September 9th the Quinte Twirlers started up again. It was almost like a family reunion, seeing all these people again after a long summer break.
We had members of our club and the Napanee club come out for the first dance, however, numbers were low. We still managed to have 3 full squares and a whole lot of fun.
Beginner’s night is coming up on the 16th and we are so hoping to watch our membership list grow. It would be really nice to see at least 5 squares every week.
The Napanee club started up on the 8th, we missed their first night. Just so much going on this month.
When I was young, September was good because it meant the fair was coming, but it was bad because I had to go back to school. Now at this age September is good all around; the fair is on, my kid goes back to school and we start dancing again.
Until next time…… Yellow Rock to All……
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Summer is coming to an end…..
Here in south central Ontario we had a good old fashion summer. Nice cool evenings and warm days. It was a very enjoyable summer. However, it still would have been too hot for me to go square dancing. But we did…..
In July we headed north to the Tweed Fair….. It was a nice cool Thursday evening and we danced on the pavement behind the ferris wheel. We had a small crowd, however, it was the first night of the fair and there really weren’t a lot of people around. We had enough people for one square and once we brought in some people from the crowd, we soon had 2 squares going. It was nice to see some familiar faces we hadn’t seen for a couple of months.
The following week we headed north again to Actinolite to dance with the Merry Mixers Club. They are far more advanced than we are at this point, but the members were patient and willing to help us learn the new moves. We had a lot of fun and they invited us back in August for their next summer dance.
In August, however, we had invitations to go out to two separate events on the same night. We had planned to go back to Actinolite, but it had been a very hot week, and we were sure the little hall would be very hot and sticky. We also received an invitation from the Napanee Pioneer Square Dancing Club to attend a corn roast at the home of one of their members. We decided to head for Napanee, very glad we did, and we got a chance to see many people we had seen since May. We also had a very good time.
There is only a bit more than a week left before we get back to dancing. September 9th we had our first meeting of the Quinte Twirlers Square and Round Dancing Club. We can’t wait to get the dancing shoes out…. Yellow Rock to ya all!
In July we headed north to the Tweed Fair….. It was a nice cool Thursday evening and we danced on the pavement behind the ferris wheel. We had a small crowd, however, it was the first night of the fair and there really weren’t a lot of people around. We had enough people for one square and once we brought in some people from the crowd, we soon had 2 squares going. It was nice to see some familiar faces we hadn’t seen for a couple of months.
The following week we headed north again to Actinolite to dance with the Merry Mixers Club. They are far more advanced than we are at this point, but the members were patient and willing to help us learn the new moves. We had a lot of fun and they invited us back in August for their next summer dance.
In August, however, we had invitations to go out to two separate events on the same night. We had planned to go back to Actinolite, but it had been a very hot week, and we were sure the little hall would be very hot and sticky. We also received an invitation from the Napanee Pioneer Square Dancing Club to attend a corn roast at the home of one of their members. We decided to head for Napanee, very glad we did, and we got a chance to see many people we had seen since May. We also had a very good time.
There is only a bit more than a week left before we get back to dancing. September 9th we had our first meeting of the Quinte Twirlers Square and Round Dancing Club. We can’t wait to get the dancing shoes out…. Yellow Rock to ya all!
Friday, July 31, 2009
We Graduated....
By the time December came around we beginners had learned all of the moves considered Basic. The last dance of 2008 started off with a catered dinner with loads of delicious desserts, then we danced it all off.
We started up again shortly after the new year, that is when the snow let up long enough for our caller to make the trip down. In January we started learning what they call Mainstream moves. I had picked up a crinoline second hand and was anxious to make a skirt.
My sister (the sewer) helped me with a 1950's circle skirt that worked out great with my crinoline. We signed up for a big dance in Peterborough.
I got to wear my skirt and crinoline, we had a blast. There were so many dancers there from all over Ontario and at all different levels. We learned a lot and met a lot of people. We talked about that day to anyone that would listen.
A week later we graduated. At the beginning of the year there were 13 new people who signed up to the club. By time our graduation rolled around we were down to 7. It really isn't that hard to learn, but its not for everyone.
Really, you will never know until you try. My hubby said "no way, never, will I square dance". Now he is ready to blow off his baseball game just to get out and dance for a night.... I love it!
Our dancing season soon ended. We hosted the annual Apple Blossom Dance, now in it's 31st year, also we had our last dance with a catered dinner and a guest caller.
