Wild Frontier at Barmera and Berri

                        Square Dancing Photos - Click to Enlarge

The Wild Frontier weekend at Barmera and Berri was a great success. Most square dancers stayed at the Lake Bonney Caravan Park at Barmera and travelled 14kms to the Berri Town Hall for dancing. The weather was very pleasant and contributed to the success of the well planned weekend away, as did the dinner at the Berri Club.

There were several dancers from Renmark and Naracoorte who took adavantage of the closeness to join in the dancing and renew acquaintances, and several Adelaide Clubs also supported the weekend.

Dancing was held over three days at The Berri Town Hall with the main activity being  the Saturday night dance. The acoustics of the hall weren't the greatest but it didn't stop everyone from enjoying themselves, with the hall full to capacity most of the time. The square dance workshop on Sunday morning was well attended and enjoyed by all.

Thank you to Jeff Seidel, Wild Frontier, and Kannella Squares for a wonderful weekend of Square Dancing.

Photos provided by Roger Marchant.

Square Dance Origins – Quadrille

Square dance is a folk dance with four couples (eight dancers) arranged in a square, with one couple on each side. The dance was first described in 17th century England but was also quite common in France and throughout Europe and bears a marked similarity to Scottish Country Dancing. It has become associated with the United States of America due to its historic development in that country.

The various square dance movements are based on the steps and figures used in traditional folk dances and social dances of the various people who migrated to the USA. Some of these traditional dances include Morris dance, English Country Dance, and the quadrille.

The quadrille dance shown in Video #2 on the right is performed by four couples complete in period costume.

The dance appears to include the following Mainstream square dance movements:

Bow to your partner and your corner too

Allemande Left

Courtesy Turn

Turn Through

Circle to the left

Pass Through

Promenade (inside the ring)

Ladies Chain

Single Circle

Up to the middle and back

Star Turn (right & left)

Sweep a Quarter (head or side couples)

Thought you may like a history lesson

Roger