welcome to the frederick county promenaders website

Website last updated on December 2nd, 2023 at 1:45pm by FCP Webmaster Donald Barber
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sample club event portfolio

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

!!! IT IS TRIVIA CONTEST TIME AGAIN !!!
Another Webmaster Trivia Contest is now available to challenge your memory.  To view and participate in the contest click on the following link: TRIVIA
!!! ADOPT-A-FAMILY !!!
In what is now an annual tradition, the Club is taking part once again, in the Adopt-A-Family program sponsored by the Community Liaison for the Hillcrest Elementary School.  Beginning at the club dance on 11/17 and all subsequent club events through 12/15 the poster below will be displayed.  On it are the gift tags for members of the adopted family with their holiday wish lists.

So Promenaders, let's make this a truly festive occasion for this deserving Frederick family.

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MOST RECENT CLUB EVENTS

DecEMBER 1 - pajama party dance
There were three squares of mostly pajama-clad members and visitors at the Pajama Night Party Dance on Friday 12/1.
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NOVEMBER 29 - DANCE class
Ten students returned from the 2 week Thanksgiving hiatus in fine form as they continue to learn and master their Mainstream skills.

Also, many thanks to the students and club angels who chose to participate in our Adopt-A-Family for the holidays program. 

The available gift wish list items are going fast.  The gifts you choose must be wrapped and delivered to club events through Friday 12/15.

November 17 - WASCA Theme Dance
Twenty-five club members welcomed 7 guest visitors to its WASCA Theme Dance on Friday November 17th.  Three of the guests were representatives from WASCA who gave a briefing about WASCA and the upcoming weekend festival in March.

In concert with the WASCA Festival Theme, Jan Dommerich displayed a table full of her "Dolls From Around The World" collection.

A table was also set up by WASCA.

next club EVENTS

Square Dance Class
Wednesday Dec. 6th
​7:15pm to 9:00pm
​Ballenger Community Center
5460 Jefferson Pike
​Frederick, MD
Club Dance
Holiday Dance
Friday Dec. 15th
7:30pm to 9:45pm
Mt. Pleasant Ruritan Club
​8101 Crum Rd
​Walkersville, MD

FRIDAY 12/15 holiday DANCE

Added recently to this dance is a Potluck Dinner that begins at 6:15pm.  There is a sign-up sheet for items to bring if you so desire.
To get into the mood for the Holiday Dance click on the arrow on the left side of the audio link below.

sunday 1/7/24 - New Year's Dance

Sunday 1/21/24 - Opposite dance

In is Out, Up is Down, Left is Right, Right is Wrong, Bad is Good, etc, etc, etc.  You get the point for the Opposite Dance.

SUNDAY 2/4/24 -Football Sunday students DANCE

Well students, now that you have completed the Mainstream session of the dance class, here is your chance to strut your stuff at this Club Dance dedicated to students.
To get into the mood for the Student Dance click on the You Tube link below and watch Vinnie Barbarino strut his stuff.

SQUARE DANCING TIDBITS

save the date
​wasca - March 14-16, 2024

For information about this event, click on the following link:  WASCA

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