Square Dancing Communities: Modern Western Style, Clubs, and Etiquette

Modern Western Square Dance is the standardized form of square dance practiced across the United States today. Eight dancers form a square, with four couples facing the center. A caller, standing on stage with a microphone, calls a stream of standardized moves: Allemande Left, Right and Left Grand, Do Si Do, Promenade, Star Through, Square Thru, and dozens more. The dancers respond to each call in real time. There is no memorized routine. Every dance is improvised by the caller within the agreed program level, which is one of the great cognitive workouts in the dance world.

The national governing body is Callerlab, the International Association of Square Dance Callers, based in Topeka, Kansas. Callerlab maintains the official move list for five program levels: Mainstream with about 70 moves, Plus with about 30 additional moves, Advanced (A1 and A2), and Challenge (C1, C2, C3A, C3B, and C4). A new dancer signs up for a Mainstream class, which usually runs once a week for 25 to 30 weeks. The class is sometimes called Square Dance Lessons or Modern Square Dance Class. After graduation the dancer can attend any Mainstream dance anywhere in the country and dance to any caller.

The senior community in square dance is large and welcoming. The United Square Dancers of America at usda.org lists about 1,500 clubs nationwide. The average age in many clubs is 65 to 80, though clubs also recruit younger dancers. Many clubs run dedicated Singles classes that allow widowed and divorced seniors to learn without arriving as a couple. The standard practice in modern square dance is that everyone dances every dance, with partners arranged by the caller or by tradition rather than by personal pairing. A senior can attend solo and never sit out.

Dress code in modern western square dance has loosened in the past 20 years. Traditional Western dress with full skirts for women and Western shirts with bolo ties for men is still common at festivals and at clubs that call themselves Western. Most casual club dances now allow plain street clothes, with a request that the dancer wear soft-soled shoes and no jewelry that catches on a partner's hand. A new dancer can attend a class in jeans and a t-shirt without comment. Festivals and conventions, such as the National Square Dance Convention held each summer, see more traditional dress and a friendly competition over the prettiest petticoat or fanciest pearl-snap shirt.

Etiquette is straightforward and consistent across clubs. Arrive 15 minutes early. Greet the caller. Form a square with whoever is nearby, regardless of skill level. Thank each dancer in the square after the tip ends. Bring a clean handkerchief, since hands get sweaty and a handkerchief is the universal polite solution. Sources include callerlab.org for the move lists and certified caller directory, usda.org for the United Square Dancers of America club locator, the National Square Dance Convention at nsdconvention.com, and the Mainstream definitions document at callerlab.org.