Grab your partner and ... Take lessons
Claxton Country Squares are starting new lessons Monday
KAREN and LLOYD ALLISON
Put on your comfortable shoes, bring a good smile, a willingness to laugh, a willingness to learn.
Yeah … It’s gonna be fun.
It’s called square dancing and it’s way more than do-si-dos and allemande lefts.
“There are so many benefits,” Lloyd Allison, past president of Claxton Country Squares Club, said.
“But fun is the first part.”
The health benefits alone are enough to get your attention, but the fun and social aspects of square dancing are usually what people remember.
Take Lloyd and his wife, Karen. They’ve been dancing for 10 years and their enthusiasm is a force of its own.
What makes square dancing? What makes it so …?
“It’s like a family,” Lloyd said. “You care for one another. These are some of the best people in the world.”
“Once you get into it it’s addicting” Karen Allison said. “It’s a reprieve from life’s problems for two hours."
It’s also a confidence builder because the instructions go at just the right pace and once you’ve learned the calls you’re part of a larger network.
“Once you you’ve learned the calls you can go to any club and take part in a dance,” Lloyd said.
The Claxton Country Squares have been blessed with good callers starting with Bob Tonkin more than 30 years ago.
Ron Schneider, the current caller, is the new caller but has been calling for many years and is also a National Caller.
“He has an instinct. If he sees the energy level slowing down he picks it up with humor,” Karen said.
For a health benefit, it’s very non-demanding and it’s not just the physical aspect. It’s also been proven square dancing can help fight Alzheimer’s.
Lloyd tells the story of an 12-year-old autistic child who started going to lessons with his family.
“The child blossomed,” Lloyd said. That twelve year-old autistic child now travels the United States with a choral group singing solos from Indiana.
Claxton Country Squares will begin “Introductions to Square Dancing” from 6:30 – 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18.
This event is free and will also include a hamburger/hotdog cookout dinner.
The course takes 16-18 weeks.
Once someone completes this course they can join the Plus which meets from 6:30 – 7:30 on Mondays
Claxton Country Squares also meet on the first and fourth Saturday each month, for regular square dances.
All dances are held at Claxton Community Center, 1071 Edgemoor Road.
For more information call (865) 551-0255.
