Club of the week: Bows and Beaus

Bows and Beaus is a large club that meets in Palo Alto. Although it began as a singles club, today it is fairly evenly divided between singles and couples. Both singles and couples are welcome.

Club History

The club started in 1963. The original caller, Jerry denBroeder, gathered some folks in the carport at his apartment house so he could practice calling.  Later the group arranged for the club to dance in Mountain View public schools. The club continued to dance in the Whisman School District until this year when it moved to the *Covenant Presbyterian Church* in Palo Alto.

Club callers include:

• Jerry denBroeder (1963-1979)
• Honey Wolfson (1979-1982)
• Doug Saunders (1983-1984)
• Don Lewis (1984-1987)
• Keith Ferguson (1987-present)

The club has bbout 90 members, almost all of which are "active." They generally have about 6-7 squares dancing on a club dance night.

In 1987, when present caller Keith Ferguson took the reins, the club had about 18 members.
Even with the growth of the club from 18 members in 1987 to its present size it has always strived to maintain a friendly atmosphere. Keith has been voted one of the Top Ten callers by members of the SCVSDA and especially enjoys teaching newer dancers.

Beginner Classes

The club holds a beginner class every year. This year they are using the "multi-cycle" approach: one class started last January and another will start on May 2.  They welcome both singles and couples. The class is held on a separate night than the club so more time is available. The class always gets excellent support from the club members.

Keith says, "Beginner classes are absolutely essential to the health of a club! The continuous
stream of new dancers is vital to the enthusiasm of the club.

"We teach our classes using the LISST method, which interleaves the Mainstream and Plus calls giving dancers more experience with the type of dancing actually encountered in the real world -- the more frequently used and more complex calls are taught earlier so our graduates can really hit the road running."

Activities

The club sponsors the Ice Cream Fling Thing every year. They also sponsor one or two newer dancer hoedowns each year and the club has many other social events for its members. They invite former members to a special Alumni Night every February.

This year, they sponsor the upcoming January class level newer dancer hoedown to be held on April 2, 2005 at John Muir School in San Jose.

The second Wednesday of each month is party night.  The third Wednesday is fun night with a special theme -- those participating in the theme (announced in the newsletter) are eligible for a mystery gift drawing. The club also participates in Fifth Wednesday parties with other Wednesday clubs.

The club is really focused on dancing!  Breaks between tips are short, and squares often form even before the caller gets back to the stage! Very few folks sit out during the tips -- people come to dance.

One of the "secrets" of the club's success is that each evening starts with a half hour workshop.  The caller believes that a distinguishing feature of Western Square Dancing is that it exercises both the mind and the body, and that there is always something new to learn!  These workshops may review Extended Applications (APD), introduce experimental calls or unusual uses of existing calls, or show concepts the caller feels will expand the understanding and enjoyment of square dancing.

www.bowsandbeaus.org

Healing Progress

I guess it has been quite a while since I posted any progress update. Things have changed quite a bit since my last post on the subject, which appears to be January 3 unless I mis-marked some other post.

With the consent and advice of my chiropractor, I attended Mac World Expo at Moscone Center in San Francisco on January 12 and 13. Moscone is a huge convention center and I figured it would be a workout. Unknown to me, they changed the format so that all the exhibits would be in Moscone South, which cut my footsteps in half. I was able to attend both days without any weakness or discomfort. I did bring the cane but I didn't really need it; and when my hands were full, the cane got in the way.

On January 20, I decided to give up the cane entirely. I feared that using it was causing me some back problems. Deciding to walk without the cane was more a psychological adjustment than a physical one. I found that I got along just fine, even in situations where I had previously found the cane useful.

At our follow-up appointment with the surgeon on February 17, he told us that I am losing bone mass and calcium at the fracture. The bone is mending just fine, but it's possible to lose enough calcium in only a month that it will take a year of exercise to regain it. So he suggested that any kind of exercise would be beneficial: bicycle, jogging, walking, and yes, dancing. So we decided that I should start square dancing again as soon as possible.

As a test, I danced one day at an invitational dance in Petaluma on February 26. This was the first time I had danced in over four months. It went well but I did get tired, and I was sore the next day.

The following weekend, we went to a beginner hoedown in San Jose. We figured this would be more exercise than we normally get at a hoedown. Then I started dancing with Mary at her tape group in Concord, partly for my own benefit, and partly because that tape group has some people injured and unable to attend. This has all gone well but I do get sore the next day. The chiropractor and physical therapist are trying to find the exact source of the soreness, since it is only in one spot.

We are not sure yet about round dancing. It requires a lot more balance and stamina than square dancing does. But I'm getting stronger every day.