Square dancing the night away

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This article was published 29/06/2022 (1351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JAMES-ASSINIBOIA

The definition of square dancing is friendship set to music. Or at least that’s what St. James square dancing club the Whirlaway Westerners believe it is.

Linden Woods resident Carole Grier started square dancing in 1986 after attending a provincial convention in Winnipeg. Shortly after, her and her husband joined a beginners’ club.

“The costumes caught my eye. I just loved it,” Grier said. “As soon as the music started and the people started dancing they smiled, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s for me.’”

The Whirlaway Westerners, one of Manitoba’s oldest square dancing clubs, was founded in 1955. The club meets weekly at the Kirkfield Westwood Community Centre (165 Sansome Ave.) in St. James and is designed for people of all ages (currently, the youngest member is nine years old while the oldest is in their nineties).

Like the rest of the world, square dancers were in lockdown for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grier’s beloved hobby was a casualty of the pandemic, and she wasn’t able to dance until the fall of 2021.

But when they could start dancing again, the Whirlaway Westerners didn’t miss a beat.

“It was really special,” said Grier, adding the group is already lobbying for a 70th anniversary celebration.

Oakbluff resident Pam Hart began square dancing in 2016, and West End resident Linda Kindrat started dancing 12 years ago. Like Grier, both of them were immediately drawn to the activity.

“It was like a duck to water,” Hart said.

While Grier, Hart and Kindrat are avid dancers, they find a lot of Winnipeggers aren’t aware of the approximate five square dancing clubs in the city.

“You can dance almost every night of the week,” Grier said. “It’s too bad more people don’t realize that. In this day and age, when people are glued to their screens, it’s wonderful to have an activity that’s friendly and fun.”

It’s also physical, Grier added. Most dancers will log thousands of steps in one evening.

At the end of April, the Whirlaway Westerners gathered to celebrate its program graduates. Their caller, Grier’s son, Trevor, welcomed them into the square dancing world with a ceremony, and they were given graduation caps and treated to a specialty novelty class.

The Whirlaway Westerners’ next open house is on Sept. 16, 7 p.m., at the Kirkfield Westwood Community Centre. Everyone is welcome and no experience or partner is needed. For the first year, new dancers will learn basic moves before moving onto what the group calls the “mainstream” level (there is also a “plus” level for more experienced dancers).

“The more you dance, the better you’ll be at it. But we always say, ‘If you can walk, you can square dance,’” Grier said.

For more information, visit www.squaredancemb.com, search Whirlaway Westerners on Facebook or contact Grier at 204-831-8954.