We host rockin’ square dances at Saint Stephens Church in DC’s Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood. Every dance has a live caller and live music.

Our dances are open to all ages and experience levels. No prior dance experience, lessons or special getups needed. Just come out and dance!

Due to the current pandemic, we have cancelled all of our upcoming dances through at least the middle of May, including Dare To Be Square DMV.

This is a tough time for many people, so please support musicians if you are able to. If you have always wanted to learn fiddle or banjo, now is the time! Here’s a list of some musicians who are offering lessons, workshops, or concerts online:

Rachel Eddy – currently offering online lessons (Skype, FaceTime, Zoom) on fiddle, clawhammer banjo, guitar and mandolin, for all levels. reddytojam@gmail.com or http://www.racheleddymusic.com/

Becky Hill – teaches an online flatfooting class through Knock on Wood on Mondays, April 6-May 18, at 5pm (class time is not updated on website yet). hillreb1@gmail.com / Flatfooting 102

Jake Blount – teaches fiddle, banjo and traditional song (not vocal technique) lessons, and will be streaming somewhat regularly over the next few weeks. jake.meserve.blount@gmail.com or http://jakeblount.com

Alex Mitchell – teaches fiddle, guitar, tenor banjo, and mandolin in a variety of styles, including Irish, New England, Swing, etc. Lexfiddle@gmail.com

Alex Lacquement – teaches beginner to intermediate clawhammer and guitar lessons on Zoom or Skype, as well as all levels of upright bass. In addition to lessons on how to play those instruments, learn tunes, and improvise, Alex is also available to teach lessons on how to write tunes. lacquead@gmail.com or https://www.alexlacquement.com

Brad Kolodner – teaches all levels of banjo. http://www.bradkolodner.com/lessons.html

Willi Carlisle... well, just watch his video: https://www.facebook.com/willi.goehring/videos/10158091262214183/ We laughed aloud multiple times. It is impossible to summarize his offerings.

Golden Shoals (formerly Hoot and Holler) have a kickstarter for a new album: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goldenshoals/goldenshoals

Spencer & Rains have instructional videos via patreon: https://www.patreon.com/triciaspencerandhowardrains

Peghead Nation has all sorts of online instructional videos, including series by Bruce Molsky, Evie Laden, Marcy Marxer: https://pegheadnation.com/

If you know any other local musicians or artists offering anything virtually, send a message at dcsquaredance@gmail.com and we’ll update this list.

Upcoming Dances

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Safe space policy

The DC Square Dance is intended to be a safe, welcoming space for all dancers. Disruptive, aggressive, threatening, harassing, dangerous, or inappropriate behavior has no place here and will not be tolerated. We encourage a culture of proactive consent: If you are unsure whether a particular dancer wants to interact with you in a particular way, ask.

If anybody is behaving in a way that makes the dance less safe for you or for another dancer, please speak with one of the volunteers who help run the dance so that we can address the issue. Volunteers can be found at the front entrance table and throughout the hall. If you wish to make a report after the dance is over, please email dcsquaredance@gmail.com

Used to be that square dancing could be found in almost any American city or town, danced by young and old, black and white, urban and rural folks alike. Today, it’s making a comeback as people re-discover the joy of a foot-stomping, rollicking, barn-shaking dance party.

Never been square dancing before? Don’t worry! It’s easy to learn and requires no previous experience. You don’t need to bring a partner or wear any special outfit. We always have live music and a caller to walk you through the dances. Check out this video for a glimpse of what the dance is like.

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Who are we?

The DC Square Dance Collective is a group of music and dance lovers who volunteer their time to make the dance happen. We are, in no particular order: Janine Smith, Bradley Kennedy, Gabe Popkin, Kaythi Han, Stan Fowler, Michael Lyons, Brent Feito, Andrew Hunt, Dave Hauver, Anna Purinton, Joel Bluestein, Don Fahey, and Lucia Schaefer. Past members include Paul Brown, Julia Feder, Rose Mohan, Brandt Ryder, Kaitlin Rienzo-Stack, Scott Prouty and Cynthia Connolly.

We’re looking for new Collective members! Email dcsquaredance@gmail.com if you’re interested in joining or to learn more.

Booking

Please email dcsquaredance@gmail.com if you are interested in calling or playing our dance.

Partners

We are a part of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. And we couldn’t do it without the help of the wonderful folks at Saint Stephens Church.