Mary Klootwyk An article from NPR appeared online on Oct. 22, 2025, reporting that a new study shows intensive mental exercise can reverse a brain change linked to aging. This is the strongest evidence that scientists have unveiled yet showing that a combination of diet, exercise, and brain training can improve thinking and memory in…
Tag: SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club
April 2025, Clubs & Classes
It’s a New Generation of Dancing!
Mary Klootwyk Sixteen dancers from SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club traveled to Yuma, Ariz., to attend the annual Yuma Square Dance Festival held Feb. 14-16. More than 140 people danced to two well-known and popular callers: Buddy Weaver from California and Dee Dee Dougherty from Minnesota. Dancers had a chance to meet up with old friends…
September 2024, Clubs & Classes
Square Dancing Is Uniquely American
Mary Klootwyk Swing your partner and do-si-do. September is National Square Dance Month. Like the culture it came from, square dance has roots in European, Native American, and African practices. Square dancing sounds like something out of Little House on the Prairie but, in truth, square dancing has been a part of American entertainment for…
June 2024, Clubs & Classes
It’s a New Generation of Dancing!
Dancers from SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club traveled to Yuma, Ariz., to attend the annual Yuma Square Dance Festival held on Feb. 16-18, 2024. More than 140 people danced to two well-known and popular callers from California, Buddy Weaver and Ken Bowers. Dancers had a chance to meet up with old friends and make new friends.…
May 2024, Front Page
Dancing Makes You Smarter
Mary Klootwyk We all know the benefits of physical exercise, including low-impact exercise, but what many don’t know are the cognitive benefits of square dancing. Square dancing requires active attention and quick physical responses, and because of this, it triggers several multiple brain functions at once, such as kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional, which have…
Front Page, February 2024
New Year’s Eve Memories
Mary Klootwyk 2024 is here, and 16 SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club members, along with 52 other dancers, celebrated by attending the 32nd Annual New Year’s Square Dance in Green Valley, Ariz., on Dec. 31, 2023. The event was sponsored by the Green Valley Square and Round Dance Club, which was formed in 1965. Dancers covered…
Clubs & Classes, December 2023
SDB Squares Dance Club Goes on a Road Trip to Retrieve Club Banner
Mary Klootwyk SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club recently lost its club banner to the Mesa Checkmates Square Dance Club, which resulted in making plans to get it back! Square dance clubs typically have a banner with their name and a replica of their club logo, which is displayed at each dance. These banners are then used…
Clubs & Classes, October 2023
Square Dancers Spin, Swing, and Weave at the Cool Mountain Fling
Mary Klootwyk Square dancers from SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club, along with dancers from Southern Arizona, celebrated the 75th Annual White Mountain Rim Rompers Cool Mountain Fling Square Dance and Round Dance Festival held this past July 13 through 16. More than 95 dancers were spinning, swinging, and weaving in the White Mountain Dance Hall in Show…
Clubs & Classes, September 2023
Want to Be Healthier? Give Square Dancing a Whirl
Mary Klootwyk Are you looking for an alternative to going to the gym? Want to make some new friends? Why not give modern square dancing a try? We all know that exercise is good for you. Running, aerobics, bicycling, weight lifting, and sports (pickleball, softball, tennis) all seem to be hard work. Isn’t there a…
Clubs & Classes, April 2023
Live Lively—Square Dance!
Square dancing has changed a lot since Colonial times. Today’s square dance is a fun activity set to a wide variety of music that offers great social interaction while providing both physical exercise and mental stimulation in a drug- and alcohol-free environment. It’s a great form of exercise and stress relief! It’s normal to see…