Square-dancing made a comeback in Westmeath after the war ended. There was little activity during wartime; no entertainment as rinks and theaters were closed, materials such as rubber and steel were in high demand – so no bicycles, skipping ropes or even garter belts were to be had. The war finally ended and boom-times began. As the young men returned from battle, a square dance was held as a tribute to them as their rite of passage. Local talent such as Stan and Norris McMullen playing the fiddles, Fran Hennessey pounding the piano and Harold Bromley as the Caller of the squares made it a reality.
I was in my early teens when I became aware of this loud and lively activity occurring. I stopped by one evening as an observer. The screeching and foot-stomping fiddle music caught my attention right from the get-go. I noticed the floor was always jammed with dancers, in select groups and all going through their elaborate motions without missing a beat.
One evening some guy didn’t make it there. A lady, who I knew then but don’t remember now, grabbed my hand saying, “Come on and try it.” She got me into the square despite me dragging my feet all the way. Without knowing what to do, I was pulled this way and that way, to the west, then back to the east. I eventually saw a basic pattern emerging that was sort of repetitive. After a few squares my inhibitions began to ebb. Even being swung off my feet like a rag doll by those powerful women proved to be both dizzying and pleasurable. After doing square-dancing a few times for two or three years, I soon forgot how to do the dances but never forgot the feelings of diving in there for the fun of it.
Life had come full circle when I suddenly realized I was signed up for seven weeks of square-dancing, not at the old Hall, but the New Hall. It was for part of a funding grant from the New Horizons for Seniors Programs. However, I am a lot older now and more laid back than I was as a teen. Now I’m more likely to say, “Oh no! I don’t dance.” I would rather watch other people tear up the dance floor. I will, though, tap my toes to the beat of the music. Something about dancing induces a fear of vulnerability. I have an assumption that dancing of any form requires “skill” and there is both a “right way” and a “wrong way” to move – the skill being rhythm that I totally lack.
In fact, one may be surprised to hear that there are people that actually suffer from a phobia called, ‘choro phobia’, the “fear of dancing” in general or ‘squarophobia’, the fear of “square-dancing”. They get symptoms of panic attacks and will completely avoid social situations where dancing is involved. Johnny Depp, announced last year on the Ellen Show, “I fear dancing more than anything in the world and would rather swallow a bag of hair than dance.” I don’t know about the bag of hair but Johnny is now one of my heroes for the honest stance he took!
Actually, life is like a dance. Sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow. Don’t worry about what we don’t know, what’s important is we learn new steps as we go. Interestingly I talked to a man in the area who said that when he attended high school in London, Ontario, square-dancing was introduced to the students. It began in the gymnasium and became so popular it was moved outdoors to the tennis court. Adults became interested too, even continuing on into the summer months. Neither of us could figure out why it was much less popular in the Ottawa Valley at that time than in a city as large as London.
The first lesson of square-dancing was fast approaching as did my explanations of why I should stay home. I would say things like; “I’m no good at dancing,” then, “I haven’t got the right moves that it requires,” or “others will notice how awkward I am.” To which my partner said, “People only watch the good dancers so you don’t have to worry about being noticed at all.” I caved.
The first night after signing in we were put into groups of eight. Strange but there was a total of about five men and the rest were women. In fact, there were seven women in my group of eight. We were all agonizingly terrible for a number of attempts, dipping instead of diving which generated a lot of laughter, grabbing the wrong hand and so on, before finally catching onto somewhat of a routine. My particular dilemma was made worse by being outnumbered by so many women. Imagine my quandary: Since two attractive women made up the other three couples, how could I possibly remember which one of the two was playing the role of the man. It was like a situation that was so delightful but it really wasn’t.
I made many screw-ups that night, like going right on an Allemande Left, keeping my wrong elbow extended during the Promenade and always forgetting to bow to my partner at the beginning. Some of the “women” women were kind enough to help me stay on course and gratefully the instructor introduced calls in a prescribed order that allowed all of us to master the moves more easily. Some of the calls were fairly obvious, such as “circle to the west,” others were not. But you learn them gradually and gently, with lots of review. By evening’s end, dancers in each of the three groups of eight moving alongside each other in formation but yet so relaxed, it reminded me of commuters passing each other in haste without even noticing anybody else.
So why be afraid of square-dancing? In fact, there is so much to gain: It reduces anxiety, stimulates memories of fun-filled days, activates the brain’s pleasure circuits, regulates mood, and improves body image, just to name a few. Many people not even aware of ‘dance-therapy’ call this dance itself their “therapy.”
Apparently, there are two dance levels known as Basic and Mainstream. I expect we won’t get beyond the Basic one.
