Square Dance Club
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Green Mountain Steppers Square Dance Club |
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The Thursday workshops are at the Tuttle Middle School (500 Dorset St) in South Burlington. For a Google Map, please click on Tuttle Middle School Gym
Our next dance is the Christmas Dance on Saturday December 10, 2011 and will be called by Al Monty. There will be Advance between 6:30 & 7:30 followed by Class, Mainstream, & Plus between 7:30 & 10:30. The dance will be at the Faith United Methodist Church on Dorest Street in South Burlington, VT. So bring your dancing shoes. For a Google Map, please click on Faith United Methodist Church.
With the leaves of autumn swirling off the trees, the Green Mountain Steppers held their Fall Frolic Dance on November 5, with 60 dancers joining in to say goodbye to fall.
Caller Darrell Sprague kept things lively with advanced and plus calls challenging the dancers. Door prizes of a decorative fall floral arrangement, two bags of fresh apples, and a free dance certificate were given out.
Dancers from Lake Champlain Squares, Connecticut Valley Swingers, Lamoille River Swingers, Cast Off 8s, and Checkmates joined us to dance. The Lamoille River Swingers took a GMS banner back with them, and the Lake Champlain Squares and Cast Off 8's each retrieved their banner which we had been keeping.
The Green Mountain Steppers want to thank everyone who helped with the dance and all the dancers who came to share the evening with us. We had lots of fun and look forward to seeing everyone again at our next dance on December 10.
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The Green Mountain Steppers 41st Anniversary Dance welcomed 40 dancers to an evening of square dancing. With cool temperatures and leaves changing colors outside, dancers came from Newport, Morrisville, Bradford, Rutland, and central Vermont to join the Steppers and help celebrate 41 years of the club’s dedication to square dancing.
In keeping with the autumn theme, table runners in fall colors decorated the tables, and delicious baked goods—breads, brownies, cookies—served as the centerpieces. They also served as the door prizes, and eight people went home with tasty treats!
Mainstream, Plus, and Advanced calls were delivered at a lively pace by the club’s caller, Al Monty. The Green Mountain Steppers thanks everyone for helping us celebrate another year of square dancing, and we look forward to seeing you again next October!
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Our 2011 Fun Nights attracted 40 people who came to dance and learn new square dance steps. New dancers and old timers joined the fun and delicious food that was supplied by our very good cooks!! Young and old(er) kicked up their heels to calls of dosado, courtesy turn, allemande left, and bend the line. Each weekly workshop will give new dancers the chance to learn new steps and old timers to brush up on calls they may have forgotten about over the summer.
When you become a Green Mountain Steppers, you will make new friends, and your heart, your muscles, and your mind will thank you.
Join now, if you want to learn western style square dancing, as the workshop on September 22 is the last week that new dancers can easily join in and pick up the new steps. See you then.
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The GMS Pot Luck Supper held on St. Patrick's Day this year was a culinary feast. From corned beef and cabbage to fruit pies and pineapple cake, delicious fare filled the buffet table. Secondary visits to the rations proved the well-known adage that square dancers love to eat. Then it was back to square dancing to work off the calories. A most satisfying evening was had by all.
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In spite of the cold and snowy weather we have been having, 54 dancers traveled to South Burlington to help the Green Mountain Steppers celebrate Valentine’s Day with our Dance on February 12.
Don Moger came down from Montreal to call an afternoon and evening of fun and dancing for all levels of calls from Mainstream to Advanced and Challenge. Dancers came from Chittenden County, the Northeast Kingdom, Central Vermont, and from as far away as Albany, New York. Door prizes of candy and a free dance ticket were taken home by lucky dancers, and the Cast Off 8s club from Rutland took home one of our banners, which of course means that we must now go after it!
Thanks to everyone who helped with this dance. Now, think Spring!!
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With Christmas trees sparkling from the stage and Al Monty calling to joyful music, the holidays were celebrated in style at the Green Mountain Steppers annual Christmas Dance on December 11, 2010. A spirit of festivity filled the hall with familiar faces, old friends, and new dancers from five clubs twirling and stepping to cheerful holiday music, as Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph watched from the stage. With music boxes and holly napkins decorating the food table, an assortment of Christmas sweets, dips, sandwiches, popcorn and cake, were enough to satisfy the sweet tooth of any holiday grinch.
The Green Mountain Steppers extend their very best holiday wishes to all our friends who helped us celebrate the season. We look forward to seeing you again in 2011.
The Green Mountain Steppers joined with the Lake Champlain Squares on Saturday, November 6 for a lively co-sponsored dance at Faith United Church in So. Burlington.
With Marty Van Wart calling and Dolley Seymour cueing, dancers enjoyed an evening of dancing and socializing. Four squares tested their skills to Marty’s lively Advanced dance calls early in the evening, and more dancers joined in later to swing and promenade to Mainstream and Plus. Between square dance tips, Dolley Seymour cued for 12 couples who swirled and stepped to her smooth cueing.
The evening was capped with lots of food and laughter. Many thanks to all who helped make the evening a success.
On Saturday evening, October 2, 2010, the Green Mountain Steppers celebrated their 40th Anniversary with a dance at Mater Christi in Burlington. The hall was filled with 54 dancers who came from nine clubs to help the Steppers celebrate this special year. Dancers from Central Vermont Squares, Twin State Squares, Country Corner Squares, Lake Champlain Squares, Lamoille River Swingers, Connecticut Valley Swingers, North Country Swingers and Moose Alley Squares joined the Green Mountain Steppers to dance to caller Al Monty, who has been the club’s caller for 34 years.
