blue spirit region news letter€¦ · · 2016-01-06schedule and info half-way dance fun dancing...

KENTUCKY FEDERATION OF SQUARE DANCING INC

BLUE SPIRIT REGION NEWS LETTER

WWW.SQUAREDANCEKY.COM

Volume 9 Issue 1 January, February, March 2016

Inside This Issue:

Message from the KFSD

President

Message from the Blue

Spirit Region President

Message from the Editor

Insurance Reminder

Regional club dance

Schedule and info

Half-Way Dance Fun

Dancing In the New

Year

Square Dancing: A

Swinging History

The 2nd annual Square and Round dancers’ Christmas Ban-

quet was another great hit. This years party was hosted by a

committee of multiple people led by Ted and Cissie Litt. Many

donations were provided by local businesses for door prizes.

There were games played, half and half sold, and a slide show

playing while dinner was being eaten. The slide show repre-

sented many present dancers as well as those we have lost

during 2015. There was plentiful food and desserts for over 80

dancers to enjoy. A great big thank you to all for the food and

toy donations. These will be taken to the Garrard Co. Food

Pantry. They are associated with the Lexington food pantry but

are one of the lowest funded pantries in the state of Kentucky.

Often the folks who run the pantry supplement some needy

families out of their own pockets, so any and all donations are

greatly appreciated. If there is anyone who thinks they would

like to host the Christmas Dinner next year, please contact

Mark Patterson. The Half and Half sold at this years dinner will

be utilized to start a fund for next years committee to use as

they see fit. Thanks again to all who came out to support and

enjoy a wonderful evening of food, fun, and fellowship.

2015 Christmas Banquet

Happy New Year,

The square dance world is everywhere and you never know when you will meet

fellow square dancers. On our recent trip, we were seated at dinner with a couple

from Canada and during the conversation they mentioned an upcoming dance they

were going to attend. We soon realized they were talking about a square dance.

You can imagine we had a lot to talk about from that point forward. They were

lovely and we have emailed each other since our return. We hope to see them across a square one of

these days.

There will be some great opportunities to dance in the New Year—the weekend at General Butler State

Park with four great callers, the dance at Jabez, as well as the monthly dances at the various clubs. If

you are inclined to travel, Winterfest in Lakeland, Florida is the last weekend in January. I think there are

a few from Kentucky going down for it. It is a great dance. So, there is no reason not to get out and en-

joy square dancing. We will see you across the square.

George and Margaret Scott

[email protected] or 859-236-4050

Greetings from the K.F.S.D. President, Sharon Morgan

Rick and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. We would like to say thank you for electing us as your President of the K.F.S.D. With every-one’s help we hope to make this a successful and prosperous year.

Thanks to Jerry and Donna for their hard work this past year. Through their hard work and efforts we had a successful year. They are great ambassadors for our Federation and

the state of Kentucky.

Thanks to everyone that attended the Executive Board Meeting at the KFSD Convention. Welcome to our new Officers, Vice President Claudette Raymer, Secretary Debbie and Bob Wright, returning Treasurer Phillis Tomes and Parliamentarian Jim Tomes.

Thanks to everyone who support KFSD, if you bought a split the pot ticket, took a chance on a bas-ket, donated or bought square dance clothes, bought a ribbon or volunteered your time, you supported your Federation. This is your Federation, if you have any ideas, suggestions or thoughts, let us know.

A special thanks from Rick to everyone that helped lay, tape, take up and load the dance floor. It is quite a chore and could not be done without all the help, thanks again.

There are many upcoming dances, so let’s try to get all new students to go to one or more dance. Once again Happy Holidays to all and hope to see you at a dance soon.

Best Wishes,

Sharon and Rick Morgan

Message from the KFSD President

Message from the Blue Spirit Region President

Insurance Reminder

Thanks to all the clubs that got the insurance enrollment forms into me by the end of October. Most of

the certificates have been forwarded via email to the club officer who sent the initial information to me. If

you have not received it, please let me know. Keep in mind that any time your club does not dance at

their regular location and/or regular day and time that Markel Insurance Co has on file, the club must

submit a Request for Certificate for the change. Otherwise the club does not have liability coverage for

that dance. So, make sure you send in the Certificate Request. Check with the Insurance Coordinator of

the association you have the insurance through for the lead time needed. Don't wait until the last minute.

It takes time to get the certificates from USDA and the insurance company. To make life easy you can

just email the Certificate Requests to me ([email protected]). I don’t need two copies. Call

Margaret Scott at 859-236-4050 with any questions.

