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Thanks to Square Dancer Mickey Rogers

Don't Be a Square -- Dance!

Do-Si-Do Fitness

WebMD Feature Reprinted from WebMD.com

July 9, 2001 -- "Bow to your partner, bow to your corner, circle left, alemand left ... swing and promenade home."

In squares of eight across the country, Americans from senior-citizen age on down are linking arms, sashaying, and "do-si-doing" themselves to longer, healthier, and happier lives. They're having a blast and also lowering their risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, age-related memory loss, osteoporosis, and depression.

Good for Body and Mind
With all its moving, twisting, and turning, square dancing provides more than the daily dose of heart- and bone-healthy physical activity. Remembering all the calls -- from "do-si-do" to 'alemand' -- keeps the mind sharp, potentially staving off age-related memory loss, experts say. And the companionship that regular square dancing offers is an antidote to depression and loneliness, a statement confirmed by square-dancing advocates everywhere.

Take Larry McKinley, a 62-year-old who has been square dancing for 30-plus years with his wife, Sue -- who, incidentally, he met at a square dance. "We do it as often as we can, maybe five or six times a week," he tells WebMD.

"The listening -- and executing the commands -- takes deep concentration. The twisting and turning are not too hard on you, but give your body the exercise that it needs," he says.

McKinley's club, the London Bridge Square Dance Club of Lake Havasu, Ariz., has 80 members, and the average age of a member is 75.

"We recently graduated an 84-year-old," he says. "Graduated," in square-dancing terms, means the student has earned a Mainstream dance level.

There are four levels of square dancing, McKinley tells WebMD. There's Mainstream, then there's Plus, followed by the more professional, exhibition-levels, A-1 and A-2. McKinley is a Plus-level square dancer.

"It's very easy once you learn," he says. "Years ago, I was getting a divorce and didn't want to be a bump on a barstool." That's when he went to his first dance and got hooked.

"It's just so much fun. Square dancing is setting friendship to music," he says. "It's having a place to get up and go in the evening where you can work up a good tired and a good sweat."

'If You Can Walk, You Can Square Dance'
McKinley knows what he's talking about. Square dancing contributes to a more healthy and independent lifestyle, says Lewis Maharam, MD, a sports medicine specialist in New York City and president of the Greater New York Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine.

"Anything that keeps you active will keep you healthier and feeling younger. In most cases if you can walk, you can square dance, but it's good advice to talk to your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen," says Maharam, also medical director of the Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon® in San Diego, the Country Music Marathon™, and the New York City Marathon.

"Any weight-bearing exercise, including square dancing, is a major benefit as one ages," he says. Weight-bearing exercise improves bone health and thus may help stave off the brittle-bone disease osteoporosis.

"Square dancing also helps you with the feeling of where you are in space and with coordination, and this may reduce falls and chances for fractures," says Maharam. "Regular square dancing may boost endurance, and being able to tolerate longer bouts of moving faster may result in improved cardiac function as the heart, a muscle, can become more efficient if trained. Square dancing can be considered a type of cross training, which helps to offset the muscle loss and strength loss typically associated with normal aging."

A Social Form of Exercise
The physical benefits of square dancing are impressive, to be sure, but don't discount the social payoff, says Jerry Reed of Coca, Fla.

"The primary benefit [of square dancing] is the social interaction between people," says Reed, executive director of CALLERLAB, the international association of square-dance callers, with 2,000 members worldwide.

"Most of the activities that people do these days are individual, such as golfing, tennis, and bowling," he says. "Square dancing is kind of unique in that it involves touching hands -- we turn, we swing, and that seems to bring us closer together."

And the touching in itself can be beneficial to health, according to studies conducted at the Touch Research Institute in Miami, which showed that regular touching can reduce stress and depression and enhance immune system function.

What to Expect
"A typical evening is about two hours long and in that time we dance six 'tips,' " Reed says.

A tip includes a "hash calling" -- where the caller calls out some moves, which the dancers execute in smooth, choreographed routines -- and a "singing call," which can include all types of square-dance moves timed to fit popular songs. On any given evening, dancers will twirl across the floor to the music of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Road," the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive," Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money," as well as songs by the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

Reed calls about four dances a week. Today's square dancing is hipper than what most people see in movies, he says, and more therapeutic than you might think.

"It takes your mind off of the day-to-day problems," he says. "All those other worries and thoughts disappear when you are dancing."

