What is Square Dancing?EVERYBODY, AT SOME TIME, has heard the terms “Allemandeleft - swing your partner and promenade”. These terms are allpart of the calls in square dancing. In fact, many have donethese calls in grade school.

Today’s modern western square dancing can trace its rootsto 18th century France. In fact, one of the most well knowncalls “do sa do”" is a French derivative meaning “back to back”.It was brought over to the United States by the pilgrims, mak-ing it one of the earliest forms of American dance.

While remaining true to some of its traditional roots, squaredancing has evolved over the years. Today, square dancing isenjoyed by millions of people worldwide. It is one of the fewdance forms that is done the same all over the world.

Questions & AnswersHow Do You Learn?Like any dance, you have tolearn how to do it. Most square-dance clubs sponsor a series oflessons yearly. Many offerlessons several times annually.There are square-dance clubs invirtually every city in the UnitedStates. While they are calledlessons, you are dancing on thevery first night. The length oflessons vary, but most averagearound 40 hours.

What Do You Wear?As the old saying goes, "when inRome…" Many areas are shyingaway from the traditional square-dance costumes, and dancers areshowing up in "normal" clothes.However, there are many placeswhere you still see the beautifulflowing dresses - at least on thewomen.

What Is A Caller?The difference between squaredancing and all other forms ofdance is that square dancers dotheir movements based on com-mands that the caller gives.

A caller tells the dancerswhich moves to do – all in timewith the music.

Whom Do I Contact?Many dance clubs advertise inthe Yellow Pages. For the inter-net savvy, you can find outalmost anything about squaredancing at www.dosado.com.

For information on events world-wide, visit www.grandsquareinc.comand www.squaredancingtoday.com.

SQUARE DANCING TODAY MAGAZINE ASKS...

GRAND SQUARE, INC., PUBLISHER OF “SQUARE DANCING TODAY”PROUDLY PRESENTS THE FOLLOWING SQUARE DANCES

SEND CHECK TO (Name of Event) 1100 E. Morehead St., Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28204For further information you may contact us at 704-377-5554 or e-mail us at Info@GRANDSQUAREINC.comName (Last) ___________________________________________ His ______________________Hers ____________________Address _________________________________________________________________________________________________City ____________________________________ State _________Zip ________ Phone _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Club Name____________________ Level Squares______________________Level Rounds_____________________________

Amount Enclosed___________________VISA/MC Number______________________________Exp. Date__________________

Fantastic Dances,

Fun DestinationsC H A R L O T T E

BI RM I NGHAM

DAYTONA BEACH

MYRTLE BEACH

FLORIDAWINTER FESTIVAL

Queen City Ball August 3rd and 4th, 2007Oasis Shrine Temple – Charlotte, North CarolinaTony Oxendine, Randy Dougherty, Dee Dee Dougherty, Jerry Story, & Cuers Jack & Genie WhetsellSPECIAL APPERANCE BY The Ghostriders Square Dance BandPlus, Advanced, & Rounds, dance package $35.00 per person

Birmingham Blast September 7th and 8th, 2007BDSA Friendship Hall – Fultondale, AlabamaTony Oxendine, Dee Dee Dougherty, & Cuer David HollodaySPONSORED BY: The Birmingham Square Dance Association and Grand Square, Inc.Plus, Advanced, & Rounds dance package $35.00 per person

Daytona Beach Ball October 12th and 13th, 2007Schnebly Recreation Center – Daytona Beach, FloridaTony Oxendine, and Cuers Jimmy & Carol GriffinPlus, and Rounds dance package $35.00 per person

Whale of a Dance January 10th, 11th, and 12th, 2008Sands Resort Hotel – Myrtle Beach, South CarolinaTony Oxendine, Jerry Biggerstaff, Jimmy Roberson, and Cuers Jack & Genie Whetsell Plus , Plus DBD, Advanced, & Round DancingThursday through Saturday Package starts at $260.00 per coupleFriday through Saturday package starts at $205.00 per couple

Florida Winter Festival January 24th, 25th, 26, 2008The Lakeland Center – Lakeland, FloridaTony Oxendine, Jerry Haag , Darryl Lipscomb, John Saunders, Tim Crawford, Jerry Story, and Cuers Kenny Reese, Jerry & Barbara Pierce, Jimmy & Carol Griffin, and Bill & Martha BuckWeekend Packages are $35.00 per person, split packages available at the door

Make checks payable to the name of the event you would like to attend.

