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Website last updated on thursday october 15, 2026 at 5:30pm by FCP Webmaster Donald Barber
September 2027 alaskan square dance cruise
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Ever been on an Alaskan Square Dance Cruise? Now is your chance to visit Seattle, 3 historic cities in our 49th State, and 1 city in British Columbia, Canada.
This cruise featuring prominent caller Buddy Weaver departs from Seattle on September 13th and returns to Seattle on September 20th with ports of call: Sitka, Skagway, Juneau (State Capital) and Victoria Canada. Our club contact for this fantastic event is Barb Dodge. |
2026-2027 club and dance class schedules
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next four CLUB dance events
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most recent club events
october 14 - dance class
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Eleven of 13 students along with 25 Club Angels attended Dance Class #6. Club Instructor Dan Grimes presented 6 new Mainstream calls while re-enforcing the previous calls learned by the students. We are down to 3 students with a perfect 6 for 6 classes attended in the race for the prestigious "Webmaster's Mainstream Student Attendance Award" shortened to WMSAA. The club introduced an 11 ounce beautiful ceramic cup with the club's colors and LOGO proudly featured on it. The cups are for sale for $10 with the proceeds going back into the club coffers.
The cups will be for sale at club events beginning on Friday October 16th. |
october 2 - luv your fur babies dance
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It was a Beanie Baby Bonanza (BBB) at the Oct 2nd "Luv Your Fur Babies" dance. Your Webmaster brought along 2 bins of assorted Beanie and Fur Babies.
Twenty-seven club members and 4 guest visitors attended this Beanie Extravaganza. The Webmaster's BBB contest award of a Panera's Gift Card was given to B. Magyar for her 1 Fur Baby. D. Ludewig won the $40 50/50 prize. Caller Terry Headlee, as usual, supplied many theme related songs for his calls. |
September 18 - "The Joke's On you" open mic dance
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Twenty-eight Club members welcomed 10 Guest Visitors to the 2nd ever "The Joke's On You" Open Mic Dance on Friday night September 18th.
Caller Mike McIntyre opened the festivities with his funny joke. Your Webmaster played the part of the Joker as he emceed this joke-fest. The winner of the joke contest was S. Boyne with her "What Is The Difference Between a Hippo and A Zippo" joke. Jokester Jesse, the 7 and 1/2 year old Grandson of your Club Co-President and your Webmaster finished 2nd with his "Why Did The Bird Go To The Hospital" joke. |
September 16 - dance class
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Things settled down a bit at the 2nd square dance class Open House on Wednesday September 16th. Thirteen of the 22 students returned from the open house on 9/9 and welcomed 3 new students to the fray. Of course, all 16 students were ably assisted by the 29 Club Angels, all to the methodical Mainstream instructions from Club Instructor Dan "The Maestro" Grimes. Things will begin to take shape for the 2026-2027 Square Dance Class when we see how many of the 16 students from the 2 open houses return to class #3 on September 23rd. Only time will tell.
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square dancing tidbits
DANCER ETIQUETTE BROCHUREThis brochure provides the basic Code of Ethics and Codes of Conduct expected from square dancers at the various square dancing functions and events. To go to the brochure click on the following link: Brochure |
Dance lessons videosDo you need to refresh your Mainstream and Plus calls? Do you need to reinforce your recently learned calls? Then the following link is for you. Click on it to see excellent training videos for the calls. SquareDanceLessonVideos |
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 many other options to even further narrow down or expand the dance selections for you. To visit this valuable square dance web site click on the following link: WheresTheDance
Square Dancing: A Swinging History
Swing your partner and do-si-do—November 29 is Square Dance Day in the United States. Didn’t know this folksy form of entertainment had a holiday all its own? Then it’s probably time you learned a few things about square dancing, a tradition that blossomed in the United States but has roots that stretch back to 15th-century Europe.
Square dance aficionados trace the activity back to several European ancestors. In England around 1600, teams of six trained performers—all male, for propriety’s sake, and wearing bells for extra oomph—began presenting choreographed sequences known as the morris dance. This fad is thought to have inspired English country dance, in which couples lined up on village greens to practice weaving, circling and swinging moves reminiscent of modern-day square dancing. Over on the continent, meanwhile, 18th-century French couples were arranging themselves in squares for social dances such as the quadrille and the cotillion. Folk dances in Scotland, Scandinavia and Spain are also thought to have influenced square dancing.
