Modern Western Square Dance can best be described as Team Pattern Dance. Each "Square" is a team of eight individuals who "dance" dynamic symmetric patterns according to the choreographic programming of a Caller. It is "dance" insofar as there is movement and beauty in the unfolding patterns, but it has been said, "If you can walk, you can Square Dance." The participants may move their feet to the rhythm of the music, according to their own desires and ability, but strictly speaking, the only requirement is that dancers hear, comprehend, and execute the called instructions in teamwork with the other participants and move from one position to the next in the prescribed pattern.
While there is definitely a component of bodily exercise and kinesthetic enjoyment, Modern Western Square Dance is mostly an intellectual activity.
My name is Christopher Schlitter. I am a Square Dance Caller, Instructor, and Dancer in nearby south Raleigh. There are other, very successful and accomplished Square Dance clubs at other notable universities, and I believe NC State is ripe for such a club.
However, there is a chicken and egg problem. In order to have a campus Square Dance club, you need at least eight like-minded students, and those students would need an Instructor and Caller. Because I am the latter, and in order to find the former, I decided to seed the effort with the classified ad you found in your student newspaper. Using a currently unused domain name, I threw together this simple little contact website. If enough students and their recruited friends respond and desire to take the next step, then this plan can come to fruition. It'll be a lot of fun.
Let's start a NC State Square Dance Club! Call or email me now!
