Arts & Entertainment

Square Dance Club Hosts Barn Dance

Event designed for beginners to learn, interact.

The Lakeland Squares Square Dance Club of Montville hosted an open barn dance at the Senior House on June 29. The free event, which was open to the public, drew a crowd of over 50 people from all over the area.

According to club president Kathy Keener, barn dances, which are aimed at beginners with little to no experience square dancing, are not only a showcase for the club, but a way for local citizens to interact socially.

"We do these in such a way that someone could walk off the street cold and have a lot of fun," she said. "There's a social aspect to it. It's a great place to meet new people."

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Keener went on to explain that, while square dancing can become quite complex at the more advanced levels, the kind of dancing done at barn dances is much more user friendly. Even in this simple state, however, the dancing still requires a lot of interaction with multiple partners and can get confusing. According to Keener, frustration is not an issue.

"We want everyone to have a good time," she said. "If someone doesn't know the steps, the caller will stop and help them."

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Club vice president Sig Eisele sees the event as a means of giving back to the community.

"[The Senior House] is such a wonderful location," she said. "It's convent, and it's got a great floor for dancing. These dances are a way to give back for letting us use the space."

While the club does use open events to recruit new members, Eisele maintains that the primary focus of barn dances is to offer citizens entertainment and companionship.

"It gives people a chance to find out what we're about, but its also a friendship thing," she said.

About half of the crowd were members of the club. Others people, like Bunny Newton of Denville, had little experience with square dancing and came on a whim.

"I tried this many years ago," she said. "I'm not in the club, but this is a nice way to meet people and have some fun. You don't have to be an expert to enjoy it."

Pete Fierrio from Clifton is not a member of the club, but has attended the barn dances for about three years.

"Why do I come back," he said. "Two words: nice people."

The Lakeland Squares club is holding another public barn dance at the Senior House on Aug. 20.


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