For those of you who have attended a GrandSquare, Inc. event, such as the Queen CityBall or GSI Callers’ School, I feel you’ll

have an understanding of what the folks at GrandSquare are all about. Just to give you some idea ofwho they are and what they do, I’ve listed some oftheir main accomplishments to help promotesquare dancing around the United States—andsometimes even abroad. Do you have some sugges-tions or creative ideas on how to introduce folks tosquare dancing? If so, be sure to let them know.They’re all ears. Happy dancing!

a. Founded in 1998 by Everette and VirginiaCurlee and Craig Russing and Kim Curleeb. In 1999 Grand Square, Inc.(GSI) applied for and wasgranted 501( c) 3 non-profitstatusc. Established throughCALLERLAB a $10,000scholarship fund to be dis-persed through theCALLERLAB Foundationfor use by callers and dancersfor educationd. Was a recipient of theCALLERLAB Foundation’sDirectors Awarde. Sponsored the "Passing ofthe Torch" after party at the 2003 National SquareDance Convention in Oklahoma City, USA.Attended by more than 3000 dancers.f. GSI Sponsored and funded a free callers schoolin Dachau, GERMANY with almost 70 callers inattendance – bringing in Accredited CallerCoaches from Germany, the US, and GreatBritain. g. GSI will have the first annual World SquareDance in Dachau with another free callers school.Plans are in place to have a World Square Danceannually in different parts of the world.h. Since 1999 GSI has purchased large blocks ofradio advertising in the Charlotte, NC area to pro-

mote the area’s square-dance classes.i. Purchased and provides a portable dance floor(capable of dancing 100 squares) that squaredancers may use.j. Sponsors a "New Concept Dance" in Las Vegas,NV that integrates current dancers and non-dancers in a "fun" atmosphere giving the non-dancers a very positive view of square dancing.k. Is the executive publisher for Square DancingToday magazine – the world’s largest square dancemagazine. It is distributed to almost 50,000dancers worldwide.l. Has donated money to help purchase radioadvertising in several states to be used to promotesquare dancing.m. GSI is working very hard to get square dancing

back on the curriculum in USpubic schools.n. Plans are in place to hostdancer leadership conferencesworldwide.o. Sponsors cook-out for localCharlotte dancersp. Sponsors "Queen City Ball"square-dance weekend inCharlotte, NC each August.The "Queen City Ball" is thelargest square-dance in NorthCarolina, and one of the largestdances in the country.

q. Works in conjunction with various square-danceclubs and associations to help promote dance relat-ed events.r. Sponsors lessons for a new "Hip To Be Square"square-dance club in Charlotte. This club is to bethe prototype for a new entry level square danceclub.s. Hosts a city-wide barbeque for the city ofCharlotte – Bringing in local business leaders andexposing them to the square-dance activity.

Whew! And we’re just getting started. Keepyour eyes on Square Dancing Today magazine formore from Grand Square, Inc..

A Brief History of

Grand Square, Inc.B Y / J O H N S T E V E N S O N

Imagine dancing in a hall with over 500squares on the floor to some of the finestcallers in the world. Envision exhibitiongroups that would rival the competitors from“Dancing With the Stars”. Try to picture

hundreds of square dance vendors all housed underone roof.

June is the biggest square dance month ofthe year. It’s the month that thousands of dancersand hundreds of callers from all over the worldconverge on one city for four days of fun, fellow-ship, and dancing. This year, the Queen City ofCharlotte, NC is poised to host perhaps the largestNational Convention to be held in several years.

Wayne and Janice Bowman, this year’sChairmen, their committees, and the Charlottearea dancers have done a marvelous job getting thecity ready to welcome all of us. The amount ofpre-convention work is staggering. Wayne andJanice have been preparing for this conventionsince their bid four years ago, and finally thiscrown jewel of our activity is coming to fruition.Kudos, again to Wayne and all of their staff!!!

If you look around at this year’s conventionyou’re surely going to see plenty of representativesfrom Wichita, Long Beach and Louisville – hostcities of the next three conventions. I’m sure thatDave and Sherry, Ray and Sandy, and Ron andCindy will be busy as bees promoting their con-ventions.

This year, Grand Square, Inc., in conjunc-tion with the 56th NSDC is sponsoring a freecallers school immediately prior to the convention.The school has been sold out for months, and withover sixty callers scheduled to attend, it will be thelargest callers school in the US. Plans are in placeto have another school next year in conjunctionwith the 57th convention in Wichita and at the58th in Long Beach as well. In speaking for all ofus at GSI, we would like to thank all of theConvention Chairmen for their contribution tohelping us promote square dancing.