The only sad thing about square dancing is it ends for the summer...... well, sort of.....
We started up again shortly after the new year, that is when the snow let up long enough for our caller to make the trip down. In January we started learning what they call Mainstream moves. I had picked up a crinoline second hand and was anxious to make a skirt.
My sister (the sewer) helped me with a 1950's circle skirt that worked out great with my crinoline. We signed up for a big dance in Peterborough.
I got to wear my skirt and crinoline, we had a blast. There were so many dancers there from all over Ontario and at all different levels. We learned a lot and met a lot of people. We talked about that day to anyone that would listen.
A week later we graduated. At the beginning of the year there were 13 new people who signed up to the club. By time our graduation rolled around we were down to 7. It really isn't that hard to learn, but its not for everyone.
Really, you will never know until you try. My hubby said "no way, never, will I square dance". Now he is ready to blow off his baseball game just to get out and dance for a night.... I love it!
Our dancing season soon ended. We hosted the annual Apple Blossom Dance, now in it's 31st year, also we had our last dance with a catered dinner and a guest caller.
The only sad thing about square dancing is it ends for the summer...... well, sort of.....
Friday, May 29, 2009
Learning with the Quinte Twirlers
We started our Wednesday evenings with a quick dinner and headed for Thurlow Township Hall by 7:00pm for our Square Dancing lessons. Wayne, the caller is a wonderful teacher and takes us through each move slowly until we get it. The advanced dancers join in with us the help us learn the moves and everyone has a great time.
This was turning out to be the best $12 a week we have ever spent. We had a month to decide if we wanted to join and pay the yearly dues which included Square Dancing Insurance.... we gave it a month and were eager to sign up at that time. Everyone was so happy and patient with us new people. I don't think I have ever felt so welcome at a function ever...
Soon I started to feel like I had more energy during the day and more limber than I had been in years. It is a great workout and it doesn't even feel like one. Halloween was such a blast we had people in costume and people not, we had treats and prizes for the costumes.
If you want to meet great people, go Square Dancing!
This was turning out to be the best $12 a week we have ever spent. We had a month to decide if we wanted to join and pay the yearly dues which included Square Dancing Insurance.... we gave it a month and were eager to sign up at that time. Everyone was so happy and patient with us new people. I don't think I have ever felt so welcome at a function ever...
Soon I started to feel like I had more energy during the day and more limber than I had been in years. It is a great workout and it doesn't even feel like one. Halloween was such a blast we had people in costume and people not, we had treats and prizes for the costumes.
If you want to meet great people, go Square Dancing!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Beginning......
When a friend asked my husband and I to come out Square Dancing last year I really never thought he would go. That first visit changed our lives. We attended a night with the Quinte Twirlers dance club. The caller went through step by step moves of the basics to get us up and dancing. We watched as the members of this club danced more advanced sets and we were treated like we had always been a part of this. Never like outsiders intruding on their space. We decided we would go back in the fall and give it another try. This was Modern Square Dance, it usually involves constant learning.
A few weeks later, group in Prince Edward County were having an Old Time Square Dance at the Allisonville Hall. We decided to check it out. It was totally different. The moves were similar; however the way they carried them out was different. The caller was calling with a live band backing him rather than a record player. The atmosphere and the people were the same, very friendly and a lot of fun.
We went back to the Quinte Twirlers in the fall and joined the club. It is a very inexpensive hobby to have. Our goal was to graduate from the Basic and Mainstream levels to Plus. We found that no matter what was going on in our lives at the time, it was all forgotten once we hit the dance floor. Our Square Dancing exercised our bodies and our minds; it even worked for stress relief.
We are very thankful to that friend who invited us out that night a year ago.
A few weeks later, group in Prince Edward County were having an Old Time Square Dance at the Allisonville Hall. We decided to check it out. It was totally different. The moves were similar; however the way they carried them out was different. The caller was calling with a live band backing him rather than a record player. The atmosphere and the people were the same, very friendly and a lot of fun.
We went back to the Quinte Twirlers in the fall and joined the club. It is a very inexpensive hobby to have. Our goal was to graduate from the Basic and Mainstream levels to Plus. We found that no matter what was going on in our lives at the time, it was all forgotten once we hit the dance floor. Our Square Dancing exercised our bodies and our minds; it even worked for stress relief.
We are very thankful to that friend who invited us out that night a year ago.
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