Summerlin square dancing gets enthusiasts moving around floor — and country

Couples in the Swinging Stars Square Dance Club get into the, ahem, swing of things every time they meet.

The group, which celebrates 58 years this May, meets weekly at Roger Bryan Elementary School.

Caller Vern Vernazzaro, who grew up in Europe and experienced square dancing there, said “got the calling bug” a few years ago and now calls for clubs twice a week.

After initial socializing (with cookies and pie for sustenance), the music started and people gathered on the dance floor. Couples formed squares — eight people, facing inward. Vernazzaro started things off with an instrumental based on Gene Autry’s “Back in the Saddle Again.”

His laid-back calls were peppered with terms indicative of the dance form: Allemande Your Partner, in which couples hold one forearm and turn around each other either left or right as directed; Crash and Burn, for when each square should scurry back to its home position; and Stack the Wood, to give someone a friendly hug. When a version of Eddie Cochran’s “Ain’t No Cure For the Summertime Blues” came on, he switched the lyrics to, “All the way through with a promenade now.”

The club offers classes in which newcomers pick up the main moves. This night, regulars got to learn new steps, too, their movements just as hesitant and stilted as those of the newbies.

There were 38 attendees Feb. 8. One was Rosie Buck, who said she has been dancing since 1968. She said it has become more fun since then, with more moves and better music.

“What we hear a lot is, ‘We did that in eighth grade.’ But what we do now, it’s not what you did in eighth grade,” Buck said.

“Square ware” is still the preferred attire, and each club can designate a pattern for the women’s skirts. In a nod to modernizing the dance, prairie shirts (long skirts) are also acceptable. Another modernization: Vernazzaro used his laptop to play the music. The songs, too, are not always the traditional country style.

“Last night, I danced to a Lady Gaga song, ‘Poker Face,’” said Cindy McGonigal.

Carol Ritchie has been a member for 12 years. She and her husband, Mike, said they like the socialization.

“It’s friendship set to music,” she said.

As if to underscore that attitude, Esther Simmons arrived in dance attire but using a cane. She’d injured her left knee. She came as a show of support and sat out the night, nodding to the beat.

Jeanie Breeden, class coordinator, said square dancing is her exercise of choice, so much that she called it the “Fountain of Youth.”

New to the group was Karen Leinhard, who joined at the urging of her husband, Mike. She said it was more sophisticated than what she’d experienced in her in junior high gym class, prompting her to study calls at home in preparation.

“It exercises your brain because you’re listening for the next call while you’re executing the current call,” she said. “It’s a challenge, but a good challenge.”

Square dances can be found all over the country. John Buck and his wife, Rosie, have traveled as far east as Little Rock, Arkansas, to square dance, usually with another couple.

“We pull a trailer behind the Explorer for all the petticoats,” she said.

Couples who travel often seek out groups in other countries. There’s no language barrier in square dancing; the caller may have an accent, but the instructions are English. The Swinging Stars group has hosted dancers from Germany, England, Scotland and Sweden.

Square dancers from other groups in the city will attend another group’s meetings. A website, wheresthedance.com, helps one locate square dance clubs across the country.

Now that they’re retired, Steve and Jackie Sheaffer of North Las Vegas plan to travel all 50 states to square dance with various clubs. They began in June and have visited seven states. Their Subaru has 47,000 miles on it, but Steve said that would ratchet up before they were done.

“The East Coast is going to be a big trip,” he said. “So we’ll be adding a bunch (of miles).”

The buy a badge, called a “traveling square,” from every out-of-state group where they dance.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.