About Hoedowns

by Bill van Melle, January 15, 1995 and March 5, 1995

As we mentioned before, now is a good time for you to start thinking about going to hoedowns. Since you soon will have learned all the calls on the list, you have a wide range of choices. In the coming month there are hoedowns all the way from very easy (the "January Class Level" dance on the 23rd) to full Plus. If going to a full Plus hoedown seems scary to you, just remember such hoedowns are a lot easier than this APD Plus class, on two counts: the calling is easier, and the hall is full of people who have been dancing a lot longer than you have.

A note about Plus hoedowns: You are generally expected to appear in square dance attire. Recall that this means at the minimum long-sleeved shirts for men, and something resembling either a real square dance dress and petticoat or a "prairie skirt" for women.

Out in the real world, you'll probably be happiest if you bring along a partner; if it turns out there are lots of singles at the dance, then you can still have fun changing partners every tip, but if not, then you aren't stranded. Bear in mind that if you do dance as a single, conventional behavior (in the straight community) is to round up a partner before you attempt to square up. You might want to try practicing that here in class to get used to the idea.

Most Plus hoedowns include Round Dancing between tips, and usually start with a solid half hour of it (known as "pre-rounds"). Round Dancing might be considered cued ballroom dance. It might seem to have little to do with square dancing (other than both being a form of dance), but what do we know? If it looks interesting to you, maybe we could convince a certain round dance cuer in our midst to teach us a few moves.

Last updated Wednesday 8 August 2007