September 1994 was designated as SQUARE DANCE MONTH in New York State!

That’s according to a formal proclamation signed on June 3, 1994, by then—Governor Mario Cuomo and currently on display at The Shoeleather Express in Gloversville, NY.

The New York proclamation explains that “in May 1982, by an Act of Congress, square dancing was designated the national folk dance of the United States.” It goes on to give the following brief portrait of square dancing:

Derived from British and European country dances, modern American Square Dancing has long been part of the social fabric of New York society. Its heritage dates back to the early days of our nation and remains one of the most popular and widely known form(s) of American folk dance.

Square dancing promotes the ideals that the Empire State represents—goodwill, fellowship, and friendliness. Fostering family unity, fun and aerobic style exercise, approximately six million American(s) participate in this activity.

It is appropriate that we honor modern square dancing as a phenomenon which brings people of all ages and backgrounds together in family-oriented endeavors.

Looking up the 1982 Act of Congress yields two main “hits”—The text of the Act itself, Public Law #97-188, and an article explaining its context. The article is too long to even summarize here, but it describes the congressional act as follows:

Sponsored by the late West Virginia senator Robert Byrd, a bill passed by the House and Senate and signed by then-president Ronald Reagan declared square dancing the national folk dance of the US for the years 1982 and 1993. The bill praised square dancing because “the American people value the display of etiquette among men and women which is a major element of square dancing,” and as a “traditional form of family recreation” that “dissolves arbitrary social distinctions.”

Official recognition of square dancing is also found in other formats. A website called nationaltoday.com, identifies November 29, 2024, as “National Square Dancing Day” and explains it as follows:

National Square Dancing Day is celebrated on November 29 every year in the United States to honor the square dance form of folk dancing. This enjoyable, healthful, and simple kind of dancing with a lengthy history deserves its festival, and it has roots in traditional English, Irish, and Scottish folk dance.

A search of the Promenader archives reveals that the article you are reading is not our first mention of Square Dance Month.

In the May 1984 issue, the “Legacy” column announces expansion of “Square Dance Week” from the third week of September to the whole month. The September 1985 issue carries the transcribed text of Governor Mario Cuomo’s official proclamation of September as Square Dance Month in New York State. Its description is interesting in its differences from the later 1994 version above:

Square dancing has long been a part of the social fabric of our society in New York State.

Currently, thousands of dancers in more than 500 western square dance clubs across our great state enjoy regular, healthy, wholesome physical exercise and social contact through this activity.

Encouragement and continuation of square dancing also helps preserve our unique American heritage as the familiar caller’s cry of “square your sets, honor your partners and dosey doe” ring out in dance halls everywhere.

It is entirely appropriate that we honor modern square dancing as a phenomenon which brings together people of all ages and backgrounds in (a) family-oriented activity.

Twenty years later, the June 2005 Promenader carried the following “News Flash:”

On May 7 (2005), at Dance-O-Rama, Bob and Lou Stevens announced that they had just received confirmation that Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has declared September to be Square Dancing Month in Rochester.

As past presidents of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dance Clubs (predecessor to today’s WNYF), and then-chairpersons of Dance-O-Rama, Bob and Lou Stevens were instrumental in bringing about the Rochester designation.

The full story of square dancing and its on-again-off-again official status is much more complicated that we can cover here. As with any cultural element in American history, square dancing embodies a blend of American cultural influences. Anyone interested in delving deeper is encouraged to search the web for “square dancing official folk dance of the United States of America” and follow all the fascinating hits.

Thanks to Jeff and Debbie Blood for inspiration in their August 17 FB post and to Carl Webster for research help in the Promenader archives.

Submitted by Peter Emmel

We really need more dancers to sign up for the next WNYF square dance demo on Sunday, September 8, from 1–2 pm with Mike Callahan calling. The demo will take place during the “Artists Open Market” at Innovation Square—295 East Broad Street—near the base of the former Xerox building. See the accompanying flyer for details including free parking.

This demo is an opportunity to showcase America’s Folk Dance to the Rochester community. We have reached out to a few TV stations and other media about covering this demo. We scheduled this event to help promote September Open House dances and the start-up of classes at several of our clubs.

The purpose of the WNYF is to help our square dancing clubs thrive and grow. That means helping them recruit classes and coach recruits through graduation and membership. We hope you can join us at this demo! All WNYF Club Presidents have received a flyer & sign-up sheet for this demo. With your participation we will make a strong showing.

Interested dancers should contact Debbie & Jeff Blood directly via email dfbjvbhome@aol.com or phone at 585-880-9161. We hope to see you there.

Thanks! Debbie & Jeff

Over 80 dancers enjoyed dancing on June 21 at the WNYF Free Dance held at the VFW in Fairport. Special thanks to our fantastic callers & cuers: Ron Brown, Alice & Gary Bubel, Mike Callahan and Jim Gotta. At this dance, Lucy Pietrzykowski received the Circle of Service Award (see separate article).

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

Anne Granger, WNYF Vice President, is working to arrange for our dancers to order square dance polo shirts again this year. Details are still being worked out, so this is just a heads-up for now.

