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The Ontario Square and Round Dance Federation holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) each year. In order to make the meeting accessible to a wider geographical area, it has been decided that a Virtual Meeting via Zoom is the preferred method.

In light of this decision the up-coming AGM will be a Zoom Meeting. Everyone is welcome!

The AGM is scheduled for:
Saturday May 2, 2026 at 10 am.

Information and a Registration Link can be found under Events on the Ontario Federation website. The Agenda will also be posted before the meeting.

You must REGISTER to attend the meeting.

Those registered will receive a Zoom link to access the meeting.
The link will be sent out a few days prior to the meeting.

If you have something you would like to add to the Agenda, please email me at
dan.roy1950@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you on May 2.

Sincerely,

Dan Roy – President
OSRDF

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At his time of year clubs are usually celebrating the graduation of new dancers and also the end of another dance season. Unfortunately, many clubs did not dance this 2021/22 dance year; some due to problems with their rental facilities and others felt the covid situation not resolved enough take the plunge and re-open. Most clubs in the T&D region have re-opened but that is not the case elsewhere. Those clubs up and running report a significantly lower attendance than prior to March 2019.

However, let’s look ahead with optimism for this September! Most clubs will be focussing on recruitment and also encouraging all dancers to return.

Regarding recruitment, I recently read an article in the Alberta square dance newsletter, Alberta Chatter. It outlines a successful recruitment drive by an Edmonton club. (I have the permission of the editor, Claudia Littlefair, to share this with everyone!). Below is the link which outlines this project on pages 1&2.
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/2c6c0dfa-c4fe-4f99-b27b-8a66efe06673/downloads/AB-2022-2 Newsletter.pdf?ver=1649793455633

Remember the Federation does have bursaries to help clubs with the recruitment expenses. Go to https://squaredance.on.ca/ for an application form.
Does your club have new ideas and suggestions to achieve these goals? If you have recruitment success stories and want to share them, please get in touch through the Federation webpage and we can share these in a future newsletter.

To entice your former dancers to come back, maybe you should consider a summer outdoor activity. In Peterborough the two clubs combine to host an annual driveway dance and pot-luck supper. Many parks have pavilions where a social event could be held. It is so important to maintain the social side of dancing and being outdoors may get people back to the club.

EOSARDA have applied to have a booth at this year’s International Plowing Match which will take place in Kemptville (about 35km south of Ottawa) from September 20-24. Attendance at these events usually numbers around 80,000 from all over Ontario and further afield. Should they be successful, the Federation has voted to pay for the cost of the booth. Information about all Ontario clubs will be available to hand out. If you are planning to attend the IPM and would like to help out at the booth (should they be successful), get in touch with the Federation EOSARDA rep. https://squaredance.on.ca/

Annual General Meeting

Ontario Federation will be holding the AGM on Sunday, May 29 at 1:30pm. We hope many of you will join us; your participation is important. You need to request an invitation to attend this zoom meeting by sending an email to agm@squaredance.on.ca.
Do this at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

The place to be this July is Fredericton!
2022 Canadian National Convention
Fredericton, NB. July 20-23

Click here for the convention site. What a great opportunity to get together and celebrate! The first chance to meet up with friends from all over the country – after two long years of covid. Register now and join in the fun. Updates regarding hotels and campground can be found at the link above.

If you are planning to get a new licence plate, remember the personalized square dance plates. A small amount of the cost comes back to the Federation and it is a great way to advertise our activity.

We hope you all have a good summer and that everyone will be back on the dance floor in the Fall!!

Submitted by: Howard and Jean Lander
Federation Publicity Reps.

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Let’s look at similarities:

Both dance forms have a caller who teaches and calls the dances. Both are community dances where you dance with many folks rather than with just 1 partner. The caller plans the evening program and has overall responsibility for the entire evening. The caller is responsible for the success of the dancers on the dance floor. The dancers are responsible for listening and responding to the caller with the appropriate dance action. The gentleman does not have all the responsibility and pressure to lead his partner in the dancing. He does not have to be creative and think about what he’s going to do next to entertain his partner and ensure she enjoys dancing with him. There is no fancy footwork either. All the dance moves are done by simply walking or shuffling to the beat of the music. The only exception is the swing, which can be done with a simple walking step or with a buzz step. The buzz step allows one to swing faster and more energetically. The footwork there mimics riding on a scooter, where the weight is on the right foot and the left foot pushes and propels you around. Even those who can’t hear the beat at all can actually square dance or contra dance. There are lots of dances moves which are shared by these two dance forms. A contra dancer or square dancer can learn the other dance form quickly and easily. You will find both square dancing and contra dancing all across the country and around the world too.

