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The Action Fraction is the only square dance club in the KMC. To gain new members and raise interest in square dancing, an open house will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Monday and Oct. 20 in Kaiserslautern. Mike Goff, the club’s caller, will be available to answer questions.
“During the open house, we will teach visitors 10 calls,” said Mr. Goff. “Hopefully they start having fun and want to come back.”
At the moment, the club only has 12 members. “In the early 1990s when I joined there were 30 members, and in the 1980s there were 80 and more members,” said Mr. Goff.
“Square dancing is a great way to meet new people and develop new friendships,” said club member Fran Hernandez. “I particularly value the many German friendships that I’ve deve-loped since I started square dancing here four years ago. I’m one of only a few Americans still involved in square dancing here in Germany but I’m hoping that we can interest more Americans in joining us.”
The square dance is known as the only American folk dance, and has a 200-year-old history. Its traces go back to the time when the first European settlers came to America. From dances of their home countries, elements were taken over and mixed. The French brought the Minuet and Quadrille dances. English settlers included the country and Morris dance. Also included were steps from the German, Polish and Austrian polka and waltz.
Different groups of settlers met on weekends to have fun after a week’s work in the woods. They met to dance by combining different steps and movements from various dances and directors were designated to give commands. These directors, or callers, had to remember the sequence of steps and call them out.
Over the years, these dances merged into the Appalachian Mountain Dance and the New England Country Dance to make up today’s modern American Square Dance. This forma-lized today’s dance which was reborn and reshaped in the 1930s. Henry Ford, the first mass producer of vehicles, helped to revive old traditions and cultural activities in New England.
Interested people formed new square dance groups.
After World War II, Americans brought the dance over to Germany.
“No experience is needed. Square dancers just must be able to translate the definitions of the calls, the commands they have learned from the brain to the feet so all eight dancers do the same thing at the same time,” said Mr. Goff.
Square dancers don’t only dance to country and western fiddle music, but also to rock and pop and other music.
“I really hope that many people visit our open house and that we are able to find new American and German members,” said Mr. Goff.
Action Fraction meets for dancing from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays in the building of the Alte Knacker, An der Feuerwache 10 in Kaiserslautern. Travel on B40 from Vogelweh toward Kaiserslautern. Turn right after the Porsche Center. Alte Knacker is past the fire station on the right.
Before visiting the club, call Mr. Goff at 0172-6510996 or e-mail mike.goff@k-net-access.de. For details, visit www.square-dance.us.