Ready to Sashay Your Way to Fitness?
You say you're tempted, but not sure if you've got what it takes? Don't underestimate yourself, says Reed.

"Square dancing is not as complex as it looks, he says. "We just learn one move at a time and go from there."

So what's stopping you from joining in all the fun? Square dance clubs are popping up all across the world, and they want you. Ask at your local community center or check your local Yellow Pages for information on square dancing clubs and events in your neighborhood.

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(For additional sources of Square Dance Clubs, contact the Webmaster.)

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The following appeared in the Cedar Creek Pilot, May 3, 1990. The author presented her observations of Square Dancing in a very unusual and humorous manner. She was a delightful lady who seemed to enjoy watching Square Dancing and then expressing her thoughts with a different twist.

By LOU DANIELS.

I’ve been having a lot of fun lately, going to watch the square dancers at the various square dance clubs. Why nobody gets killed or has a fractured skull is beyond me. I guess I go for the same reason that people go to the auto races. (If there’s gonna be a wreck, I wanna be there to see it!)

My pal, Betty, decided that she would like to take up square dancing but after watching them one night I told her that she had better either “up” her life insurance or forget the whole thing. Looked risky to me! These square dancers are nice people, don’t get me wrong. I think they just like to live dangerously.

To demonstrate how kind and friendly they are, they always greet each other with what they call a “Yellow Rock”. This is a big hug which enables the men to pick the girls up off their feet and whirl them around over their heads. The girls squeal, the men guffaw, the evening is off to a great start.

The ladies wear something that looks like an open umbrella only there are two handles sticking out the bottom instead of one. (These are their legs, you dummy!) I think the flared out skirts are intended to make everybody look like they have a 16 inch waist. It doesn’t always accomplish this purpose but am reasonably sure that this is the intention. The men generally wear jeans and long sleeved western shirts and all look extremely manly in comparison to the frilly girls.

Once the music starts and the caller takes his place, all the dancers rush out on the floor and form groups of eight. These are called squares or diamonds or something like that, and each dance is called a top. (Or is it a tip?) Anyway, everybody looks expectant and ready to go.

Suddenly the caller gives a call and all hell breaks loose. It’s like somebody stepped on an ant bed and all the survivors are scurrying around trying to get out of the way. How anybody knows what they are doing is beyond me. When he calls, “Bend the line,” I would expect that a straight line would suddenly curve and maybe become a circle or something. No such luck. Instead of a curve the dancers all end up in a straight line facing each other. I think this call is intended to confuse the bystanders and all the square dancers are in on it. Pretty dirty pool!

The Do Sa Dos and Promenades are fairly easy for me to recognize, but when they get into Box the Gnat, Spin the Top, and Rollaway half sashay, I have no idea what anybody is doing. Every once in awhile the caller will inquire, “Anybody hurt?” which leaves me with the distinct impression that this is certainly a possibility. I did see one man go down like a pole axed steer once but everybody continued dancing politely around him until he regained consciousness and then welcomed him back into the group and didn’t seem to hold it against him which I thought was pretty decent of them.

Betty seemed to fit right in and took her lessons with a group of square dancers known as the Bean Pickers in a nearby town. These folks have what they call, “Guardian Angels” who are really the experienced dancers who are kind enough to kinda adopt beginners and put them through their paces until the students learn all the calls themselves.

It wasn’t long before ole Betty was out there doing the Ferris Wheel, Pass Thru, Shoot the Star, and Grand Square with the best of them I kinda learned the calls but never had any idea what they were gonna do when that particular call was made.

Somebody at the Back Yard Swingers, another club we attended, said there are more than a hundred calls to learn. Since I can’t even remember names for more than five minutes at a time I figured it was a good thing I never got involved in square dancing. It only takes one clutz to bolix up the whole square of eight people, which seems like an unenviable position to be in.

But all kidding aside, most of these dancers are incredibly good at what they are doing. If they were each carrying a little chunk of bread in their mouths I could easily gain the impression that these were a bunch of ants scurrying through all the various tunnels and patterns and only running into each other occasionally.

Lots of laughing and whooping goes on and everyone seems to really have a ball. When the dance is finally over all those still able to stand up face each other with loud “Thank Yous” and everybody gets another Yellow Rock.

I trust you remember what I said this was at the beginning of this Column. If you don’t remember, forget about Square Dancing. They’ve got 99 other calls to remember too.

Drop in at Lemonade Hall some Saturday night and watch the dancers. Bring your hard hat and shin guards!!! You’ll enjoy it!!!

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