Now for the differences:
Dancing

Contra dancing is done in long lines. You dance with your partner and 1 other couple. After each iteration of the dance or 64 beats of music, you and your partner move on to meet another couple and repeat the dance with them. In that way you dance with your partner and lots of couples in the line. Because the dance repeats, the caller eventually stops calling the dance so the dancers can listen and enjoy the music without the voice of the caller. The enjoyment is in the grove, the trace of the dance, not the complexity. The caller only calls as long as necessary to ensure the dancers are successful on the dance floor. Most dancers change partners at the end of each contra dance, although that is not required. There is a great deal of swinging in each and every dance, anywhere from 8 beats to 32 beats out of 64 beats of music. This is what the dancers like most as it gives them an opportunity to interact with their partner and frequently others in the set as well. This makes contra dancing very vigorous and energetic.

Modern western squares are done in 4 couple squares. You dance with your partner and 3 other couples in your square. In a patter square you will keep your original partner and you have a working partner as well at any point in time. In a singing square, typically, you change partners each time through the figure and end up with your original partner for the ending. The fun is in the surprise factor and in being able to work together as a team of 8 to successfully execute the calls. There is also lots of fun in recovering from mistakes and omissions and the “creative choreography” required to recover! There is very little swinging at a square dance as compared to the contra dance. A typical square dance swing is once around, twice if you are really fast, and off you go! The singing call may or may not include a swing and it may be omitted entirely from a patter square. It depends on the caller really. There are many square dance clubs in the area and each club has their own culture. You will want to attend dances at the various clubs and see which fits your personality best. There are groups which are primarily couples based and you dance with your partner for every dance. There are groups where folks change partners frequently and which more singles attend so they are better for singles. Some groups actually use a card system to ensure everyone dances all night long, including singles. There are groups which cater to the gay and lesbian crowd. Some groups are more focused on the social aspects of the club and not so much on the dancing while others are great for the hard core dancer and the dancing is more challenging. Some groups consist primarily of older dancers and are targeted at the older dancer while others have a greater mix of age and are much more dynamic and energetic. There is something for everyone.

The Caller

The Contra leader will start with a walk thru at the start of each contra dance. Once dancers are accustomed to the sequence of figures, then the music starts. At a typical 3-hour contra dance, there are 11 to 12 dances in an evening. The caller presents an evening consisting of mostly duple minor improper contras and may include 1 or 2 dances of other formations as well: circle mixers, Sicilian circle, triplets, mescolanza, 4 couple square, grid squares, triple minors, proper contras, and the newest thing, zia’s.

The caller at a modern western square dance, for the most part, the same caller calls for the group at every dance. The group, known as a club, has guest callers when their primary caller is unavailable. There are some square dance clubs who do hire in different callers for each or most of their dances. There is no walkthrough before the dancing starts. The dancers are expected to know a particular set of dance moves and the caller is expected to call material they already know. The caller calls for the entire duration of the dance because the dancers don’t know what the caller is going to call ahead of time and are not supposed to anticipate the calls! The caller’s goal is to surprise the dancers with fun and creative choreography that they can dance successfully and will find interesting. The longer patter square is typically followed by a singing square. The goal of the singing call is for the dancers to just relax and enjoy the music. There could be some repetition in the figure called for a singer and the choreography might be simpler. The caller typically presents material in the formation of a 4 couple square. They may occasionally call 6 couple, hexagon or progressive squares. After each tip, there is a short break, about 5 minutes or so, for socializing.

New Dancers

At a contra dance, anyone can attend without any prior experience. Most dances have a 30 to 60 minute introduction for new dancers. That covers just enough to give the new dancer some very basics, enough to help them know where and how to line up and generally what to expect and some pointers. For the most part all the regular dancers are very helpful and will actively seek out new dancers to dance with during the evening. The new dancer essentially learns by dancing with the experienced dancers and through the repetition. This also means that the caller has to call to the general level of the floor. A new dancer attending a dance of primarily experienced dancers can feel overwhelmed and intimidated very quickly. The experienced dancer at a dance with a high percentage of new dancers will mostly likely find the dancing too rough or unsatisfying. The dances at the beginning of the evening tend to be easier and build on one another and in complexity as the evening progresses in order to incorporate the new dancers on the floor as gently as possible. Lots of new dancers leave at the break and the dances in the second half of the evening are typically more challenging.

