Nick and Mary Anne Turner are ready for another season of dancing, singing and socializing with the Stampede Whirlaways, Williams Lake’s very own square-dancing club.
It’s the group’s 66th season of dancing after pushing through pandemic losses and rebuilding their community. It offers 21 weeks of dancing, with one or two new moves added to the mix each week.
“Every week is a party,” said Mary Anne Turner who has been with the group as a round dance cuer for 26 seasons. She loves to dance, but her husband and dance partner Nick is always on stage as the group’s caller. Mary Anne taught herself to cue waltz and two step to give herself something to do while she wasn’t dancing.
Mary Anne says the group’s experienced dancers are very patient and welcoming with new members. “The nice thing about our club is they’re willing to work with the new dancers...dance at wherever they are...and by the end of the season we’re flying,” she said. It doesn’t matter your age or experience level; Nick and Mary Anne Turner say all are welcome. “We even had a mother last year with a baby on her back; we all shook the baby’s hand as we went around the square it was...quite a lot of fun,” she said with a laugh.
The group teaches specifically social square dancing (SSD), which is more of a “drop in and just dance,” they said. There’s not an overwhelming amount of moves to learn, and it’s all done so in a friendly and fun way. The Turners explained each level of square dancing is standardized across the world, making it easy for dancers to find a group to mingle with. They say it doesn’t matter if you’re in Germany or Japan, if you see an SSD gathering, you know you can dance there.
Members of the club also have the opportunity to learn choreographed ballroom dancing which Mary Anne slips into each session for those interested. The night usually begins at 7 p.m., when Mary Anne takes a few people aside to learn a bit about round dancing. The rest of the group gets to dance all together until 7:30 when everyone comes together to practice square dancing under Nick’s direction, along with the occasional waltz headed by Mary Anne.
“It’s a grumpy world right now,” said Mary Anne who turns to dancing to get her mind off things. The Stampede Whirlaways are still recovering from the pandemic, which forced the group to operate sporadically. Mary Anne said, “the square-dancing community took a real hit,” because of how much contact is involved in the activity. And while the group may no longer get out to square dance in snowshoes, they do try to hold special events like a Halloween dance and a Christmas party every year.
The Turners are looking forward to seeing new and returning faces, and also hope to find someone interested in learning to do the calling themselves. “It sure would be fun if we had some more people who would like to learn to call and then we would have a variety of voices,” said Mary Anne. Nick has been calling for the Whirlaways for 46 years and is eager to teach the practice, which he says requires a singing voice and rhythm to master.
