Try Square Dancing
It’s not the “barn dance” you used to do in high school gym class. It’s way more fun! No partner and no experience needed.
Lessons on Monday nights
Friendly Ties teaches new dancers on Monday nights, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, from the fall into spring, at the Pickerington Senior Center, 150 Hereford Drive, Pickerington, with caller Jason Raleigh. The first two lessons are free. After that it’s $5 a lesson per dancer.
Questions about lessons? Call Teresa Pitts at 614-778-7131, or send us a note.
No lesson dates listed? A new class may be about to start: ask us, or see every class around Columbus below.
Why people love it
Great low-impact exercise
It’s not uncommon to walk the equivalent of 2 miles during an evening’s dance. Put that unused treadmill in your basement!
You don’t need a partner
If you don’t have someone to dance with, don’t worry. We have “angels” (experienced dancers) in all of our classes who are there to help you every step of the way.
Terrific mental workout
Square dancing is all about dancing the right moves as the caller sings them out, and there are a lot of moves. You’ll be calling on your mental and muscle memory all night.
No better entertainment value
The first two lessons are free. After that, it’s a very modest charge per person: way less than a movie!
Friendships for a lifetime
Square dancing is “friendship set to music.” You’ll make friends you keep for a lifetime, and wherever you go on Earth, you’ll find other dancers.
“But I hate country music!”
Today’s callers use rock, pop, jazz, blues and more, in addition to country. The music is as varied as the callers and dancers.
Fun for the whole family
Anyone from 8 to 80 can enjoy themselves, and our dances are smoke and alcohol free.
How it works
A caller stands at the front and calls out each move in time to the music. Eight dancers, four couples in a square, follow along together. Nobody memorizes a routine: you learn the calls a few at a time, and before long you’re dancing to callers all over Ohio, and anywhere in the world.
At Friendly Ties we dance Plus squares and rounds. Round dancing is couples dancing to a cuer, who calls the steps of waltzes, two-steps and cha-chas, so you never have to remember the routine.
More classes around Columbus
Other Central Ohio clubs teach too, on different nights of the week. Find every beginner class around Columbus at Columbus Square Dance.
Ask us a question Find a class near you
Want a head start?
Our 3D Animations page shows any call danced out, step by step, so you can see a move before you try it.