Another year has flown by, one set of new dancers have graduated and another set of lessons

for beginners have begun. Hopefully angels are doing there best to guide their new club mem-

bers in the right directions of having fun while making new friendships along the way. Gradua-

tions will be coming up in March which is always an exciting time. New graduates can get out

and strut their stuff. Keep an eye out for used clothing being sold. For those who like to wear

square dance attire this is a great way to get great clothes at an extremely affordable price.

There will also be upcoming weekends to attend. Check out the flyer page so you don’t miss

your chance to participate. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and may all your resolutions

happen in 2016. Hope to see you across the square somewhere soon.

Katie

Message from the Editor

mailto:[email protected]

Swing your partner and do-si-do—November 29 is Square Dance Day in the United States. Didn’t know

this folksy form of entertainment had a holiday all its own? Then it’s probably time you learned a few things

about square dancing, a tradition that blossomed in the United States but has roots that stretch back to

15th-century Europe.

Square Dancing: A Swinging History November 29, 2011 By History.com Staff

Square dance aficionados trace the activity back to several European ancestors. In England around 1600, teams of six trained performers—all male, for propriety’s sake, and wearing bells for extra oomph—began presenting choreographed sequences known as the morris dance. This fad is thought to have inspired English country dance, in which couples lined up on village greens to practice weaving, circling and swinging moves reminiscent of modern-day square dancing. Over on the continent, mean-while, 18th-century French couples were arranging themselves in squares for social dances such as the quadrille and the cotillion. Folk dances in Scotland, Scandinavia and Spain are also thought to have in-fluenced square dancing.

When Europeans began settling England’s 13 North American colonies, they brought both folk and pop-ular dance traditions with them. French dancing styles in particular came into favor in the years following the American Revolution, when many former colonists snubbed all things British. A number of the terms used in modern square dancing come from France, including “promenade,” “allemande” and the indis-pensable “do-si-do”—a corruption of “dos-à-dos,” meaning “back-to-back.”

http://www.history.com/news/author/editor

As the United States grew and diversified, new generations stopped practicing the social dances their grandparents had enjoyed across the Atlantic. This was not the case in every region, however. Similar to English country dance and the quadrille, the “running set” caught on in 19th-century Appalachia. But in-stead of memorizing each and every step, participants began relying on callers to provide cues—and, as square dance calling became an art form in its own right, humor and entertainment. During the early years of square dance in the United States, live music was often played by African-American musicians. Blacks also worked as callers and contributed their own steps and songs to the tradition.

By the late 19th century, waltzes and polkas, which allowed couples to get close without raising too many eyebrows, had supplanted group-based dances in urban ballrooms. Even in the country, square dancing was beginning to seem dated, particularly when the jazz and swing eras dawned. In the 1920s automak-er Henry Ford resolved to revive the tradition, which he considered an excellent form of exercise and a way to acquire genteel manners. He hired dancing master Benjamin Lovett to develop a national pro-gram, required his factory workers to attend classes, opened ballrooms and produced instructive radio broadcasts for schools throughout the country. Lloyd Shaw, a folk dance teacher, took up the cause in the 1930s, writing books about the rescued art of square dancing and holding seminars for a new gener-ation of square dance callers.

In the 1950s callers began developing standards for square dancing across the United States, allowing

dancers to learn interchangeable routines and patterns. Microphones and records made the activity even

more accessible to the general public, since a highly trained caller with a booming voice no longer had to

be physically present. Along with standardized—or “Western”—square dancing, unregulated regional

styles, known collectively as “traditional” square dancing, continue to thrive in certain parts of the country.

Generally speaking, however, enthusiasm for all forms of this European-American hybrid has floundered

in recent decades, according to the United Square Dancers of America.

Square Dance Ballet

The New York City Ballet Company was the first to offer Square Dance in a ballet, in 1957. In this original version, the musicians were

placed on stage and a square dancer called out the steps. In 1976, the ballet was revived, with musicians placed in the pit and there was

no caller (a male dancer improvised the caller). Other ballet companies have since performed the program (Miami and San Francisco).

Anywhere you go in the world, Modern Square Dancing is called in the English language.

Healthful Exercise

It's true, you can get your much needed exercise and have fun at the same time by square dancing. In one study, researchers attached

pedometers to square dancers and found each person covered over four miles in a single evening. You can burn calories, strengthen

bones, achieve cardiovascular conditioning and it is fun-time to socialize.

History Channel Staff (Nov. 29, 2011)

Square Dancing: A Swinging History

Retrieved from: http://history.com/news/square-dancing-a-swinging-history

Fun Facts

Referenced in Part: New Square Dancer Information

http://www.happytimesquares.com/html_pages/new_dancer/new-fun_facts.html

Half Way Dance Fun

Dancing in the New Year!

