welcome to the gad-abouts website

Web Site last updated on Thursday November 28th at 10:00am by Club Webmaster Donald Barber

upcoming special events

Annual new Year's Eve dance
pandhandlers, ramblers, gads

March 20-22, 2025
wasca's duck dive 25

sunday april 27, 2025
55th annual presidents ball

Gad-abouts 2024-2025 Dance schedule

Please NOTE:  The dance on April 26, 2025 is cancelled and the Guest Caller for the July 12th dance is Bob Engel.

Gad-abouts 2024-2025 Dance class schedule

recent club events and news

november 23 - thanksgiving dance
Eight Guest Promenaders were among the 4 squares of Gads Club Members and Guest Visitors at the Thanksgiving Dance on Saturday 11/23/25.  Art LaVigne was the Club Caller.

november 9 - veterans dance
On November 9, 2024, 4 squares of Gad-Abouts and Guest Visitors were entertained by Guest Caller Ed Pabst and Guest Cuer Carol Pabst.  The Pabst Duo are from Ohio.  Pictured above is the Promenader contingent.

october 26 - halloween dance
Three + squares of Halloween costumed revelers attended the Halloween Dance on Saturday October 26th.  The caller was Art "The Count" LaVigne.  The Promenaders were well represented at the  Halloween Dance with 6 members.

​UPCOMING EVENTS

november 30 - wasca theme dance

december 14 - christmas dance

january 11 - flannel shirt dance

january 25 - 60's dance

SQUARE DANCING TIDBITS

benefits of square dancing

Click on the following link to read about the benefits derived from a regular square dancing routine.
                                     Benefits

DANCER ETIQUETTE BROCHURE

Recently added to the ABOUT page is the Dancer Etiquette brochure.  This brochure provides the basic Code of Ethics and Codes of Conduct expected from dancers at the various square dancing functions and events.  To go to the brochure click on the following link:  BROCHURE

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