When Europeans began settling England’s 13 North American colonies, they brought both folk and popular dance traditions with them. French dancing styles in particular came into favor in the years following the American Revolution, when many former colonists snubbed all things British. A number of the terms used in modern square dancing come from France, including “promenade,” “allemande” and the indispensable “do-si-do”—a corruption of “dos-à-dos,” meaning “back-to-back.”
As the United States grew and diversified, new generations stopped practicing the social dances their grandparents had enjoyed across the Atlantic. This was not the case in every region, however. Similar to English country dance and the quadrille, the “running set” caught on in 19th-century Appalachia. But instead of memorizing each and every step, participants began relying on callers to provide cues—and, as square dance calling became an art form in its own right, humor and entertainment. During the early years of square dance in the United States, live music was often played by African-American musicians. Blacks also worked as callers and contributed their own steps and songs to the tradition.
By the late 19th century, waltzes and polkas, which allowed couples to get close without raising too many eyebrows, had supplanted group-based dances in urban ballrooms. Even in the country, square dancing was beginning to seem dated, particularly when the jazz and swing eras dawned. In the 1920s automaker Henry Ford resolved to revive the tradition, which he considered an excellent form of exercise and a way to acquire genteel manners. He hired dancing master Benjamin Lovett to develop a national program, required his factory workers to attend classes, opened ballrooms and produced instructive radio broadcasts for schools throughout the country. Lloyd Shaw, a folk dance teacher, took up the cause in the 1930s, writing books about the rescued art of square dancing and holding seminars for a new generation of square dance callers.
In the 1950s callers began developing standards for square dancing across the United States, allowing dancers to learn interchangeable routines and patterns. Microphones and records made the activity even more accessible to the general public, since a highly trained caller with a booming voice no longer had to be physically present. Along with standardized—or “Western”—square dancing, unregulated regional styles, known collectively as “traditional” square dancing, continue to thrive in certain parts of the country. Generally speaking, however, enthusiasm for all forms of this European-American hybrid has floundered in recent decades, according to the United Square Dancers of America.
Square dance aficionados trace the activity back to several European ancestors. In England around 1600, teams of six trained performers—all male, for propriety’s sake, and wearing bells for extra oomph—began presenting choreographed sequences known as the morris dance. This fad is thought to have inspired English country dance, in which couples lined up on village greens to practice weaving, circling and swinging moves reminiscent of modern-day square dancing. Over on the continent, meanwhile, 18th-century French couples were arranging themselves in squares for social dances such as the quadrille and the cotillion. Folk dances in Scotland, Scandinavia and Spain are also thought to have influenced square dancing.
When Europeans began settling England’s 13 North American colonies, they brought both folk and popular dance traditions with them. French dancing styles in particular came into favor in the years following the American Revolution, when many former colonists snubbed all things British. A number of the terms used in modern square dancing come from France, including “promenade,” “allemande” and the indispensable “do-si-do”—a corruption of “dos-à-dos,” meaning “back-to-back.”
As the United States grew and diversified, new generations stopped practicing the social dances their grandparents had enjoyed across the Atlantic. This was not the case in every region, however. Similar to English country dance and the quadrille, the “running set” caught on in 19th-century Appalachia. But instead of memorizing each and every step, participants began relying on callers to provide cues—and, as square dance calling became an art form in its own right, humor and entertainment. During the early years of square dance in the United States, live music was often played by African-American musicians. Blacks also worked as callers and contributed their own steps and songs to the tradition.
By the late 19th century, waltzes and polkas, which allowed couples to get close without raising too many eyebrows, had supplanted group-based dances in urban ballrooms. Even in the country, square dancing was beginning to seem dated, particularly when the jazz and swing eras dawned. In the 1920s automaker Henry Ford resolved to revive the tradition, which he considered an excellent form of exercise and a way to acquire genteel manners. He hired dancing master Benjamin Lovett to develop a national program, required his factory workers to attend classes, opened ballrooms and produced instructive radio broadcasts for schools throughout the country. Lloyd Shaw, a folk dance teacher, took up the cause in the 1930s, writing books about the rescued art of square dancing and holding seminars for a new generation of square dance callers.
In the 1950s callers began developing standards for square dancing across the United States, allowing dancers to learn interchangeable routines and patterns. Microphones and records made the activity even more accessible to the general public, since a highly trained caller with a booming voice no longer had to be physically present. Along with standardized—or “Western”—square dancing, unregulated regional styles, known collectively as “traditional” square dancing, continue to thrive in certain parts of the country. Generally speaking, however, enthusiasm for all forms of this European-American hybrid has floundered in recent decades, according to the United Square Dancers of America.
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