Up coming event flyers

Bachelor & Bachelorettes (B&Bs) St Michael's Episcopal Church

2025 Bellefonte Drive, Lexington, KY 1st Saturday Pres: Henry Sowers

8:00 p.m.-10:30p.m. 859-863-4344

* Advance 7:00p.m.

DATE: CALLER: CUER/LEADER: REMARKS:

Jan. 2, 2016 Mark Patterson* Charlene Mann

Feb. 6, 2016 Mark Patterson* Charlene Mann

March 5, 2016 Pamela Courts* Charlene Mann

Constitution Squares Danville Senior Center

569 Jean Drive, Danville, KY 3rd Saturday Pres: Jim & Geneva Wash

Food 7:00pm 859-236-1996

Dance 7:30p.m.-10:00p.m. [email protected]


Jan. 16, 2016 Travis Cook

Feb. 20, 2016 Charlie Wheatley

March 19, 2016 Mark Patterson Graduation

Bluegrass Motivators (Advance) Odd Fellows Hall

1108 Winchester Rd., Lexington, KY

2nd & 4th Mark Patterson

Sundays 859-333-9587

3p.m.-5p.m.


Jan. 10, 2016 Mark Patterson

Jan. 24, 2016 Mark Patterson Cancelled Cancelled

Feb. 14, 2016 Mark Patterson


March 13, 2016 Mark Patterson

March 27, 2016 Mark Patterson Cancelled Cancelled

Do Si Do's Hunter Presbyterian Church

109 Rosemont Garden Lexington, KY

2nd & 4th Fridays Pres: Kathie Kok

8:00p.m.-10:30p.m. 859-806-6559

[email protected]


Jan. 8, 2016 Travis Cook

Jan. 22, 2016 Cancelled General Butler Weekend

Jan. 29, 2016 Kristy Williams

Feb. 12, 2016 Mark Patterson/Rein Nabar Half-way dance

Feb. 26, 2016 Roger Steele

March 11, 2016 TBA

March 25, 2016 Mark Patterson/Rein Nabar Graduation Dance


Fort Logan Pioneers Habitat Building

4160 US Hwy 27 South, Stanford, KY

4th Saturday President Jerry Bailey Jr.

7:00 – 7:30 Meal (859) 410-4556

7:30 – 10:00 pm [email protected]


Jan. 30, 2016 Les Centers

Feb. 27, 2016 Rein Nabar


Down Under Squares 1108 Winchester Road

Lexington, KY

2nd Saturday Pres: Bill & Patty Morris

8:00p.m.-10:30p.m.

*Advance 7:00pm [email protected]


Jan. 9, 2016 Mark Patterson*

Feb. 13, 2016 Mark Patterson*

March 12, 2016 Mark Patterson*

Lake Cumberland Squares Rocky Hollow Park

142 South Central Avenue, Somerset, KY

1st Saturday President: Jim Beckner

Food 7:00-7:30p.m. 270-585-2509

7:30p.m.-10:00p.m. [email protected]


Jan. 2, 2016 Winford Cummiins

Feb. 6, 2016 Travis Cook


Hill Country Dancers

Pikeville, KY


Disclaimer

Please call and confirm if you are not sure. Times/Dates/Callers are subject to error/change.

Wheeler Dealers Springdale Baptist Church

1380 Higbee Mill Rd Lexington, KY

1st and 3rd Fridays monthly

Pres: Bob & Wanda Wagner

8:00pm-10:30pm (859) 272-4769

[email protected]


Jan. 1 2016 Cancelled

Jan. 15, 2016 Mark Patterson

Feb. 5, 2016 Les Centers



March 18, 2016 Les Centers

Triple Stars (Advance) Court House Annex Building

103 South Broad Street, London, KY

1st & 3rd Tuesdays Pres: Doris Pitts

7:00-9:00pm

[email protected]


Somer-Sets Rocky Hollow Park

142 South Central Avenue, Somerset, KY

2nd Saturday Pres:

Dance 7:00pm-9:00pm


Disclaimer

Please call and confirm if you are not sure. Times/Dates/Callers are subject to error/change.



Rhythm Rounds Tates Creek Recreation Center

1400 Gainsway Drive Lexington, KY Pres: Jim & Patti Johnson

Every Wednesday

Workshop 7pm 859-278-5759

Dance 8-10pm [email protected]


Jan. 27 2016 Glenn Kelley

Feb. 3, 2016 Glenn Kelley




March 2, 2016 Glenn Kelley






blue spirit region news letter€¦ · · 2016-01-06schedule and info half-way dance fun dancing...

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