Testvale Squares

You might think it’s Country or Barn Dancing but Square Dancing has its own set of moves, with 4 couples (left and right dancers) forming a square and dancing to instructions from the Caller. In a typical dance the right hand dancer (normally the lady) will move around the square going to each left hand dancer in turn until they get back to their original partner. We use a variety of music, anything that gives the correct tempo, so you might be dancing to a Jazz staple one minute, Country and Western the next, contemporary pop after that. Dancing keeps your mind and body active, is great for socialising with other dancers and forming long-term friendships.

Square Dancing is broken down into different stages. Basic to start with where you’ll start to learn the steps that will take you up to Mainstream level. Once proficient at Mainstream (68 moves) you might move up to Plus, and possibly beyond to A1, A2 and C. It’s your choice how far you go! It’s international and once you’ve gained your Mainstream Graduation certificate you can go to organised Dances across UK and the rest of the World, with Callers always announcing the moves in English.

The origins of Square Dancing can be traced back to steps and movements used in the folk dances of many countries.  English and French country dances merged to form the quadrille, a dance for 4 couples in a square.  When the European settlers arrived in America these dances evolved further and after the American Revolution the quadrille dance became very popular.  Quadrilles were originally danced from memorised steps and sequences, but as they gained in popularity people began calling out the steps, and by the 1900’s this gave rise to the modern Caller.

Traditional Western Square Dancing was promoted in the 1930’s and originally used between 10 and 30 calls, but it would change depending on the Region and the individual Caller. This resulted in an attempt to define the calls to preserve the dance form and make it easier for people to teach it consistently.  During the American folk music revival of the 1950’s there was a resurgence of interest, and by the 1970’s many US states adopted Square Dancing as their State Dance after a campaign to make it the National Dance

As the development of portable music sound technologies progressed it became easier to hear the Caller clearly in larger venues, and Modern Western Square Dancing was born. Rather than learning a complete routine, modern Square Dancers learn the movements and calls, but they do not know in which order the caller will decide to call them in, therefore the dances are not 'predictable'.

The participants of Modern Western Square Dancing learn and become proficient in a defined set of calls known as a Program, and a central body known as Callerlab defines the contents of these programs.  Callerlab is the International Association for Callers and therefore sets all Square Dance programs and provides materials for the consistent training of Callers in a number of countries.
The result is a co-ordinated International Community where dancers from one country can visit and easily participate in a square dance in a totally different country, with the program always being called in English.  

The British Association of American Square Dance Clubs (BAASDC) is the central body that provides  support for the 70 or so Square Dance Clubs in the UK.

Their website hosts a directory of all affiliated clubs and their contact details, it publicises a calendar of open dances throughout the year and publishes a monthly magazine on behalf of the whole UK Square Dance community.  

There are also Regional Organisations:

  National - Young People and Youth
  Scotland
  Cymru
  Northern Counties
  Midlands
  Western Counties
  Eastern Counties
  Southern Counties and Channel Islands
  London and Home Counties