For modern western square dance, new dancers must learn the square dance moves thru a series of lessons before they can attend a regular dance of a particular level. While the lessons are lots of fun and you will meet lots of folks, the regular dances are even more fun! At the regular dances there is no teaching, or very little. Dancers square up, the music starts and the caller calls! Different clubs dance at different levels (typically mainstream, plus, plus DBD, challenge and advanced). Once you have learned to dance at a given level, you can dance at any club dancing at the level you have attained. Experienced and proficient contra dancers can learn the mainstream material very quickly, in as little as 8 weeks. Learning time for those with no dance experience will vary and depends on each person. The complete mainstream program is most typically taught over a period of 24 weeks.

(Posted with permission from Eva Murray)

(http://www.evamurray.com/contrasquare.html)

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When most people hear the term “square dancing”, they immediately think back to their memories of school dance programs, where they tried to interpret what to do upon the commands of “do-si-do” and “allemande left.” For many, to be excited about square dancing meant you had to be a fan of old-time country music and dress up in traditional dresses and duds.

But square dancing has evolved quite a bit since the days of the ho-down and come out of the honky tonks and into the mainstream.

Modern square dancing has been around for a long time, evolving from various types of dancing in the United Kingdom and continental Europe as well as North America. Modern and traditional square dancing are similar in that both involve groups of eight, all interpreting and responding to the calls.

What sets modern square dancing apart is that participants focus on mastering the individual steps, each of which are given names, rather than an entire dance. The Caller strings these steps together, with the dancers reacting to the calls. Part of the fun is not knowing what steps will be called next. No two dances are ever the same.

Not only does this evolution of square dancing make it much more exciting, it also makes it easier for the beginner to jump in and get involved.

Even the clothes people wear no longer fits the style long associate with square dancing. While some people enjoy donning those traditional-style clothes, all a participant really needs are comfortable shoes and clothing.

Not a fan of country music? Modern square dancing can employ any type of music, from classic rock, easy listening and classical, as long as it is up-tempo.

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There are over 100 square and round dance clubs across Ontario, most of whom have weekly dance nights where you can participate in a regular dance program. Clubs may host special dances on Theme Nights, or others  such as Valentine’s Dances. You should be able to find a club within driving distance no matter where you live.

You don’t have to worry if you aren’t an accomplished dancer. Square and Round Dancing has been described more like “walking in rhythm.” There is no fancy footwork to contend with, instead you form patterns with other dancers.

Square and Round Dancing has changed significantly from what you may remember. The changes are discussed here.

Dancers of all ages enjoy what has been described as “terrific aerobic and mental exercise.” Many couples are involved, but one can come out as a solo and be teamed up with experienced dancers.

Square Dancing is no longer only done to country music. Any music with a lively rhythm (even Jingle Bells at Christmas time) will do.

All you need is a pair of comfortable shoes. (Men usually wear long-sleeved shirts.) Much like the music, country and western fashion is not required, although many continue to dress up for the fun of it.

The benefits, both health-wise and socially, of becoming involved in square and round dancing are many.  What might start as just a night out, could lead to lifetime friendships with those in the club.

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Square Dancing Terms

Allemande Left:
Corners face and take left forearms. Walk around each other to own position.

Angel:
An experienced dancer who attends classes to fill out squares and help the caller demonstrate the proper way to perform various moves.

Circle Left:
Dancers designated by caller join hands in a circle and walk to the left.

Circle Right:
Same as Circle Left going to the right.

Corner:
Lady on gentleman’s left. Gentleman on lady’s right.

DBD:
Dance by definition. Callers will test the dancers’ knowledge of calls by performing them from various starting points, or from non standard positions.

Do-Si-do:
Partners, or those designated by the caller, face. Walk around each other passing right-shoulders and then left shoulders back to own position.

Forward and Back:
Three steps forward. High tens and back to position.

Head Couples:
Couples with their back or facing the caller, also known as couples 1 & 3.

Home position:
A dancer’s position in the square dance formation at the beginning of a session.

Honor:
Partners, or those designated by caller, face. Ladies curtsy and gentlemen bow.

