Batavia Silver Stars

Ever wonder what to do on Monday evenings??? Consider starting off the week dancing with the Batavia Silver Stars for an evening of promenading fun, laughter and good snacks. 2 by 2 squares and rounds all evening—7:00–8:30 Mainstream; 8:30–9:30 Plus. All class dancers welcome to dance at Mainstream Session 7:00–8:30. It is a progressive workshop every week preparing for Dance O Rama (DOR) in May. The VA Hospital is only a short distance from the NYS Thruway exchange. We would love to have you join us. Special monthly dances include:

MARCH 16—ST. PATRICK’S DAY DANCE—Wearin’ of the Green!! See what combination of green attire you can dazzle the club with this evening. Also tonight we will have a Chinese auction. Please bring items to auction—i.e.: gift items or food goodies (pies, cookies, cake, etc.). Donations of non-perishable food items will go to the Corfu Area Food Pantry.

APRIL 13—Ah! Spring is in the air. Join us for our Dyngus Day Dance Monday April 13, with Eileen Webster as our guest cuer. All area class members are welcome to stay and dance the entire night. There will be 2 by 2 squares and rounds. Monetary donations this evening will go to Crossroads Hospice House.

MAY 18—Summer will soon be here so let’s start early with our own BEACH PARTY tonight. Come dressed ready for a fun day at the beach (flip-flops probably not the best dancing shoes but we can always remember to bring our dancing shoes). Refreshments for a picnic at the beach would be appreciated. Hear tell we might have Sand Dollars cookies. Prizes will be given for the best beach attire. Donations of non-perishable food items tonight will go to the Corfu Area Food Pantry.

JUNE 8—Ice Cream Night—save the date.

Join us for an evening of fun, food and, of course, great dancing every Monday night 7:00–9:30 except no dancing Memorial Day, May 25.

Information: Caller/Cuer Bill Ryan (716-517-6012)

Reported by: Carol Brown (585-247-5689) and Bill Ryan

Belles 'N' Beaus

Rochester’s only official Mainstream Club

Come join us at 7:00 on Monday evenings at Messiah Lutheran Church, 4301 Mt. Read Blvd. 14616.

February 10 Valentine Dance—Come, eat and enjoy our delicious sweet treats and dance with your sweetie. Ron Brown will be calling.

No Dances—February 17; February 24; March 2.

March 9—We are back and dancing!

March 16—Shamrock Night—It is the “wearin’ of your green”! In between dances, enjoy our ‘green snacks’! Jim Gotta calling

April 6—Luau Night / Our famous Dessert Auction—Delicious items are for auction! Wear your Hawaiian clothes and enjoy the evening! Ron Brown calling.

April 27—Ice cream Social—Summer is almost here!! Ron Brown calling.

May 8 Spring Fling—This is so special that it is on a Friday! Come and dance around the May Pole!!!! Gary Bubel calling.

Invitation from the Belles ’N’ Beaus:

If you’re a member of one of the clubs listed below, the Belles ’N’ Beaus invite you to dance with us for free. Your badge is your free admission ticket on the date shown for your club in the list below. Look for your club’s name on the list and come on the listed date to dance for free with the Belles ’N’ Beaus—Rochester’s Mainstream Square Dance Club.

Here’s the list of clubs, and the dates their members are invited to dance for free with the Belles ’N’ Beaus:

Copy Cats—February 3, 2020

Village Squares—March 30, 2020

Information: Bob & Alice Hager (585-227-1894)

Reported by: Barb Corman

Boo Bull Advanced Dancing

We will be teaching Advanced dancing beginning May 14 at the West Henrietta Baptist Church 5660 West Henrietta Road. If you would like to learn Advanced dancing, please join us. We dance 7:00–9:00.

Information: Alice & Gary Bubel(585-538-9887)

Reported by: Alice & Gary Bubel

Boo Bull DBD

DBD will begin again Friday May 22nd. We have had a small but enthusiastic group of dancers and would love to see more people give this a try. If you would like a little challenge without learning any new calls, come on Friday nights and give this a whirl!

Information: Alice & Gary Bubel(585-538-9887)

Reported by: Alice & Gary Bubel

Boo Bull Rounds

We will begin our Tuesday afternoon Phase 3 & 4 dancing this year on May 12. We dance 3:30–5:00. Please join us some Tuesday for an afternoon of dancing.

Our Wednesday club will begin the new season on May 13 and we will continue dancing Phase 2 & 3. We always have a great time learning new dances, some challenging and some just easy level, and some favorites that everyone loves. We are always open to reviewing and showing steps that you might be having trouble with. Please join us some night.

We will be doing a teach this summer and will get the information out about it as soon as we can.

Information: Alice & Gary Bubel(585-538-9887)

Reported by: Gary and Alice Bubel

Boo Bull Squares

We are enjoying our time in sunny Florida. We are doing a lot of dancing and spending time with our son and his family. Our club resumes dancing in May. Our first dance is May 12. It will be great to see all of our dancers again. Please consider joining us this year. We will be reviewing/teaching the plus calls as needed. We always enjoy meeting new dancers and having them dance with us. We look forward to a fun season. Some highlights will be Pie Night and the MS benefit dance.

Information: Gary & Alice Bubel(585-538-9887)

Reported by: Gary and Alice Bubel

Cayuga Cut-Ups

The Cayuga Cut-Ups are so ready for Spring!

Just a note for the month of March; we are dancing from 2:00–4:30 Sundays at our hall, the Auburn United Methodist Church, 99 South St. Beginning in April we will move back to our ‘normal’ time 6:30–9:00 on Thursday nights.

It is our weekly tradition to hold classes at each dance, therefore class dancers are always welcome to attend our dances. We dance a club tip/class tip routine. March we will have a special Soup Night for St. Paddy’s Day on the 15th. April we will graduate our mainstream students on the 30th with early Cinco de Mayo celebration featuring Mexican foods and in May we will wear Red, White and Blue on the 21st for Memorial Day.

Of course, our major event will be our ANNUAL ANNIVERSARY DANCE—STEAK ROAST!!! Yippee; please plan to join us on May 16, Hip Boot Boys, Auburn United Methodist Church, 99 South St., 1:00–2:00 is the Steak Roast and 2:30–6:00 Dance. Reservations for the Steak Roast are greatly appreciated—$20/person roast and dance; dance only $10/person. Reservations and payment can be sent to Linda English, 3524 Clinton Rd., Jordan, NY 13080. We are looking forward to a great crowd. Keep dancing!

Information: Linda English (315-689-1679)

Reported by: Linda English

Champagne Whirl-A-Ways

Reminder: Our first two dances of March are at 3:00, as is our dance on May 9. All others, through May 23rd with the Bubels, are at 7:00. And that dance is the last of our dance season. We thereafter default to the Southern Tier Wheelers, just a piece down the road from us, for the summer.

Coming up immediately ahead is the St. Patrick’s dance; wear one’s greenery. For Soup and Sandwich Night, wear one’s appetite! Ha. And above all, do not do as I once did, and have dinner first! This “dance” is more than a handout. Be sure to take time out for dancing!!! After all, that is the whole idea.

It is now evening, and time for a little hula-hoop attire, and hopefully summer conditions. We’ll see!

Followed by spring thoughts. Does that mean looking like a potted plant? Maybe. Perhaps a little awkward for a square. I’ll leave that up to the individual imagination. Bringing a few ’dils might be a smiley gesture.

Then it is Mothers’ Day. Don’t know, I was never one. And lastly, Ice Cream Sundae Night. Seems to me the calories should be saved for a winter dance. Anyhoo, it is a taste delight. Ahhh.

Come see us.

Contact Diane before coming. Never know if there is a last minute alteration.

Information: Diane Camp(607-776-4528)

Reported by: Art Diefenbach

Cloverleaf Squares

Mike Callahan went off to Arizona for the winter and we were sad. But we had some great callers in his stead; namely Jim Gotta, Ron Brown, Keith Harter, Ray Tompkins, and Gil Porter and we were happy again. We are looking forward to more callers of the same caliber in the coming months such as Bill Ryan, Ron Schweitzer, Dave Eno, and Richard Rosenfield. But, hold on, Mike is coming back in March for our Anniversary dance, bringing along past Cloverleaf cuer, Linda Liberti.

Speaking of our Anniversary dance, we are especially looking forward to it. The club has been in existence for 50 years and we have been planning and promoting it for some time. We have been blessed with having great and passionate organizers as well as several committee members. Nancy and Ray Tompkins have put in a lot of time to help us out even though Nancy can no longer dance. The club had sent out 530 invitations with 130 people registered. 126 people have signed up for the dinner. It has been a chore to find, organize, and track returns and replies. But it was worth it. There will be many local dancers coming to support and appreciate our longevity. But then, we also have some former dancers who will attend. The club and square dancing has provided good times for them in the past. We have an original class member attending. Ann Crowley-Hash was in the first graduation class.

We also expect guest caller, Bruce Shaw, at our anniversary dance. He has called in this area for many years and was our club caller and instructor in 1970 when the club was formed. According to the Jun-Jul-Aug 1980 issue of the Promenader, “Bruce began calling in 1964 for the Little Squares, a pre-teen group.” It also stated, “He was introduced to square dancing by his parents … when he was 16. (His mother bribed him —he could drive the car IF he drove it to a teen square dance club. He did, and that was the beginning of his interest in square dancing!).” He was a member of the Rochester Caller’s Co-op when it was formed. He and his former wife Shirley were recipients of the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award in 1991.

Information: Henry Capron (585-747-0180)

Reported by: Carl Webster, Corresponding Secretary

Copy Cats

Love was in the air when our new Kittens began their lessons. Read the article in the Photos and Features section of this Promenader for details.

Not only do we have weddings; we have babies. Kittens Brian and Michelle Orr gave birth to Anastasia on November 24. She is the first grandchild of Copy Cat members Sandy & Ed Trumble. Royce and Jackie Rogers also became first-time grandparents on November 21 when Elise was born. All grandparents are delighted with their granddaughters.

We have weddings, babies and surgeries. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dietlinde Payne and Don Jermyn for their upcoming surgeries. We look forward to their being able to return to dancing soon.

Sadly, our club President, Phil LaRussa’s mother passed away January 15 in New Jersey. We extend our condolences and prayers for a safe trip when they return to New Jersey for her funeral in early February.

While our usual teacher, Ron Brown, was on a square dancing cruise, poor guy, we had the pleasure of learning from Gil Porter. It is always good to dance to different callers.

Our Christmas Dance was preceded by a delicious catered meal and table decorations created by a group of crafty women from our class. The Hip Boot Boys provided the calls and Eileen Webster the cues.

For the second year in a row the Class/Club Snowflake Ball had to be cancelled due to SNOW! Perhaps a change of name would be appropriate? One benefit of cancelling the dance was the wonderful selection of snacks, including snowflake cookies at the class following the canceled dance.

Our March Madness dance will be on March 7. Should we do a tip while also dribbling a basketball? Our St. Patrick’s potluck dinner and dance will be on March 21. Anyone for green eggs and ham?

By April we hope our snowbirds will be back and ready to dance at our April Fool’s dance on April 4. Anyone ready for Kitty Litter Cake again?

Our April Showers Dance is on April 18, and class graduation will be April 24—just in time for the DOR Dance on May 2 where the new graduates will be honored.

Details can be found in the dance schedule section of the Promenader, or at the Copy Cats website: https://copycatsdancing.wordpress.com

Information: Phil LaRussa or Mary Martin (585-633-2044)

Reported by: Jackie Rogers

Dalton Gang

Hello fellow square dancers. Hoping you are all doing well. I will start off by saying that our club is doing well. We have been getting two squares going almost every week when we usually have only one. It seems our club is slowly growing and we hope it will continue to grow. Our pancake dinner and dance at the Cartwright Maple Tree Inn in Angelica is coming up very quickly—Tuesday, March 24, at 5:00, followed by a dance at the Keshequa Elementary School at 7:00. Check our flyer for details. I am hoping we get a great turnout. If you are planning to come to the dance call me at 585-330-1128. I need to have a rough idea on how many are coming to make reservations. Hope to see you there.

Information: Jamond Billyard (585-330-1128)

Reported by: Jamond Billyard and Donna Whitmer

Dancing Shadows

For the 2020 season, the Dancing Shadows will focus on teaching Basic Waltz. This class will be a beginning level program designed for new dancers. Previous dance experience is not necessary. We also welcome current dancers who would like continued floor time at the basic level. We meet at the Immanuel Baptist Church, 815 Park Avenue, Rochester, on Wednesday evenings from 8–10 PM beginning on Wednesday, April 1.

Round Dance Leaders/Instructors: Mark and Marlene Thone

Pre-registration of $60/person for a 6-week session is payable to Marlene Thone, 2474 Garden Street, Avon, NY 14414. Registration deadline is March 18. (See flyer)

For questions or additional information, call or text us at (585) 748-5131. Email: marlenethone@mindspring.com

Information: Marlene Thone (585-748-5131 (call or text)

Reported by: Mark & Marlene Thone (marlenethone@mindspring.com)

Fun Bunch

Information: Jeanne Hering (315-252-3991) (jhering@twcny.rr.com)

Reported by: Jeanne Hering (315-252-3991)

Grand Squares

If March is here, can Spring be far behind? With hopes of leaving gloves and boots behind, we are looking forward to several more dances before the end of our current dancing season.

But first of all, a big “Thank You” to our guests who have kept us dancing during the winter. If you missed our “Christmas in January” dance, you missed a monumental evening. At one point we had FIVE squares enjoying Mike’s favorite Christmas melodies. They tell me the ice cream and cake was the draw, but whatever the reason, it was an evening to remember.

Looking ahead, we will have Gil Porter calling for our March dances—March 12 and 26. We will then welcome Mike back with a dance on April 16 and will finish out the season with dances on April 23 and May 7. At that final dance in May, we will celebrate the new graduates of the Rochester Area Federation by inviting them to come and dance with us for free. We dance at Roth Junior High, 4000 East Henrietta Road from 7:00–9:00 on Thursdays.

We have one more year until our 60th Anniversary in 2021, so we are sincerely grateful to our members and guests for their presence and support. They keep us dancing and let us look forward to celebrating this special occasion. Enjoy the Summer and see you in the Fall.

Information: George & Carol Ann Stahl (585-533-9241); stahlsinrush@rochester.rr.com

Reported by: Carol Ann Stahl

Pairs N Squares

Information: Kathleen Harter (Kathleen.i.harter@gmail.com) (315-481-0570)

Reported by: Nancy Curtis (lnmcurtis@gmail.com) (315-532-1117)

Penn Yan Friendship Squares

Penn Yan Friendship Squares will host an afternoon plus level dance on Saturday, March 7 with early rounds from 2:00 to 2:30 and 2X2 from 2:30–5:00.

We will host evening plus level dances on Saturdays, March 21, April 4 and April 18, with early rounds from 7:00–7:30 and 2X2 from 7:30–10:00. See our schedule on this website for each dance’s theme and join us in Penn Yan. We’d love to see you!

Save the Date: Bill Harrison will be our caller and Mark and Marlene Thone will be cueing at our 2020 annual Watkins Weekend. Mark your calendars for September 18, 19 and 20, 2020. Come down for the weekend or just for an evening or all day on Saturday. For more info contact Sue Irvine at 585-330-9129.

Information: LiseRosenfield (585-245-3720)

Reported by: Gary &Sue Groom (585-489-6186)

Round Towners

Round Towners is an easy intermediate Round Dance Club, dancing a Phase III–IV level program. A teach or a review, at the Phase III+ or Phase IV level, is included most evenings. We work on Phase III+ and Phase IV figures in all rhythms and welcome anyone to join us who is interested in dancing at this level.

We meet on Tuesday evenings from 8:00 to 10:00 at the Immanuel Baptist Church, 815 Park Avenue in Rochester, starting on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Our new space is centrally located and has a nice wood floor!

We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Information: Marlene Thone (585-748-5131 (call or text)

Reported by: Mark & Marlene Thone (marlenethone@mindspring.com)

Shamrock Squares

Shamrock Squares dances the Callerlab Advanced A-2 program on Tuesday evenings 6:45–8:30 at the Pieters Family Life Center, 1025 Commons Way, Rochester. We welcome all A-2 dancers to join us. For more information, please call.

Information: Caller Mike & Wanda Callahan(585-352-7877)

Reported by: Mike Callahan

Shirts 'N' Skirts

Looking forward to Spring in Central New York, we are staying active and enjoying dancing with good friends every week. Our class members are progressing nicely under Dave Eno’s expert calling and having so much fun. We have some increased interest from the community due to a great article in the December/January issue of “55 Plus” magazine about our group. Mary Beth Roach joined us one Friday night, interviewed several dancers, took some pictures and did us proud!

So, what’s coming up in March? Our special St. Patrick’s Dance is on Thursday, March 12 (note the switch from our regular Friday night due to hall being unavailable). Wear your “green”—we’ll be all decorated and serving green snacks. Remember, everyone’s Irish for St. Patrick’s Day!!!

By April, the weather should be nice, and our Snow Birds will be rejoining us (always good to have them back). On April 17th, it will be Pizza Night, Club’s treat—one we all enjoy. Love to have you join us!

During May, on the 2nd, we all look forward to Dance-O-Rama in Fairport and seeing our many friends from other clubs and dancing to many different callers. Of course, we’ll be bringing our basket for the raffle—what will we surprise you with this year? Wait and see—it’ll be a good one! For our club, Cookout Night is Thursday, May 14 at 6:15. Club provides hamburgers, hot dogs & sausage. Bring a dish to pass. A fun BBQ & Dance the night away! We will not dance on Memorial Weekend.

Don’t forget our annual Elaine Eno ALS Benefit Dance on Saturday, June 6, with guest callers & cuers, great food, drawings & basket raffles—all for a good cause in hopes of eradicating this terrible disease. See you all there—mark your calendars!

Caller: Dave Eno

Information: Debra Allen (banddallen@gmail.com) (315-598-3535)

Reported by: Patricia Whaley

Silver Squares

Silver Squares does not have a class this year. We dance Mainstream, Plus and Rounds every Monday from 1:00–3:00. If you are looking for a place to dance or just want to enjoy an extra dance during the week, check out Silver Squares. Our caller is Mike Callahan and we are located at 1924 Maiden Lane in the Greece United Methodist Church. Call Sue Sepkowski, Club President, for any information. (585-225-7122).

March 2020:

March 16 is our St. Patrick’s Day Dance. On this special occasion, we have a soup and salad luncheon at noon. Come at noon, bring a dish to pass if you like and enjoy the “wearing of the green!”

April 2020:

April 6 is the date of our Silent Auction!! Bring baked goods, like new gifts, special treasures, or service gift cards for silent bidding!! It is also our Spring Kite Dance. Come dressed in your favorite “Spring Outfit!” This is great fun for everyone to enjoy while we dance the afternoon away.

May 2020:

Our traditional Lilac Dance is May 11. Wear some purple!!! We invite all to come and enjoy the food, decorations, and festivities!!

May 25 is Memorial Day. Remember there is No Dance! Enjoy the day with you family and friends.

June 2020:

June 28 is our End of year Picnic. Lunch starts at Noon and you are welcome to bring a dish to pass. Come and enjoy visiting with our dancing friends and looking at all the pictures from the past year. This is a special event that should not be missed!! We hope that many of our friends from other clubs will join us.

