All join hands at the center of the Square Dance Universe in Idaho.
Bob White
One of the exciting aspects of square dancing is taking what one has learned and going out amongst square dancers from around the state of Arizona and beyond. After three years of dancing at the MountainView Ballroom with Larry Kraber as our instructor, my wife and I decided to take advantage of the practice and the lessons and take a square dance trip.
For the two years we had been attracted to a dance held in Reno, Nevada, a previous home state, we figured now was the time to get into the car and go. Our destination was the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno and the tantalizing dance venue was the 70th Silver State Square and Round Dance Festival.
The first dance offered on the Silver State program was called Trails End. This was a Thursday night dance to kick off the weekend. It was also a chance to look around for square dance friends that we have been making since we started dancing. Imagine our delight when we spotted another couple from SaddleBrooke and also a couple from Robson’s Quail Creek.
Friday morning we put on our dancing shoes and began a couple of days of fantastic dancing. Our schedule for Friday included workshops with an easy mainstream dance that lasted until 4:00 p.m. It started back up again at 7:00 and ran until 10:30 p.m. Three callers put us through our paces. We danced with folks from California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and, yes, even our friends from SaddleBrooke. It could only be called “having a good time.” Just when we thought that we had topped off the day we were treated to an ice cream social.
Saturday dancing started at 9:00 a.m. and ran through the day with an assortment of student callers and local callers trying out their routines and singing voices on eager dancers. These dances are called workshops and are good training and reviewing grounds for both callers and dancers. The evening is the grand dance with a welcome ceremony including a presentation of the American Flag by a military color guard.
Festivals are a wonderful experience. Dancing all day and part of the night helps relax the body, mind and soul. Ice cream socials to close out the day are the cherry on the sundae. Thanks to our lessons and experience back home in the MountainView Ballroom and learning all about square dancing a whole new sport opened up a new chapter in our lives. Meanwhile others in our club are headed out around the country to spend the summer dancing and staying young.
If you’re keen to take up dancing as a hobby, or if you already dance professionally, you could check out Burju Shoes which are designed specifically for dancing. These will set you up well to pursue dancing in all its forms.
Interested in more information? Check our website at www.saddlebrookesquares.com or give Kay or Bob a call at 818-9482. Lessons start October 8; dancing continues Thursday night in the MountainView Ballroom at 7:00 p.m.