Hot Hash:
Another term for a patter call, the caller will announce moves rapidly and without pausing.

Ladies Chain:
Ladies designated by caller walk to each other and take right hands. They pass by, dropping hands and give their left to that lady’s partner in his left hand. The gentleman place their right arm around the lady’s waist and turns her counter-clockwise to face the other couple. Ladies chain back the same way.

Partner:
The lady to the gentleman’s right and the gentleman to the lady’s left.

Patter call:
The caller uses the music as a background for prompting the dancers’ moves.

Promenade:
Partners, or those designated by the caller, cross hands in a skating position and walker counter-clockwise to position with the right arm over the left.

Rectangle dancing:
Square dancing with six couples instead of four.

Side Couples:
Couples 2 & 4.

Singing call:
The caller actually sings parts of the song, intersperse with the moves.

Square your sets:
A call for dancers to return to home position.

Star by the Right:
Couples, or those designated by the caller, walk to each other and join right hands in a star formation and walk in the direction they are facing (clockwise).

Level of Calls

Basic:
The simplest and most straightforward, such as “allemande left”, “right and left grand” and promenade.

Mainstream:
Calls a level above basic.

Plus or Mainstream Plus:
A step above mainstream, involving a series of related moved. They can appear complicated at first but are easy and fun once you learn them.

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Physical exercise has an anti-aging effect on the hippocampus region of the brain — an area that controls memory, learning and balance. A new study, comparing different forms of exercise — dancing and endurance training — undertaken by elderly volunteers for eighteen months, shows that both can have an anti-aging effect on the brain, but only dancing corresponded to a noticeable difference in behaviour. This difference is attributed to the extra challenge of learning dancing routines.

As we grow older we suffer a decline in mental and physical fitness, which can be made worse by conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. A new study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, shows that older people who routinely partake in physical exercise can reverse the signs of aging in the brain, and dancing has the most profound effect.

“Exercise has the beneficial effect of slowing down or even counteracting age-related decline in mental and physical capacity,” says Dr Kathrin Rehfeld, lead author of the study, based at the German center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany. “In this study, we show that two different types of physical exercise (dancing and endurance training) both increase the area of the brain that declines with age. In comparison, it was only dancing that lead to noticeable behavioral changes in terms of improved balance.”

Elderly volunteers, with an average age of 68, were recruited to the study and assigned either an eighteen-month weekly course of learning dance routines, or endurance and flexibility training. Both groups showed an increase in the hippocampus region of the brain. This is important because this area can be prone to age-related decline and is affected by diseases like Alzheimer’s. It also plays a key role in memory and learning, as well as keeping one’s balance.

While previous research has shown that physical exercise can combat age-related brain decline, it is not known if one type of exercise can be better than another. To assess this, the exercise routines given to the volunteers differed. The traditional fitness training program conducted mainly repetitive exercises, such as cycling or Nordic walking, but the dance group were challenged with something new each week.

Dr Rehfeld explains, “We tried to provide our seniors in the dance group with constantly changing dance routines of different genres (Jazz, Square, Latin-American and Line Dance). Steps, arm-patterns, formations, speed and rhythms were changed every second week to keep them in a constant learning process. The most challenging aspect for them was to recall the routines under the pressure of time and without any cues from the instructor.”

These extra challenges are thought to account for the noticeable difference in balance displayed by those participants in dancing group. Dr Rehfeld and her colleagues are building on this research to trial new fitness programs that have the potential of maximizing anti-aging effects on the brain.

“Right now, we are evaluating a new system called “Jymmin” (jamming and gymnastic). This is a sensor-based system which generates sounds (melodies, rhythm) based on physical activity. We know that dementia patients react strongly when listening to music. We want to combine the promising aspects of physical activity and active music making in a feasibility study with dementia patients.”

Dr Rehfeld concludes with advice that could get us up out of our seats and dancing to our favorite beat.
“I believe that everybody would like to live an independent and healthy life, for as long as possible. Physical activity is one of the lifestyle factors that can contribute to this, counteracting several risk factors and slowing down age-related decline. I think dancing is a powerful tool to set new challenges for body and mind, especially in older age.”
This study falls into a broader collection of research investigating the cognitive and neural effects of physical and cognitive activity across the lifespan.

Source: Frontiers. “Dancing can reverse the signs of aging in the brain.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 August 2017.

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