GROUND RULES FOR
SQUARE DANCING

I. BE ON TIME FOR CLUB AND CLASSES: In square dancing, one late couple or person may mean that three other couples or seven people must sit out. In planning an evening's program, the caller leans heavily on the first and last tips to pace his dance.

II. DON'T LEAVE EARLY: By leaving early, you are telling the other dancers and caller that you did not have a good time at the dance. The "wind-down" tip is just as important as the first or middle tips. Plan to spend the complete evening when you come.

lll. BE A THOUGHTFUL DANCER: Personal cleanliness is important in square dancing. Use your DEODORANT. Don't forget to use something to sweeten your breath (mouth wash, chewing gum, etc.). Don't drink. Your coordination must be at its very best.

lV. GET INTO SQUARES QUICKLY: When the caller announces to square your sets, join the square nearest to you that needs a couple. If you are looking for a square, raise your hand as you move across the floor. If your square is not full, raise your hand with as many fingers extended as couples are needed. If two or three couples are squared up and do not have a hand up, it indicates that they are waiting for someone who has promised to dance with them. Do not try to square up with them without asking. Do not arrange squares more than once in an evening. It is best not arrange a square at all. Do not get on the floor and expect the caller to find you a partner.

V. BE A GOOD LISTENER: Talking during the course of square dancing is distracting to you and especially others. It makes it difficult for others in the square to "catch" the instructions and hear the music. Remember there is room for only one teacher at a time. You can help others best by being in the corret place at the correct time. Pointing or a hand motion is always the better way to direct someone that is going in the wrong direction.

Vl. BE A COURTEOUS DANCER: Always introduce yourself and your partner to others in the square if you don't know them. Thank them for dancing with you after the tip. Don't use extra twirls and kicks that interfere with others in our square. It is considered "bad manners" to pass a square needing dancers in order to fill another.

Even more important, beware of the unpardonable sin: never leave a square once you have joined it until the tip is over. If you must leave in an emergency, try to fill your spot with a substitute. By all means, tell the others why you must leave.

Vll. BE A COOPERATIVE DANCER: It might be said that square dancing is an activity where everyone is responsible for everyone else's happiness. A square is not made up of eight individuals working independently, but rather in one unit with no individual person attempting to show off or be a star. The real pleasure comes when each person does his share making the square run smoothly.

Vlll. TAKE IT EASY: Don't overdo. Square dancing can be strenuous exercise. If you are too tired to dance, sit out. It is usually best to remove yourself from the hall or to the rest room--not the coffee room. Sometimes you can learn a great deal just by watching and listening. Be considerate. If another dancer is watching and listening, don't insist upon talking. Square dancing is a social event but not a place to socialize during tips or rounds even if you are not dancing.

IX. BE A FRIENDLY DANCER: "Friendship is square dancing's greatest reward." Take the opportunity to get acquainted with others in the square. Make it a point to dance with as many different dancers as possible each evening. It has been said that "Square dancing is friendship set to music."

X. ENJOY YOURSELF--HAVE FUN: Come to the dance expecting to have a good time and you'll have it. Come to the dance with the attitude that it is the caller's job or someone else's job to show you a good time and chances are you will have a poor evening. When you applaud at the end of a tip, you are thanking the caller and the other dancers in your square, but you are applauding yourself also for a good job well done.
 

I. Thou shalt square dance only for the fun which thee will find in it.

II. Thou shall not be a snob considering thyself too good to dance with any and all sitting out the mixers, or leaving a square lest thou be required to dance with those whom thou deemest unworthy of thy talents, for the gods of retribution are zealous gods, and will visit their mischief upon thee. and thou wilt be the one to goof the square.

III. Thou shalt be exuberant. but shalt act thy age. Do not offend others by thy high flung legs, and outflared skirts.

IV. Thou shalt go abroad and dance with other callers so thy opinions expressed as to merit of this one and that one are based on fact.

V. Thou shalt not let the stranger in thy midst sit on the sidelines and cool his heels, nor fail to speak to him.

VI. Thou shalt bathe diligently that the sweet aroma of soap and shaving lotion may assail the nostrils of thy associates.

VII. Thou shalt take care that the words of thy mouth are not scented with garlic or beer.

VIII. Thou shalt honor thy club and give thy loyalty, for if thou cants not do this, it were better to separate thyselt from it and join thyself to another whose methods, members and callers are more to thy liking.

IX. Thou shalt not kill thy club with bickering and fault finding.

X. Thou shalt not forget that thou were once a beginner.

Copyright © Star Steppers Square Dance Club 2011

Gary McClure, Webmaster