Mark's Notebook

Club of the week: Bows and Beaus

Bows and Beaus is a large club that meets in Palo Alto. Although it began as a singles club, today it is fairly evenly divided between singles and couples. Both singles and couples are welcome.

Club History

The club started in 1963. The original caller, Jerry denBroeder, gathered some folks in the carport at his apartment house so he could practice calling. Later the group arranged for the club to dance in Mountain View public schools. The club continued to dance in the Whisman School District until this year when it moved to the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto.

Club callers include:

• Jerry denBroeder (1963-1979)
• Honey Wolfson (1979-1982)
• Doug Saunders (1983-1984)
• Don Lewis (1984-1987)
• Keith Ferguson (1987-present)

The club has bbout 90 members, almost all of which are "active." They generally have about 6-7 squares dancing on a club dance night.

In 1987, when present caller Keith Ferguson took the reins, the club had about 18 members. Even with the growth of the club from 18 members in 1987 to its present size it has always strived to maintain a friendly atmosphere. Keith has been voted one of the Top Ten callers by members of the SCVSDA and especially enjoys teaching newer dancers.

Beginner Classes

The club holds a beginner class every year. This year they are using the "multi-cycle" approach: one class started last January and another will start on May 2. They welcome both singles and couples. The class is held on a separate night than the club so more time is available. The class always gets excellent support from the club members.

Keith says "Beginner classes are absolutely essential to the health of a club! The continuous stream of new dancers is vital to the enthusiasm of the club.

"We teach our classes using the LISST method, which interleaves the Mainstream and Plus calls giving dancers more experience with the type of dancing actually encountered in the real world -- the more frequently used and more complex calls are taught earlier so our graduates can really hit the road running."

Activities

The club sponsors the Ice Cream Fling Thing every year. They also sponsor one or two newer dancer hoedowns each year and the club has many other social events for its members. They invite former members to a special Alumni Night every February.

This year, they sponsor the upcoming January class level newer dancer hoedown to be held on April 2, 2005 at John Muir School in San Jose.

The second Wednesday of each month is party night. The third Wednesday is fun night with a special theme -- those participating in the theme (announced in the newsletter) are eligible for a mystery gift drawing. The club also participates in Fifth Wednesday parties with other Wednesday clubs.

The club is really focused on dancing! Breaks between tips are short, and squares often form even before the caller gets back to the stage! Very few folks sit out during the tips -- people come to dance.

One of the "secrets" of the club's success is that each evening starts with a half hour workshop. The caller believes that a distinguishing feature of Western Square Dancing is that it exercises both the mind and the body, and that there is always something new to learn! These workshops may review Extended Applications (APD), introduce experimental calls or unusual uses of existing calls, or show concepts the caller feels will expand the understanding and enjoyment of square dancing.

Bows and Beaus has a web site:
www.bowsandbeaus.org

Here is more information about the upcoming newer dancer hoedown and other newer dancer hoedowns:
www.mixed-up.com/square/newer.html

Articles

Last updated Tuesday 13 May 2008