Learning to Square Dance

Maybe you learned a little bit about square dancing in school, or perhaps you picked it up later on in adulthood. It's even possible that you’re totally new to the dance and have no idea how it’s performed, but you’d like to learn. Many people may not realize there are two types of square dancing. They are traditional square dancing and modern western square dancing. This article will be focusing on the traditional dance, but if you’re interested in learning the western moves, there are plenty of Internet sites you can go to for that information.

The traditional square dance is a folk dance, involving four couples facing each other in a square, which has been around for several centuries. The earliest mention of it comes from seventeenth century England, but the dance wasted no time in traveling to America, where it has become the official state dance for nineteen U.S. states. The various steps come from other traditional dances, including the Morris dance, English Country Dance and the quadrille. A square dance caller literally calls out the steps in advance, so couples know what moves to make throughout the dance.

Basic square dance moves are the promenade, dosado and the allemande. To learn these and other basic steps, it will help if you watch other dancers before trying it yourself. You’ll be able to see how the dance moves around in a circular motion, bringing you and your partner back to your position in the square. You’ll need to learn these basic steps so that when you hear the caller give them, you’ll know what to do. Try to follow along, watching the others in your square, and you’ll get the hang of it after you’ve done it a few times.