BIDDEFORD — Rob Petit met his wife Sally on the dance floor when they were teenagers in 1970. They weren’t rock ‘n’ rolling, though, they were square dancing, performing moves that had their start in Europe and were brought to the American shores by the country’s earliest settlers.
The Biddeford couple’s story of finding romance on the dance floor was mentioned often this weekend during the 52nd New England Square and Round Dance Convention in Biddeford.
Seven “dance halls” were set up in three of Biddeford’s public schools, including Biddeford Primary School, Biddeford Intermediate School and Biddeford Middle School, all located on Hill Street.
“I was 14 when I started (square dancing,)” said Rob Petit, one of the organizers of this year’s convention. “That’s how I met my wife and we’ve been dancing ever since.”
The couple did have to take a break from dancing when their second son was born, said Petit. However, when that son went off to college, the couple returned to the dance floor. Now that son and his wife square dance also, said Petit.
When Petit took up square dancing, there were clubs for different ages in Saco, but now the closest square dance clubs in the area are Mix ”˜n Mingle in Scarborough and the Nubble Light House Keepers in Wells, he said.
“It’s a dying breed, but you can’t tell that by conventions,” he said. “It’s such a good activity, it’s great fun.
“A lot of friendships are formed, there’s a lot of camaraderie,” said Petit. “It’s a second family for a lot of us.”
Diane Weinstein of Waterville expressed similar feelings.
She and her partner moved to Maine a few years ago from Washington, D.C. She said they knew they would find good friends when they moved because of the type of people square dancing attracts and the types of bond that are made through dancing together.
“It’s really become a strong social network,” said Weinstein. “There’s a lot of bonding, it’s an extended family. Our social life is based around dancing.”
“The primary benefit is sociability,” said Jim Mayo, from Hampsted, N.H.
And Mayo should know the benefits.
He’s been touring the square dance circuit for more than 50 years.
In fact, Mayo, one of the foremost square dance callers, has attended all 52 of the New England Square and Round Dance conventions and has been a caller at all of them.
Callers prompt, or give instructions, to the dancers during the dance.
The characteristics that make a good caller, said Mayo, is his or her rhythm, their adeptness in fitting their voice to the music and their ability to help people have a good time together.
Mayo began calling as a teenager in 1949. He learned the art of calling from a fellow caller. Now he travels the world teaching this art form to would-be callers in Germany, Japan, Australia and many other countries.
Square dancing has its roots in similar dances that were performed in Europe, and many of the terms for calls also originated on that continent, said Mayo.
The dance form traversed the Atlantic Ocean with the earliest American settlers, he said. The only part of square dancing that is originally American, said Mayo, is the call which is used to prompt dancers.
In the 1960s and 1970s the dance made a return trip to Europe, where square dancing is alive and well, said Mayo.
Since its inception, square dancing has evolved, he said. When Mayo first began dancing, he said it was a more simple, “traditional” form. But after World War II, a “modern” form of square dancing was created.
Mayo thinks this came about because of the advancement in audio systems.
“People could hear the calls,” he said.
Modern square dancing is more complex than the traditional form, said Mayo. Different calls have been created and different music is used. Some callers even use rap music today.
“It’s amazing how much of it can be adapted,” said Mayo.
But like many organizations over the years, square dancing clubs have lost numbers.
At its peak, 10,000 people attended the New England square dance convention, said Mayo. This year only about 1,000 attended.
“People are so busy having a good time,” he said, “they forget to tell people about it.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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