camino Reelers, the crowd is a little younger (say, mid to late 50s), and the fast momentum we build is so smooth and so exciting, it feels like a sport.

I'm always astonished when my dad tells me the ages of some of the dancers. It's a little surprising to see so many people in such great shape — everyone seemed a decade younger.

The bottom line is that if you don’t exercise your body and brain, they’ll likely wither to mush.

Dancing, of course, is a great form of exercise. Maybe it’s not for our age group now, but curb your stereotypes because hopefully, we will grow old.

Square dancing has a stigma for being lame, but as a twenty-year-old square dancer, I see it differently.