Okay, most of you think I'm crazy, but I think it's more like 'creative'. I've been in a fun activity for years which, in it's heyday, was stuffed, stacked, and double packed with lots of participants. Of course, I'm talking about square dancing. A lot of callers today, are trying to come up with different outlets to let the public know that square dancing still exists and it's so much fun. A few things that we do to make it interesting, especially to a younger crowd are listed below. 1. Dangle Dances- This is where dancers earn fun badges for certain 'themed squares'. For example: square dancing on roller skates, in shoe boxes, in an elevator, on a king-sized bed, in the swimming pool, blindfolded, etc. You realize these are all separate events, not all one big one. But, that may be interesting. 2. A good friend of mine in LA has a square dance group called HOOFBEATS, and they are all on horseback while they dance. 4 cowboys, 4 cowgirls and 8 horses. It's wonderful to watch. 3. Square dancing in the elementary, high school and colleges. Callers are trying to get into the schools to promote and preserve this national heritage and to spread the positive fun about square dancing. 4 Big conventions and festivals are adding more youth halls and young at heart dance sessions, so they have a fun place to dance when they go to these events. 5. My personal favorite is the HANDI-CAPABLE dancers. These groups are popping up all over the country, thanks to great callers like Michelle McCarty of New Jersey. They even have their own national convention. At our group, we have 4 squares of all young, energetic handi-capable dancers. Now we are getting help from some Penn State students, which is really promoting youth dancing. 6. Square dancing for younger crowds are enjoying the competitive end of it. Our PA Farm Show has square dancing working for and earning Blue, Red and White Ribbons. 7. The Presidential Sports and Fitness Award is a great incentive program for any age of dancer, but a cool goal for our younger population. This award added Folk Dancing to it's list about 10 years ago. Under that category is squares, rounds, lines and clogging. 8. The Wheelchair square dancing that I offer in nursing homes can also be for younger crowds. Do you know how? A. Some square dance groups dance without a driver/pusher. They maneuver their chairs themselves, just like wheelchair basketball. B. I had a group at the Pittsburgh Children's Rehab Center that all danced in motorized scooters, and no one in the crowd was old enough to drive a car. 9. Another creative angle that some callers are taking to promote the 'thinkers' of the younger generation is to teach the difficult calls primarily. We have checkers and crazy 8's square dancing, but we also have chess and bridge levels. Some of the college levels are really digging the higher levels of dancing. Of course there are the basics, mainstream and plus levels which are like small, medium and large, but then there are levels much higher called Advanced and Challenge, they would be the XL and XXL....A1, A2, C1, C2, C3, C3A, C3B, C3X, C4 and I've heard of callers, who are probably Mensa members, experimenting with a C5 level. ( I personally am working on C2, but reading a lot and I love the challenge. ) If you like Sudoku or challenging video games, you'd love these harder levels. 10. And, finally, the style of square dancing that has really been kicking up the dirt since the turn of this new century, is TRACTOR SQUARE DANCING. Yes, and I absolutely love it. Now, in square dancing, please note there are two kinds of fun; the fun of cerebral thinking, like above in #9 and then there's the crazy stuff like in #1 and Tractor Square Dancing. These guys are fantastic showmen! I've seen them on little John Deere Greens and the Big Red Farmalls, and they are terrific. What gives them an A+ in showmenship is their presentation. All guys on top of these tractors, but in this group that you'll see, the guys playing the girls part have full beards, bonnets and have rolled up their pant legs. And, these dudes are big farmer guys. I know this group...they are fun...they are nuts...and they really can move on those machines. It's demos like this that leave the crowds saying, " I don't remember square dancing being this much fun." Oh, but it is.....ENJOY THE SHOW