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In May 2002 Lynne and I commenced our own square dance at Mays Hill, part of the Holroyd Municipality, in Sydney's western suburbs. I sent a short news item to the Parramatta Sun and fluked a slow news week. The resultant double page spread gave us a great start and we ran the dance for the next two years.
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ISABELL PETRINIC reports. Holroyd now has its very own square dance club. Located at Jones Park Hall, it's the only one between Newtown and Penrith. SQUARE dance caller David Evans and his wife Lynne will next month bring back to Holroyd the popular dance craze which brought them together 44 years ago. And unlike line dancing, where you have to learn the dance, you don't have to learn sequences with square dancing. The caller gives them all to you, cueing you as you go along. But that's not to say you'll get it right first try. "The night Lynne and I first met I mucked up a move and apologised, bought her a milkshake and we're still together," laughs David, now 65. Their love of this dance form is still going strong and they announced last week they would open a new square dance club, called Footloose Squares, in Mays Hill on May 2. The group will meet at Jones Park Hall on Thursdays from 8pm. What makes the opening of this new club so unusual is that there are so few of them in Sydney's west. "This will be the only square dance west of Sydney between Newtown and Penrith," said David. If anyone can make Footloose Squares a success, it's David. Apart from dancing, which he's done since the 1950s, his other credits include being featured in ABC TV's Romancing the Chakra. He was an early-morning breakfast announcer on St Marys local radio station AIR-FM for two years and wrote weekly columns for the Penrith and St Marys Star newspapers. He began calling two years ago after a chance conversation in Main Street, Tamworth, with an already established caller who offered to train him. "Square dancing has evolved over the years to become a popular pastime which is attracting growing numbers of enthusiasts the world over," David said. "Although many square dances are written to traditional country music, new dances are appearing all the time and many of these are set to modern songs." Footloose Squares meets Thursdays from 8pm at Jones Park Hall, Mays Hill starting May 2. Square dancers also meet at Regentville Community Hall on Wednesdays from 8pm and at Blaxland East Public School on Sundays from 4.30pm. Phone either David or Lynne Evans on 4739 2785. |
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A month or so later Isabell Petrinic telephoned to see how the dance was faring and wrote a follow-up story for the Blacktown Sun. It carried a copy of the photograph shown at the right, above. Much of it was re-hashed from the first article, but it contained a little information about the new dance club and dancers.
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by ISABELL PETRINIC
Square dance caller David Evans and wife Lynne hope to bring back the once-popular dance craze, which brought them together 44 years ago.
Their love of dance is still going strong and last month they opened a new square dance club called Footloose Squares at Mays Hill.
"We had one of the most successful launches of a new square dance club within memory," said an ecstatic David.
"On the first night we had four squares of new dancers – that's 32 people – and they are learning beautifully."
He said that to get 32 squares dancers in total is "astonishing".
In square dancing, unlike line dancing where you have to learn the steps, the caller gives the steps to you, cueing you as you go along.
"The night Lynne and I first met I mucked up a move and apologised, bought her a milkshake and we're still together," laughs David, now 65.
The group will meet at Jones Park hall on Thursdays from 8pm.
There are few such dance clubs in Sydney's west.
"This will be the only square dance between Newtown and Penrith," said David. Members ages range from 30 to 87.
David said Sherry Tomkinson, the eldest of the group, is a "remarkable lady" who, in addition to square dancing, also finds time to run tai chi classes.
Another regular at the Mays Hill club is popular entertainer Valerie King, from the song and dance group Golden Girls, he said.
Apart from dancing, which David has done since the 1950s, he featured in ABC TV's Romancing the Chakra, was a breakfast announcer on St Marys' local radio station, and wrote weekly columns for the Penrith and St Marys Star nmewspapers.
David said square dancing appealed to people of all ages who enjoy a light-hearted approach to dancing and who enjoy gentle exercise set to music.
Details: 4739 2785.
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