When prices and colors are settled, a notice with choices and an order blank will be supplied to all club presidents and posted on the Square Dancing Rochester Facebook page.

Submitted by Peter Emmel

A group of over 20 square dancers gathered on August 1 to do a demo at Hope Lodge for a meeting of SPOHNC!

What the heck is SPOHNC? It is a group that provides Support for People with Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer. It is a national organization, and we have a local chapter that meets here at Strong Hospital monthly. I have been a member of this group since recovering from throat cancer in 2006. Most months we have a speaker who addresses a topic of interest to the members. Occasionally we have some entertainment and I worked with the organizers to arrange for this demo.

Hope Lodge is a beautiful facility located on the Colgate Divinity School campus and is basically a Ronald McDonald House for adults. People who live out of town and come to Rochester for surgery and/or treatment are eligible to stay there along with their support person(s).

I invited local dancers to come out and support the group at a demo and was thrilled at the overwhelming response. And it didn’t hurt that I could offer them ice cream—an ice cream truck was provided by Hope Lodge and the SPOHNC group, so everyone was able to have their fill of ice cream! Always welcome on an 88-degree summer day!

Thank you to all the dancers who came to show of our sport/hobby. And a special thank you to Mike Callahan for calling.

I think we recruited a couple new dancers from the SPOHNC group and a couple of dancers who signed up to join the SPOHNC group. Overall, the event was a roaring success!

Submitted by Eileen Webster

The Silver Squares celebrated July birthdays in style! Rosie Holley made a beautiful cake for the birthday girls (including herself!).

Submitted by Anne Granger

Silver Squares bakers and buyers brought 14 pies to celebrate Pie Day on August 5!

During our break from dancing, we enjoyed pie and ice cream. Dancing and eating with friends is a great way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Submitted by Anne Granger

Special thanks to Laurie & Chuck Cordaro and Jeff & Debbie Blood for setting up the WNYF square dance display at the Parma Library on West Ave, Hilton, on August 19, 2024.

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

Thank you from the WNYF to Diane Cundra for setting up the square dance display at the Penfield Public Library.

Submitted by Linda English

We did it: another Great Steak Roast! 44 total dancers and 32 steak dinners, yum. Thank you, Dave, Chuck, Moose (Dave Jr) for grilling: perfect steaks! Missy for getting a perfect size of steak, as baby bear said, “not too big or too little, just right!!” The food was great! The salads: yummy—Carol’s, Cindi’s and mine! The desserts: super excellent, every one. Thanks all! The setup folks: in record time, wow, cleanup amazing, super wow! What a great team! Thank you, Bruce & Sue for living in Seneca Falls and opening for set up and closing—you both are the best! And of course, our calling team The Hip Boot Boys—well done. The music, calling & timing was perfect!

I love that this Anniversary event has given us the perfect time to acknowledge service to the club and square dancing in general. Super Congratulations to Circle of Service awardees Missy, Norm, Polly, Andy & Kay! We love you, and thank you for literally decades of service to this club that you have given, and God willing decades more. You are a blessing to our membership and leadership of this club.

Keep dancing!

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

At the Cayuga Cut-Ups 63rd Anniversary Steak Roast Dance on August 18, five distinguished Cut-Ups received the Circle of Service Award, presented by Linda and Glynn English and Chuck & Cindi DeNardo. They are Missy Frendak, Polly Losito & Norm Courtemanche, Kay & Andy Anderson.

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

Everyone had a fun time dancing on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at the Elaine Eno Memorial Dance in Fulton, NY. Callers and cuers were Dave Eno, Richard Rosenfield, Ron Brown, Ron Schweitzer, Jeanne Harter and Bill Saintey. Proceeds of the benefit raffle went to support ALS research.

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

Thank you to everyone who participated on June 17 in the Federation‘s square dance demo at the Greece Historical Society‘s Strawberry & Dessert Festival Fundraiser at the Greece Town Hall. It was quite warm, but we all had a fun time dancing and giving the public a glimpse of our activity!

Events like this are not only fun for us dancers but also important public opportunities to put an impression of square dancing into the minds of our community. You never know how important this is for recruiting new dancers. Even if nobody directly signs up at the time, it will stick in the back of their mind where it will contribute on some later date to their receptiveness to joining us.

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

At the WNYF dance on June 21, 2024, Lucy Pietrzykowski received the Circle of Service Award. This is a nationally recognized award given to a dancer who for three or more years is determined to have made a significant contribution to the Square and Round Dance Community.

This award has been presented to several leaders in our square dance community for their dedication and diligent efforts during and after COVID to bring our WNYF clubs back to the dance floor safely and keep square and round dancing alive in Western NY.

Lucy’s dedication to getting the Batavia Silver Stars back to the dance floor after COVID has been outstanding. Today Lucy continues to go “above and beyond” for the club.

Congratulations, Lucy!

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood

The Batavia Silver Stars “Name Tag Dance” was held on August 19. The dance was fantastic with six squares dancing to Gary & Alice Bubel. The price of admission was hard to beat—free if you wore a name tag!

Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood