We hope everyone is well and safe. We miss seeing you all on the dance floor but also prefer we safely return to dancing when we can. This Covid 19 pandemic has turned our world upside down. This is especially true when it comes to dancing.

Our entire square dance activity is based on continuous close contact with everyone involved in a square. We realize it will be awhile before we can safely return back to our clubs. Most facilities used for dancing are not going to be open to outside organizations this Fall. Some good news related to Covid 19, the vaccine testing is progressing and looks promising for late this year or early next year.

Previously “date nights” meant dancing several times a week with our friends. Now anytime we get in our car, it’s a treat! Whether it’s a trip to the grocery store or a gathering with friends with masks and social distancing. We are so thankful to live in an area where most people are very considerate and follow the CDC guidelines.

In June, the Federation surveyed our clubs’ membership to consolidate members thoughts and concerns pertaining to Covid 19. We received 254 dancers’ responses. We appreciate everyone’s participation in the survey and each Club’s active participation in the survey process.

More than half the respondents indicated:

• not sure when they will return to dancing
• want masks worn by everyone for dancing and socializing
• want social distancing
• were concerned about the cleanliness and sanitation of the facilities
• want hand sanitizers and wipes available
• minimize personal contact among dancers (more than 1/3 of dancers want non
• contact dancing and calls that minimize contact)
• should bring your own water and snacks or provide prepackaged water and snacks

When dancing together returns, treat dances as refreshers or workshop sessions.

We do want to share, until dancing returns, there are opportunities to square dance virtually. Gil Porter holds virtual square-dancing sessions on Wednesday nights at 8pm following the Village Square’s Zoom session. We found our first-time dancing to a caller on the Internet with ghost couples, quite challenging and a little overwhelming. It highlighted to us, how much we depend on the dancers in the square to complete the tip. We have found Gil does a great job virtually calling and he is fun to dance to. Gil will occasionally let you know during the tip where you should be. We found that direction was a nice a benefit so we could adjust our position if we needed to. One good thing about dancing with ghosts is that if you make a mistake it only impacts you & your partner and you aren’t taking the entire square down.

We hope you try it some Wednesday night, it is a lot of fun.

Take Care & Stay Safe,

Debbie & Jeff Blood