Frederick County Promenaders
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welcome to the frederick county promenaders website

Website last updated on September 21st, 2023 at 2:45am by FCP Webmaster Donald Barber
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sample club event portfolio


Frederick Keys Game 07/30/21
Burkittsville Demo 08/14/21
Baker Park Demo August 2021
Tom Thumb Banner Steal 10/15/21
Visit to Four County Squares on March 27, 2022
April Fool's Club Dance 04/01/22
WASCA 2022
Wild West Club Dance 10/01/21
A small sample of some of the club events over the years.  Hover over a photo for event info. Click on a photo to enlarge it.

news and information

The Webmaster's Trivia Contest is back,  Click on the following link to play it.  TRIVIA
The FCP 2023-2024 Membership Application Form is now available.  Scroll down this page to get to the form on the right side.  Follow the instructions below the form to download it for printing.

club 2023-2024 event schedules

Square dance classes are underway.  It is not too late to join the current class.  Click on the following link for more information: ​Square Dance Lessons. 

To view the 2023-2024 Club Dance Schedule click on the following link: Dance Schedule

MOST RECENT CLUB EVENTS

SEPTEMBER 20TH DANCE CLASS

It is off and running with the 8 students who returned from the free classes the last 2 weeks.  This class of 8 appears to be learning the Mainstream calls with ease.

SEPTEMBER 17th frederick County fair demonstration

Several months ago the call went out to all Promenaders and other area Club members to take part in a square dance demonstration at the Frederick County Fair.  Well, the call was heeded as over 25 members and guests registered for the event and square danced for three hours in Building 14A.  The demonstration even enticed some fairgoers to take part in the festivities.
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This pumpkin won the Blue Ribbon Award for the heaviest pumpkin (1,250 lbs) at the fair.  I, the Webmaster, needs to find a way to get it to our upcoming Halloween Dance.  Does any club member have a forklift?
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Club President Marjorie Barber entered this afghan in the Arts & Crafts building.  By the way the use of afghan in the English language dates back to 1831.

SEPTEMBER 10TH Black Gold & White DANCE

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Twenty-seven Promenaders, many of them in dance theme attire, welcomed 9 guests to the opening dance of the 2023-2024 dance schedule.  During the dance, Club Caller Mike McIntyre led the dancers in a solemn remembrance of the 9/11/01 events in NYC, Washington DC, and Shanksville Pennsylvania.

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next club EVENTS

Square Dance Class
Wednesday Sept 27th
​7:15pm to 9:00pm

​Ballenger Community Center
5460 Jefferson Pike
​Frederick, MD
Club Dance
Fall Frolic Dance
Friday Sept 22nd
7:30pm to 9:45pm
Mt. Pleasant Ruritan Club
​8101 Crum Rd
​Walkersville, MD

​friday 9/22 fall frolic DANCE

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​Sunday 10/1 35th anniversary dANCE

Note:  From 2:00pm to 3:00pm, to commemorate the anniversary, there will be a "meet and greet" with light refreshments and a short program.
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To get in the mood for this festive event, click on the arrow on the left side of the audio link below.

​SUNDAY 10/15 Costume Party & pumpkin contest dance

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To get into the Halloween mood click on the arrow on the left side of the audio link below.

​SUNDAY 11/5 Veteran's DANCE

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To get into the mood for the Veteran's Dance click on the arrow on the left side of the audio link below.

Friday 11/22 Wasca theme dance

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SQUARE DANCING TIDBITS

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 2023-2024 Club Membership application form

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To download the membership application form for printing, right-click on the form above, then left-click on the "Save image as..."  button, then left-click on the Save button.  The form is then placed in your PC's Download directory.

benefits of square dancing

Click on the following link to read about the many benefits derived from a regular square dancing routine.   Benefits

Evolution of square dancing (1940-1960)

Click on the following link for a YouTube video on the evolution of square dancing and many other square dancing videos.
​                            SquareDancing

history of square dancing

The origins of Square dances can be traced back to steps and figures used in traditional folk dances and social dances from many countries. One of the earliest influences may have been the Morris dance, an English dance for six men involving a line formation and energetic steps.[6] This dance is closely related to another ancestor of square dancing, English country dance, which included a variety of dances for groups of couples arranged in circles, lines, or squares.[6] In 1651, John Playford published 105 of these dances in The English Dancing Master, eight of which are square dances exhibiting concepts still in use, such as the head couples performing an action and the side couples repeating it.[7] Three of the dances, such as "Dull Sir John", specifically use the term square dance in the phrase, "A Square Dance for eight thus".[8] In the early 1800s, English country dances merged with French dances to form the quadrille, a dance for four couples in a square.[6]
These dances further evolved in America, where they arrived with European settlers.[9] After the American Revolution, the quadrille became especially popular.[10] Quadrilles were originally danced from memorized steps and sequences, but as African American slaves played music for the dances, they began calling out the steps.[9] This practice became common by the early 1900s and gave rise to the modern caller.[9] Between 1940 and 1960, modern western square dance evolved from the western style of traditional square dance that had formed in the United States. Traditional western square dancing was promoted beginning in the 1930s by Lloyd Shaw, who solicited definitions from callers across the country in order to preserve that dance form and make it available to other teachers.[4] 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.

Dancer Etiquette Brochure

Recently added to the ABOUT page is the Dancer Etiquette brochure.  This brochure provides the basic Code of Ethics and Codes of Conduct expected from dancers at the various square dancing functions and events.  To go to the brochure click on the following link:  BROCHURE

where's the dance?

If your upcoming plans include travel or you just want to visit other dance clubs near your home club, then the "Where's The Dance" web site is for you.  This web site shows all of the Square Dances within a specific radius of where you are.  There are a few other options to even further narrow the dance selections for you.  To visit this valuable square dance web site click on the following link:
                             Where's The Dance?

promenaders calendar

An FCP Calendar of Events using the Google Calendar functionality is now available.  To view the calendar, place the cursor on the SCHEDULE link in the navigation bar at the top of this page, then click on the Promenaders Calendar item or click on the following link: Calendar

square dance lessons link

Students or anyone else who wants to review square dance calls can click on the following link to an excellent website that demonstrates Mainstream and Plus calls. 
​                   SquareDanceLessonVideos

ODE To square Dancing

The time is now and the square dancing is great
So grab your spouse or friend and even your date
Then head to the floor with your squaring mate
And dance to the cadence that the callers dictate

 
The squares stand ready for your dancing crave
You can relay the deucy after a step to a wave
Then chain down the line if you dare to be brave
Square dancing in Frederick is the latest rave

 
Seamless moves are in sync with the callers refrain
Head ladies go center with a teacup chain
It's friendship set to music while using your brain
Just remember to listen and stay in your lane
 
Mainstream and Plus are two levels to learn
Then DBD and Advanced get your legs to churn
With the steps and calls so easy to discern
So promenade in style whenever your turn
 
Spread the word around so more people know
And invite them to your local square dancing show
We would like our classes to continually grow
When eager new students join the dancing flow
 
Let the resurgence begin on the dancing floor
With the mixing of the new and the current core
Let's breakdown the barriers and open the door
As we celebrate the tradition with all of its lore

Donald Barber
Frederick County Promenaders
Web Master, Ode Writer


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