A Different Approach to Lessons—and a Club That’s Thriving
What if beginner lessons weren't simply a path to graduation, but a fun and valuable part of square dancing in their own right?
Washington State's Happy Hoppers Club offers an interesting example of how rethinking the traditional lesson model can create an active, welcoming dance community. One of the larger clubs in the state, Happy Hoppers credits much of its success to the model established by longtime caller Jim Hattrick and continued by his successor, Craig Abercrombie. Tom Halpenny sent this club success story in with some great stats to illustrate their success.
Unfortunately, square and round dancing clubs were not immune to the pain of COVID, and these membership stats show that. But the Happy Hoppers were undeterred and focused on rebuilding.
Rather than offering one lesson cycle each year, they start a new Plus/Mainstream lesson session every eight weeks—four times a year. There is no formal graduation and no pressure for participants to move on to club dances. Dancers are encouraged to learn and progress at their own pace, deciding for themselves when they are ready for the next level.
Perhaps most interesting is the club's view of experienced dancers who continue attending lessons. Rather than seeing "angeling" only as a volunteer obligation, the club recognizes that attending lessons can be a rewarding destination in itself.
The lessons offer plenty of dancing and practice at full tempo in a casual, welcoming environment. New and experienced dancers mix freely, everyone dances with everyone, and longtime dancers can continue improving their skills while helping newcomers learn.
For some, the lesson experience is actually their favorite part of square dancing.
One dancer has attended the club's lesson sessions for 15 years—approximately 60 sessions—and still looks forward to them.
Tom reports, "I like meeting new dancers and watching their 'fresh brains’ gradually learn the dancing skills. I attend both lessons and dances, but I like the lessons more. You meet new people, everyone dances with everyone, and you get lots of practice.”
In recent years, the club's lessons have sometimes drawn higher attendance than its regular dances. Another club in the area uses a similar model and has also experienced excellent attendance.
The Happy Hoppers story raises an important question for clubs everywhere: What if we stopped thinking of lessons only as something dancers need to complete before the “real” dancing begins?
For some people, regular, welcoming, low-pressure lessons may be exactly the kind of square dance experience they want. And when experienced dancers enjoy coming back year after year—not simply because they are needed as angels, but because they genuinely enjoy being there—new dancers benefit as well.
The lesson program becomes more than a pipeline for producing graduates. It becomes a thriving social and dancing community of its own.
For clubs looking for new ways to attract and retain dancers, the Happy Hoppers model offers a valuable lesson: Success doesn’t always require getting everyone to follow the same path. Sometimes growth begins by giving people more ways to belong.
Dancers Are Ready for Change. Are We Ready to Lead It?
Square and round dancers are worried about the future—but they also believe the future can be changed.
A Square Dance Revival! survey of 99 dancers found that 72% are very or extremely concerned about the future of square and round dancing, and 85% believe clubs need to change significantly or somewhat to attract new dancers. These numbers confirm what many of us are already seeing: maintaining the status quo is not enough. If we want our clubs to survive and grow, we need leaders who are prepared to try new approaches, build welcoming communities, and help others navigate change.
Dancers are also telling us where to focus. 91% identified recruiting new dancers as highly important, 90% prioritized marketing and social media, 90% emphasized retaining current dancers, and 87% placed high importance on creating welcoming club cultures. Leadership training itself received strong support, with 63% calling it very important or essential and 76% saying they would encourage their club leaders to participate.
Perhaps the most hopeful finding is that potential new leaders are already among us. 70% of respondents said they would or might consider serving in a future leadership role, and 84% said they would or might participate in leadership training.
Turning the Survey Results Into Action
In response, Square Dance Revival! plans to launch a new online leadership training program beginning in October and continuing through May. The program will meet once a month for approximately two to three hours and will focus on practical skills to help club and district leaders strengthen their organizations, navigate change, engage volunteers, and build a stronger future for square and round dancing.
The first program will be limited to 15 club and district participants, allowing for meaningful discussion, interaction, and shared problem-solving. The cost for the entire program will be $35, with registration open during September. Depending on interest, we may offer more than one session at different times to make participation possible for more leaders.
If more people want to take the training, we'll offer another session during the same time period on a different day. In addition, Square Dance Revival! is developing a separate leadership training program specifically for state and national officers, recognizing that leadership challenges and responsibilities differ at each level of our activity.
The survey makes one thing clear: dancers recognize the need for change, and many are willing to be part of creating it. Our goal is to give current and emerging leaders the encouragement, practical tools, and support they need to turn that willingness into action.
The future of square and round dancing will not be determined by whether change is needed. Our dancers already recognize that it is. The question is what we choose to do next.
Questions? Email us at: sdr@squaredancerevival.org