I would be remiss in my duties if I neglect-ed to mention the latest member of our GSI team– Ashley Foster. Ashley is our “go to” girl regard-

ing the nuts and bolts operations of GSI. If youcall the toll free number, you get Ashley. If youwrite a letter, she gets it. Ashley has done aremarkable job over the past year. Although shedoesn’t square dance (yet), she is getting a crashcourse in dealing with the activity. ThanksAshley!!! You sure do make things easier for therest of us.

I would also like to thank all of the callercoaches that have helped us on our callers schools.We’ve been doing schools in Europe andScandinavia for about six years, and we have had a

staff that is second to none. So……Shout out toJerry Story, Paul Bristow, Kenny Reese, IngvarPettersson, Larry Letson, Jon Jones, DeborahCarroll-Jones, Walt Burr, and Jim Mayo.

On a sadder note….. One of my closestfriends (actually, more like a brother) retired fromcalling this year. Larry Letson, who I consider tobe one of the (if not the) most creative callers inthe business, retired to spend more time in Texaswith his wife.

Larry has spent a large part of his adult lifetouring almost year-round calling, so he and Vickyhave earned their time together. The activity haslost a great caller and he will be sorely missed.

Over the years, Larry and I worked hun-dreds of dances and weekends together, and someof the best times of my life have been riding downthe road on tour together with him. I’ll miss you“L”! Until the next issue…….

★ S Q U A R E D A N C I N G T O D A Y 7

up frontW I T H / T O N Y O X E N D I N E

Comings and Goings...

JUNE IS THE BIGGEST SQUARE DANCE MONTH OF THE YEAR. THOUSANDS OF DANCERS AND HUNDREDS OF CALLERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD CONVERGE ON ONE CITY FOR FOUR DAYS OF FUN, FELLOWSHIP, AND DANCING.

★ S Q U A R E D A N C I N G T O D A Y 9

contentsV O L U M E F O U R / I S S U E O N E

It’s Hip To Be Square

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SUMMER 2007

U P F R O N T7 Editor’s Letter13 Round & Round19 Square Up / Events

F E A T U R E S

World’s Finest Country Trading Post

Charlotte 2007

Wichita 2008

The Duke Mansion-A CharlotteTreasure In A Fresh Pictorial

Long Beac 2009

SQUARE DANCERS! The 07,08 and 09 NationalConventions promise world-class elegance, the best ofthe old and the new and more must-see attractions thanwe could fit in this special edition of Square DancingToday! Good luck on squeezing it all in during a weekat each of these great destinations.

THE

FROM CHARLOTTE TO WICHITA TO LONG BEACHWORLD-CLASS CITIES HOST SQUARE DANCE FRIENDS!

BigDANCE

CharlotteWICHITALongBeach

Charlotte offers a wealth of fine restaurants with fare for each pallete and every budget. If you’re attending

the National Convention, step out and enjoy. Visit www.visitcharlotte.org for an endless array of dining options.

Duke Mansion Photo—Note: Will tighten up thispage with actual page #slast as we do revisions.-RS

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T

The purpose of Square Dancing Today is the following:

To enhance the general public’s perception of square dancing.

To keep the square dance and generalpublic informed of all newsworthy

square-dance issues and events.

To promote the health benefits of squaredancing to both the general public and

to the square-dance population.

To be a communication vehicle for allsquare dancers and to increase the

popularity of square dancing worldwide.

Square Dancing Today is published two timesannually by Grand Square, Inc., a non-profit

corporation dedicated to preserving ourAmerican Heritage of Square Dancing.

Grand Square, Inc. is registered with the IRSas a 501 (C) (3) corporation, and donations to

the Foundation are tax deductible. All contents of this publication are copyrightSquare Dancing Today. Reproduction in wholeor part without written consent is strictly pro-hibited. Square Dancing Today does not acceptresponsibilty for claims made in paid adver-

tisements. Submission of photographic, literary and other artistic works are welcome;however, if return is desired, please includeS.A.S.E. The opinions within are not neces-sarily those of the publisher, Grand Square,

Inc., distributors or advertisers. ® Square Dancing Today,

All Rights Reserved.

Square Dancing Today1100 East Morehead St. Suite 100

Charlotte, NC 28204(704) 377-5554 FAX (704) 375-7373

www.squaredancingtoday.com

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It’s Hip To Be Square

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E D I T O RTony Oxendine

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Kim@SquareDancingToday.com

N AT I O N A L A D V E R T I S I N G S A L E SMetro Media, LLC

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C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O RRandy Stimpson

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E D I T O R - AT- L A R G EJeffry Mason

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A S S I S TA N T E D I T O RAshley Foster

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★ S Q U A R E D A N C I N G T O D A Y 1 1

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