No problem! Square Dancing is a called dance, which means a “caller” will teach all the steps ahead of each dance, and call them out as you go. You can think of the caller as the MC, or the singer of the band.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how a standard square dance works: 4 couples stand facing each other in a square formation, with each couple on one “edge” of the square.

Within each couple, the person on the Left is the Leader or Lark (L), the person on the right is the follower, or Robin (R). Each member maintains their respective role throughout the dance (but you can switch throughout the night!).

Most square dances have 2 parts: the “form” and the “break”. The caller will teach the steps in each part before each dance. When the music starts, the caller will prompt the first couple to move through the form, then everyone will do the break together. Then the form starts over with couple 2, and continues until all 4 couples have danced the form, followed by a final break.

No partner? No problem! Everyone is encouraged to dance with everyone else, switch partners, and dance both roles (Lead/Follow, Left/Right, Lark/Robin) throughout the night.

Anyone can ask anyone else to dance.

Square dancing is a Social Dance tradition - you’re meant to meet new people!

Experienced dancers are happy to dance with newcomers. And while a “no” must always be respected, we encourage people to be open to dancing with new people and strangers. After all, strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet!

Us too! We don’t do that here :)

All dances are gender-free. Instead of the traditional “Gents and Ladies” most contemporary square dancers use “Larks and Robins” to identify roles.

This is ultimately much clearer because it also indicates Left and Right. The Lark is always on the Left and the Robin is always on the Right. It also allows people to switch roles throughout the night, and dance in same-gender partnerships without confusion.

If you’re confused, just dance with the person coming at you!

Yes! While we encourage everyone to dance, the ultimate goal is for everyone to have a good time. If that means sitting at the bar and taking in the music and laughter, that’s fine with us!

Just be sure to tip your bartender :)

Whatever you feel comfortable in! You’ll see some people dressed up in western wear, and others wearing their normal street clothes.

You’ll want to wear something you can move freely in, and shoes you can stomp.

Flower City Square Dances are in the Eastern Squares tradition. This means they are community dances that are open to anyone, and no experience is required. All the moves are taught during the dance, and we always dance to live traditional stringband music.

Western or “Club” Squares use many of the same basic steps, but modernize the dances for performance and competition. Western squares are organized into clubs, in which people can take classes and learn forms/figures/steps at different levels. Many modern Western Square clubs dance to pre-recorded music that includes traditional music, contemporary pop music re-arranged for squares.

Western Square dancers wear the fun frilly outfits that come to mind when you imagine a stereotypical square dance. At FCSD you can wear anything you’re comfortable in. If that means fun and frilly, go for it! If that means spandex leggings, that’s cool with us!

—Nerd Alert Below!—

You might also hear of “Southern” and “Northern” squares, which are both part of the Eastern tradition. Northern squares are more like a contra dance, in which the steps are tied to the phrase of the music (you have 8 beats to get to the next step). Southern squares are tied to the beat of the music, but loose on the phrasing (your swing might be 8 beats long, your nighbor’s might be 12, it doesn’t matter as long as you get there eventually). Both sometimes include “singing squares” in which the calls are essentially lyrics to the melody of a fiddle tune, though these are more prevalent in northern squares.

Depending on the caller, you might dance a mix of both northern and southern squares at a FCSD event.

Contra dancing is like the older cousin of square dancing. Contra primarily formed in New England out of the same traditions that eventually became square dancing. They are slightly different dance forms, but share many of the same steps.

Instead of squares, couples form long lines. Each couple moves up and down the lines throughout the course of the dance, allowing everyone to dance together.

Country Dancers of Rochester (CDR) has been holding weekly contra dances on Thursday evenings for 50 years!

We are not officially affiliated, but many FCSD attendees are also regular contra dancers.

FCSD <3 CDR

If you’d like help organizing a square dance for your group, organization, business, or even a private party, we’re happy to help!

Please reach out to us flowercityoldtime(at)gmail(dot)com