Information: Sue Sepkowski (esepkowski@rochester.rr.com) (585-225-7122)

Reported by: Anne Granger

Southern Tier Wheelers

Spring is just around the corner and we will soon be back to camping at CampBell Campgrounds. Gary and Alice Bubel will help kick-off our camping season. Please be sure to check out our flyers for special deals for an all-day Saturday package. Main stream and plus dancing beginning at 1:30 with a “FUNSHOP” , social hour, dinner, early rounds, an evening dance and ending with a campfire. All this for only $20 per person. The meal for May will be a chicken bar-b-que. For June and August, we are having an old-fashioned picnic with hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and desserts. Our caller and cuer for that weekend will be Howard and Donna Williamson. Betsy and Roy Gotta are doing the honors in August. Check flyers for additional information.

Information: Bill and Pat Mosher (607-739-3299)

Reported by: Bill & Pat Mosher

Village Squares

On New Year’s Eve, the Village Squares celebrated 45 years of dancing and friendship when we welcomed 2020 with our friends in the square dance community, with the Hip Boot Boyz and Eileen Webster. Our Sapphire Anniversary was made even more festive when four couples from Penn Yan’s Friendship Squares trekked to Rochester to celebrate with us and to retrieve their banner. We’d grown fond of that banner and we’re looking forward to returning to Penn Yan in the spring to get it back.

March’s Pi Night Dance (3.11), will highlight Village the Squares’ bakers serving up a sumptuous assortment of pies and pastry while Gil Porter serves up his inimitable assortment of squares with cued rounds. Village Squares have been famous, or if you’re on a diet infamous, for using any excuse to plan a dance around the theme of dessert. Remember the pie night motto: “Skinny people are easier to kidnap. Stay Safe; Eat Pie.”

On Friday March 27 we’re hoping to march enthusiastically away from winter. Gil Porter will lead the rush toward spring, and we’ll welcome returning snowbirds with spritely squares and cued rounds.

April will enter laughing. On Wednesday April 1, the April Fools Dance will lead off our spring dances. We won’t even need to decorate for that; we can just show up and be ourselves.

Unfortunately, that carefree mood will be quickly dashed on Tax Day, Wednesday, April 15, when we’ll try to dance away the 1040 blues at our annual Hobo Dance. Dress Code that night is ‘Dress Down; Waaay Down’. Wear whatever you have left after taxes. If we ask nicely, our resident hobo, Ed Briggs, might share some of his tales about what it was like to ‘ride the rails’ in his youth.

Village Squares are inviting all recent graduates to join us as our guests on May 27, when we’ll honor our veterans at the ‘Mostly Mainstream’ Red, White & Blue Dance. After surviving a year of learning complicated figures with inscrutable names, dancers in the Class of 2020 also feel like veterans.

Unfortunately, inflation is not just something that happens to balloons and beach toys. Beginning in March, we will reluctantly have to raise our dance fees by $1. Square dancing is still an incredible bargain. Where else could we get together, dance with friends, enjoy 2+ hours of live entertainment and munch on great snacks for $14 a couple?

Village Squares are looking forward to joining you in a square, this spring.

Information: Peter & Sally Emmel (585-381-5049)

Reported by: Sally Emmel

Waterwheel Squares

Our class is getting close to completing the mainstream lessons. This is the first class we have ever had that has new dancers from our open houses and dancers who had completed an 8 week introduction to square dancing through a local continuing education program. By working with the local school Continuing Ed program we are able to reach a different audience, take advantage of the program’s advertising flyers and hold classes on a non-club dance night. Our caller, Bill Ryan, is holding another continuing education 8-week class starting at the end of January. We are hoping for another good response.

The Waterwheels Tuesday night dance program has class time from 7:00–8:15, and then Plus from 8:15–9:45. The entire night is 2x2 with rounds being cued by Elaine Nicholls.

Come join us!

Information: Gary Etherton (ge14094@gmail.com) (716-796-9265)

Reported by: Gary Etherton