Rhody O's Square Dance lessons begin Sept. 8

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Since 1979, Rhody O's Square Dance Club has brought people together for fun, friendship, and exercise of body and mind.

"Square dancing is fun and friendship set to music," said Priscilla Cooper, who, with her husband, Steve, has been square dancing since the 1980s.

Rhody O's offers a series of lessons each fall. A free introduction to square dancing and ice cream social begins at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8 at the Gardiner Community Center at 980 Old Schoolhouse Road and U.S. Highway 101, Gardiner. Couples and singles are welcome, and families are especially encouraged to attend.

"Kids pick it up so fast," said Dave Johnson, the current president of Rhody O's. Becoming proficient takes some commitment; after several months of Tuesday-evening lessons, dancers graduate in March knowing the 64 distinct steps required to be a "mainstream" square dancer. The next level, "plus," adds another set of moves. Mainstream dances ($5 admission fee) take place every Tuesday evening throughout the year. "Plus" dancers meet on Thursdays, and for an even greater challenge, dancers can learn 84 additional moves to dance at the A level. The "A team" dances on Tuesday afternoons, and some of those experienced dancers – known as Angels – stick around to help the beginners on Tuesday evenings.

"It's really just plain designed for fun," Johnson said. "It's all teamwork and fun." And dancing has been proven to help ward off Alzheimer's disease, he added; dancers must learn complex movements, then remember them by name and execute the moves when instructed to do so by a caller. The moves have names like "wheel and deal," "spin the top," "Ferris wheel" and the 36-beat "grand square."

At Rhody O's, the caller is Spike Reid, who comes from Bremerton and plays prerecorded music on 45-rpm records broadcast over the venue's sound system. Using a microphone, he calls, and sings, instructions for the dancers. Reid is in his late 70s and is "pretty much old-school," said Steve Cooper.

Square dancing is so named because people dance in "square" formations composed of eight people, and begins with one couple on each side of the square. The music is in 4/4 time, and steps move each person around, weaving in and out among one another.

Rhody O's is smoke-free, alcohol-free and intergenerational; there are dancers of all ages. Some of the older dancers wear a "Do not twirl" badge alerting other dancers to take it easy; some have shoulder problems.

A young lady named Daisy Worrell joined Rhody O's because she saw a sign posted, thought it would be fun and, like many others, got hooked.

"I saw signs advertising lessons, and decided to give it a try," she said, "and it turned out really well for me."

She likes square dancing because it's much less intimidating than other types of dance, such as ballroom dancing, she said. "People who may not be into dancing one on one should give it a try." Because of the fun challenge of remembering and executing the various steps, "it's almost like a game." In August, Worrell attended the USA West square dance convention in Helena, Montana, which drew about 600 people.

Several Rhody O's members also spend a lot of time at Circle 8 Ranch in Cle Elum, Washington, where classes and dances are offered daily all summer.

Learn the steps this fall with the Rhody O's. "You need to be able to count to four, and know right from left," said Johnson.

Dancers often bring refreshments to share, and the community welcomes newcomers.

"My wife and I joined when I retired," Johnson said. "I thought I was going to hate square dancing. I fell in love with it."

Steve Cooper said, "The hardest thing at the beginning is to learn how to hold hands lightly. New dancers tend to hold on for dear life."

The Rhody O's stage a big dance each winter: the Midwinter Blues Chaser, scheduled for February this year at Erickson Hall at Jefferson County Fairgrounds, a building constructed for square dancers in the ’80s, Steve Cooper.

Rhody O's dances take place each Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., and cost $5. The evenings begin at 6:30 p.m. with rounds, a style of dance that doesn't require eight people to form a whole square. Rounds workshops begin at 6:30 p.m. for a $2.50 fee. Plus dances for advanced dancers take place on Thursday evenings, and there are often dances on Friday evenings as well. Call 683-2636 or 379-6918 for information, or stop by the Gardiner Community Center, located at 980 Old Schoolhouse Road and Hwy. 101 in Gardiner.