Whirlaway the night

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This article was published 26/10/2015 (3856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it comes to square dancing, the Whirlaway Westerners can dance circles around most of us.

The dance club recently celebrated 60 years as a group, and they’re always looking for new members. The Westerners dance every Friday night at the Westwood Community Centre (165 Sansome Ave.) and travel throughout the city for special events and demos.

“We have a number of very fun events that make the year interesting,” said long-time member Carole Grier. “We have the normal things like Halloween dances, but we also use our imaginations. Last year we had the Academy Award night and we dressed up like different stars and received awards. We’ve also had a Western night, an Elvis night.”

Grier said an old tradition is to visit another club and steal their banner — every club has one — which they can only get back by visiting the Westerners at their club for a night of dancing.

“Things like that up the ante,” Grier said.

For Grier and her son, Trevor Grier, the weekly dance is a fun way to stay active and mingle with friends. Trevor has been the club’s caller for the past 11 years, a job that requires him to know all of the dozens of “calls” which instruct the dancers on what to do next. Learning the calls is also a big part of joining up with a square dance club.

“It involves listening to the caller and responding to the moves that the caller calls out,” Grier said. “You have to know what they mean.”

Luckily for those who want to make square dancing a serious hobby and travel to dance, all the calls are in English no matter what country you are in. Travelling is another reason for Grier and her son to be involved.

While some people might imagine the sound of a violin and a lot of “doe-si-does” when they think of square dancing, Grier said that their club also dances to a lot of contemporary music, such as pop artist Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass.

“There are different levels,” Grier said. “There’s the intro for new dancers, and that is where we do mainstream moves which all square dancers all over the world need to know. Then you can move up to a plus level and a challenge level.”

There’s plenty of opportunity to make square dancing a lifelong interest. New members can start dancing right away, and the first three nights are free. After that, it’s $4 per night.

“My son is great in saying that the first time you do a circle left, you’re a square dancer,” Grier said. “He’s good at bolstering your confidence.”

The club is having an open house in January, but those who are interested can come watch or get involved on Fridays from 7 to 9:30 p.m. whenever they’d like.

For more info, email Carole at carole.grier1@gmail.com.

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