Square Dance Revival?
Believe it or not, square dancing has seen a recent urban revival among 20- and 30-somethings.
When I saw this quote, I was hoping for an article about square dancing’s urban revival. I’ve heard a little bit about traditional square dancing gaining some interest in Portland and San Francisco, but nothing about MWSD experiencing anything of the kind.
This was the opener for Square Affair rounds up lovers of the do-si-do in the Santa Maria Times. However, the article was about the annual “Square Affair” in Santa Maria. Sounded like fun, but the bottom line?
Older dancers love the dance for the socializing and exercise, but wish local young people would follow their urban counterparts’ lead and give the dance a whirl.
“Square dancing is gentrifying and we want to get young people involved because we don’t want it to see it go the way of the dodo bird,” said Jim Davis, who traveled from San Jose for the Square Affair.
Here’s the whole article, in case the newspaper article is no longer accessible on line:
Square Affair rounds up lovers of the do-si-do
By Mark Baylis Staff Writer
Believe it or not, square dancing has seen a recent urban revival among 20- and 30-somethings.
In cities such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and elsewhere, generations that have tired of the bar and club scene have taken a liking to the dance’s twangy rhythms, social atmosphere, kitsch and novelty factor.
The Central Coast Square Dance Association is pining for that same trend to occur here.
“Unless you have the young folk, it’s going to die,” said Lompoc resident Evelyn Baxter, who started dancing 16 years ago.
Younger generations don’t know what they’re missing, according to the approximately 225 attendees who danced their feet into a formation of blisters this weekend at the association’s Square Affair in Santa Maria.
The 42nd annual event attracted more than 100 out-of-towners from the around the Central Coast and California for three days of spinning, stomping and doing the do-si-do at the Veterans Memorial Cultural Center.
Women in colorful, ruffled dresses spun and twisted while men in boots, slacks and string ties stomped and clapped to traditional favorites and a few surprisingly modern numbers. Some danced non-stop Friday night and all-day Saturday, while others took quick breathers and jumped back in.
“You say, ‘I just can’t dance one more dance,’ and the music is going and you’re up again,” said Joanne Thompson of Santa Maria.
Festivals are held on a near-monthly basis up and down the state in addition to regular dances not sponsored by associations, such as those regularly scheduled in Cayucos and Solvang. It’s a small circuit and regulars commonly run into each other at the various events, making square dancing comrades out of cross-state strangers.
Some dancers follow particular callers, making sure they attend their events like a nightclub hound might follow a particular disc jockey. Callers work entire gigs and serve as live choreographers mixing song lyrics with directions to dancers in a dialect incomprehensible to anyone but an experienced dancer.
“You have to pay attention to the caller or you lose it,” said Joyce Tyger, president of the Central Coast Square Dance Association. “It keeps you sharp and helps you keep alert so you don’t stagnate.”
Older dancers love the dance for the socializing and exercise, but wish local young people would follow their urban counterparts’ lead and give the dance a whirl.
“Square dancing is gentrifying and we want to get young people involved because we don’t want it to see it go the way of the dodo bird,” said Jim Davis, who traveled from San Jose for the Square Affair.
Several thousand used to attend the annual Square Affair, according to event chairman Bert Berringer of Arroyo Grande. The decline isn’t just a local phenomenon. Attendance at other events like the National Square Dance Convention has also dropped in the last two decades.
From 1971 to 1991 the National Convention’s attendance averaged between 20,000 and 30,000 people, according display set up at the Santa Maria gathering. Now the festival averages around 10,000. In 1976, about 40,000 turned out for the event in Anaheim. Just 13,000 showed up at the same location in 2001.
The local chapter is looking for new dancers at its upcoming class at the Santa Maria YMCA, which runs at least 12 weeks and possibly longer. The two-hour, weekly class begins at 7 p.m. Thursday and is open for public enrollment for the first three weeks with the first class offered for free. Those interested can call Joanne Thompson at 937-1933 or Joyce Tyger at 922-6450.