Web Site last updated on August 11th at 9:10 am.
​UPCOMING & RECENT SQUARE DANCE NEWS AND EVENTS
                      !!! NEXT REGULAR CLUB SQUARE DANCE !!!
​                        7:30pm Saturday August 24th -  Pie Night
                                                     Attire is Casual

                                         !!! SAVE THE DATE !!!
Mark your calendars for Saturday September 14th as National Guest Caller Mike Sikorsky returns for the Gad-Abouts Welcome Back Dance.

                            !!! Gad-Abouts 2019-2020 Dance Schedule !!!
​The Gad-Abouts 2019-2020 Square Dance schedule on the bottom of the schedule page after the current 2018-2019 schedule.  To view the schedule click on the SCHEDULE link in the navigation section at the top of any page or click on the following link:  SCHEDULE

To view the 2018-2019 dance schedule click on the SCHEDULE link in the navigation section at the top of any page or click on the following link:                                                              SCHEDULE

8/10 fresh fruit Night DANCE

There was a plethora of fresh fruit for your gourmet delight on Saturday August 10th at the  Fresh Fruit Night Dance.

8/24 pie NIGHT DANCE

Come and enjoy a slice of your favorite pie while you dance at the Pie Night Dance on Saturday August 24th. The dance attire is Casual.  The dance is from 7:30pm to 10:00pm the Wacohu Grange Hall located at 16412 National Pike (Route 40 West & Route MD 63) in Hagerstown MD. For more information send us an email using the CONTACT US link at the top of any page.

9/14 welcome back DANCE

It is time for another year of square dancing as the Gad-Abouts welcome National Guest Caller Mike Sikorsky to their Welcome Back Dance on Saturday September 14th.  The dance attire is Casual.  The dance is from 7:30pm to 10:00pm the Wacohu Grange Hall located at 16412 National Pike (Route 40 West & Route MD 63) in Hagerstown MD. For more information send us an email using the CONTACT US link at the top of any page.

JUNE 26 - JUNE 29 68TH NSDC

​Members of the Promenaders and Gad-Abouts attended the 68th National Square Dance Convention in Marietta Georgia on June 26th to June 29th.  The total count for the event was approximately 4100 guests.  The main nightly attraction was in Hall A with the many Guest Callers accompanied by the musical group Ghost Riders to provide a high energy format for square dancing.  The top picture is of the Promenaders, Gad-Abouts, and other guests that attended the event. 

The second picture shows 5 of the 8 members of the contingent from China who wore a dazzling array of square dancing attire.

​The three videos are from Hall A.  The middle video shows Marjorie Barber and Dan Grimes (members of both clubs) participating in a square.  The bottom video is of the Gad-Abouts own Art Lavigne during his calling session.  The Guest Callers were a Whos Who of nationally and regionally recognized callers.

Two additional videos are on the Video Gallery page.  To go to the Video Gallery page click on the following link: Video Gallery

square dancing tidbits

​summer dance shops

square dance lesson videos

Do you need to refresh your Mainstream and Plus calls?  Do you need to reinforce your recently learned calls? Then the following link is for you. Click on it to see excellent training videos for the calls.
                       SquareDanceLessonVideos

w​here's the dance?

If your upcoming plans include travel or you just want to visit other dance clubs near your home club, then the "Where's The Dance" web site is for you.  This web site shows all of the Square Dances within a specific radius of where you are.  There are many other options to even further narrow down or expand the dance selections for you.  To visit this valuable square dance web site click on the following link: Where's The Dance?

Ode To square Dancing!

Summer is nigh and the dancing is great
Grab your spouse or your friend and even your date
Then head to the floor with your squaring mate
To dance to the cadence that the callers dictate
 
The squares stand ready for your dancing crave
You can relay the deucy after a step to a wave
Then you chain down the line if you dare to be brave
Square dancing in Hagerstown is the latest rave
 
Seamless moves are in sync with the callers refrain
Head ladies go center with a teacup chain
It's friendship set to music while using your brain
Just remember to listen and stay in your lane
 
Mainstream and Plus are two levels to learn
Then DBD and Advanced get your legs to churn
The steps and the calls are easy to discern
So promenade in style whenever your turn
 
Spread the word around town so more people know
And invite them to your local square dancing show
We would like our classes to continually grow
When eager new students join the dancing flow
 
Let the resurgence begin on the square dancing floor
With the mixing of the new and the current core
Let's breakdown the barriers and open the door
As we celebrate the tradition with all of its lore

By: Donald Barber
Gad-Abouts Square Dance Club
Web Site Master, Ode Writer

square dancing: a swinging history!

​NOVEMBER 29, 2011 By History.com Staff

Swing your partner and do-si-do — November 29th is Square Dance Day in the United States. Didn’t know this folksy form of entertainment had a holiday all its own? Then it’s probably time you learned a few things about square dancing, a tradition that blossomed in the United States but has roots that stretch back to 15th-century Europe.

Square dance aficionados trace the activity back to several European ancestors. In England around 1600, teams of six trained performers—all male, for propriety’s sake, and wearing bells for extra oomph—began presenting choreographed sequences known as the morris dance. This fad is thought to have inspired English country dance, in which couples lined up on village greens to practice weaving, circling and swinging moves reminiscent of modern-day square dancing.

To read this entire article click on the following link:   History of Square Dancing 

Health benefits of square dancing!

Square Dancing may be the Perfect Exercise

Square dancing is walking at a steady pace (about 120 steps per minute) to a called pattern with musical accompaniment. The patterns involve 8 dancers turning and interacting with hands and arms in response to changing choreography that is called using a common vocabulary of action names.

Square dancing combines mental concentration with many aspects of good physical exercise including sustained activity, flexibility, balance and coordination.

Square dancers walk between 2 1/2 and 5 miles in a typical evening of dancing burning calories with every step.

Dancing continuously for 10 to 15 minutes at a time improves cardiovascular conditioning.

Five-minute breaks allow dancers to socialize with others from diverse backgrounds who share a common joy.

The energy put into dancing has an effect on heart beat rate, blood pressure, rate of calorie burn, and cholesterol profile.

All this beneficial activity is further enhanced by a variety of popular music in a positive setting, often with your favorite partner.

​It has been suggested that regular sessions of square dancing can add several years - enjoyable years - to your life.
​
To read this entire article click on the following link:  Health Benefits