Montgomery Area Square Dance Association

Why Learn to Square Dance?

Because it’s fun!

Because it’s good exercise for both the body and the mind!

Because you like moving to music!

Like most sports and hobbies, square dancing is an activity that can be enjoyed on many levels. The basics are very simple. You can come to an introductory-level event and be dancing in just a few minutes!

People who want to make square dancing an ongoing part of their life usually join a square dance club. Members of most square dance clubs dance together on a regular schedule – weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. In addition, these clubs may sponsor events to which they invite dancers from other clubs nearby. So that they can all dance together, they all learn a particular set of calls. That way the caller doesn’t need to explain everything from scratch each time — they can just start dancing right away!

Many clubs that dance using a particular set of calls (a “program”) offer classes that teach these calls. Once new dancers have learned a program (set of calls), they can dance at any club that uses that program.

The programs most commonly taught to beginners vary by geographic area, to match the programs used at club dances in those areas. The programs most commonly used at club-level dances in Alabama are called “Mainstream” and “Plus”. “Plus” includes more calls than “Mainstream”, so it takes a bit longer to learn.) Some clubs make use of smaller sets of calls to make it easier for new dancers to get started – these may have names like “ABCs of square dancing.

But it doesn’t really matter much which program you learn to start. It’s generally best to begin with whatever program is recommended by current dancers in your area – they know what will be most useful for attending events in that area. And once you get the idea of how square dancing works, you can always learn additional calls, if you want to be able to dance in other areas or at more kinds of events. The important thing is to get started!