Swing your partner. Do-si-do. Allemande left and around you go.
Square dancing is uniquely American, having grown out of a combination of ethnic folk dances mostly in and around the New England area at first, but spreading west as the nation did.
But you can go to almost any country in the world and find square dancing — and not only find it but join in, says square dance aficionado Bill Green.
"All the calls are done in English, so once you learn the basic figures, you can dance anywhere. We've had people from England, France, Japan, Germany, about half of the 50 states and other places dance with us here. It's a good way to meet friends. We like to say square dancing is friendship set to music."
Bill and his wife Sandra dance weekly with a club called the Rocketeers. "It was started in 1962 by employees of Thekla Air Space in Magna. That's where the name comes from." But they get couples from all over the valley who come to dance on Saturday nights.
"We have about 120 members and dance about six to eight squares on any given night," says Green.
The Rocketeers is just one of many clubs throughout the valley and the state. "Ours is a club for couples," says Eileen Huber. "But you can find clubs for singles, for youth, for teens, for anyone."
She and her husband have been dancing for about 30 years. "Now we have two sons and their wives who dance, so it has become a family thing. I have grandchildren who can't wait until they are old enough to dance. I just absolutely love it. It's healthy, wholesome fun that exercises your mind and your body."
Her husband, Paul, is the "Sheriff" for the group, which means he's in charge of telling funny jokes and collecting donations.
"The first half of the year, the money goes to a charity. The last half, the money we raise goes to defray our expenses and for a big party," he says.
People are generous, says Eileen. "This is like a big extended family. Square dancing gives you a common bond with people everywhere."
The square dance is the official folk dance of the United States, designated as such by President Ronald Reagan. It is also the official folk dance of the state of Utah.
A lot of people have a vague idea of what it entails, have heard about the do-si-do, maybe seen square dancers in western movies. What many don't realize, says Green, is that there are 69 basic figures. "But once you learn those, you can dance anywhere."
If you can walk and chew bubble gum, you can square dance, says Jack Cowan, who has been calling dances for the Rocketeers since 1983.
"If you know your left side from your right side, you can square dance. I have to know which moves will go together and which won't. There are certain things you can't put together." But every dance is different, put together as it goes along. Cowan just tries to get everyone back home when the music ends. "Most times, I can do that."
Once in a great while they get so tangled up, they break down and have to start over, "but we just laugh and keep going," says Kaye Lynn Ogden. "No one dies, no one criticizes. We're just here to have fun."
Cowan basically taught himself how to call dances. "I had a record to listen to and just got into it. It's fun for them and it's fun for me."
Not only is it a lot of fun, it's great exercise, he says. "You can walk a good two-and-half to three miles and not know you've done it."
After you learn the basics, there are some 30 or so advanced calls, so for those who like a greater challenge, it's there, says Cowan. And square dancing exercises your mind as well as your body, he says. "It's good, clean fun for people of all ages. It gets you away from TV once a week.Society might be better off if we all did that."
Larry Bowen, who is president of the Rocketeers, agrees. "It's an absolute ball." He and his wife have been dancing for about four years. "We came and tried it the first time and got hooked."
That's an experience many people have, says Green. "We find that usually the wife drags her husband to the first one or two dances, but pretty soon he is dragging her. The husbands have as much fun as the wives."
Yes, says Virginia Bowen, "but we get to wear these fun dresses and all these petticoats. At the State Fair once, a little girl came up to me and asked if I was a princess."
People ask if they have to wear the outfits, says Larry. "And the answer is no, you don't." You can wear jeans, other dresses, pretty much anything. "But once you get here, you find that the clothes are part of the fun."
Sherry Evans also loves the petticoats. "The first time I wore them, it was like going back to the first day of kindergarten."
Eileen Huber "learned to sew just so I could make my dress. My husband said he could afford a dress or a petticoat, so he bought me a petticoat and I made the dress."
The Rocketeers intersperse square dancing with round dances, which are similar in that the moves are called, or cued, as round dancers call it. But you stay with your partner the whole time, and the dance moves in a big circle, says Judy Storm, who, with her husband Steve, has been teaching round dancing for 31 years. "There are a lot of moves unique to the round dance," she says, things like ferris wheel, pass-the-ocean, recycle, "but you and your partner work together, and you get to dance with your sweetheart the whole time."
Square dancing is a very social outlet. "It's something you do for your own enjoyment," says Storm. "But you make friends that you'll have forever."
In addition to weekly club dances, there are a number of gatherings with other clubs throughout the year, says Green. There are dances at the State Fair, a big gathering at Fish Lake each summer, and a state convention the third weekend in May. "They bring in a national caller, and we may have as many as 25 squares going at a time," he says.
There are international gatherings, as well. John Newell and his wife went to a convention at The Hague in the Netherlands. "We couldn't speak any of the same language, but they could sure take you through a square."
When you square dance, says Green, "you never meet a stranger, you simply meet a friend."
e-mail: carma@desnews.com