Autumn decorations filled the hall, delicious sandwiches, fruit, cheese and strawberries filled the food tables, and a huge cake decorated with fall colors of orange, rust and green displayed a Happy 40th Anniversary greeting.
Dancers twirled and promenaded to advanced, mainstream and plus calls, plus a special Grand Parade call. Past presidents were invited, and Phil and Sonja Stevens, who were presidents over 20 years ago, joined us. The Country Corner Squares of Lyndon took home a GMS banner. So, we’ll have to raid their next dance!
The Green Mountain Steppers thank all who helped them celebrate this special anniversary and look forward to dancing with everyone for many more years. Below are some pictures taken by Dorothy Lovering for your enjoyment.
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On Saturday, August 7, the Green Mountain Steppers held our Ice Cream Social Square
Dance at the Mater Christi School with Al Monte calling. Fifty seven dancers attend the dance and enjoyed Al’s calling.
There were nine clubs represented; Green Mountain Steppers, Moose Alley Squares, Cast Off 8’s, Central VT Squares,
Twin State Squares, Lake Champlain Squares, Connecticut Valley Swingers, Lamoille River Swingers, and River Ramblers
(FL). The Lake Champlain Squares received a banner from the Green Mountain Steppers. Two Dancers, Betty and
David Bradley, were from the River Ramblers located in Florida. Two other dancers, Pete and Millie Thomas were from
Michigan. Everyone had a great time feasting on the ice cream. Thank you Al for calling a great dance. To view a few
pictures, click here for a Slide Show.
Thursday night May 20 was our Annual Meeting. Several items were presented to the members for voting, including the following Slate of Officers.
The Slate of Officers was approved by the members, as presented. If a club member would like to obtain a copy of the meeting minutes, contact the club Secretary, Dorothy Lovering.
On Thursday, May 6, the Green Mountain Steppers graduated three new square dancers: Barbara Couture, Mary Siple, and Aaron Bergeron. Eight guests attended the ceremonies and helped to welcome the three new dancers to the Green Mountain Steppers club. Mary & Maurice LeDuc of the Lake Champlain Steppers, Marge & Joel Moore from the Connecticut Valley Swingers, and Wayne & Nancy Hall (GMS members and members of Advanced 60’s) helped our presidents, Royce & Marlene Irwin with the candle lighting ceremony. Caller Al Monty read us the 10 Commandments of Square Dancing, so that new members, and old, would obey the caller’s instructions, not try to out-guess him, make new square dance friends around the world, and other directives that enhance square dancing fun and enjoyment. Over 35 members enjoyed the potluck and helped celebrate the graduation, including some members who have recently returned from a winter in sunny Florida. A beautiful bouquet of flowers graced the table of delicious food prepared by GMS club members.
The Green Mountain Steppers held the April Showers Dance on Saturday, April 3 at the Faith United Methodist Church in South Burlington. Bucky Tenney from Morrisville, VT called A1/A2 between 6:30 and 7:30 PM with Class, Mainstream & Plus between 7:30 and 10:30. Over thirty people enjoyed the dance hosted by Ron and Priscilla Paquette. Two clubs successfully conducted banner raids and received banners from Green Mountain Steppers. The Lake Champlain Squares of South Burlington had 9 members and the Lamoille River Swingers from Morrisville had 8 members. Thank you Bucky for calling a great dance which everyone enjoyed. To view a few pictures, click here for a Slide Show.
On March 18 our caller, Al Monte and his wife Anita, returned from their four week vacation in Florida. The weather was not as warm as they wished, but they still enjoyed their time in the sunshine state. While Al was gone Ted Lizotte, Darrell Spraque, and Ken Ritucci stepped in as guest callers for our workshops. Welcome back Al!
On March 12 & 13 the Lake Champlain Squares held the 41th Maple Sugar Festival. Several members of the Green Mountain Steppers enjoyed working the Festival and dancing to a group of excellant callers. Thank you Lake Champlain Square for great weekend of dancing.
The Green Mountain Steppers held a Special Dance & Potluck at the Faith United Methodist Church on Saturday 2/13/10 with Don Moger calling. In the afternoon A1/A2 with C1 Star Tips were featured and after the potluck, the dance continued with the A1/A2 hour before ending with Mainstream and Plus.
The Cast Off 8's from Rutland (CO8's) and Lake Champlain Squares (LCS) of South Burlington both led banner raids with 16 members. The LCS received both banners from a previous Green Mountain Steppers raid and CO8's got their banner back plus a Green Mountain Stepper banner. Don did a great job as usual with a lot of banter and interaction with the dancers. In one tip, each square got to name 2 "calls" that he could not use to the resolve the square in the next tip. The results were humorous and showed Don's tremendous talent as an innovative caller. Door prizes were a free admission for two to a Saturday night dance and a large heart box of chocolates. $25.00 was won in the 50/50 jackpot. We had a excellent turnout with two plus squares in the afternoon and seven plus squares in the evening. We had about 25 people for the potluck supper. Thanks to great cooks who provided the dishes, the food was diverse and yummy. Dress was casual and went from blue jeans to square dance attire. WE ARE HAVING HIM BACK NEXT YEAR>>>SAME TIME FRAME. Thanks to all the club representatives that did such a great job promoting this unadvertised dance. To view a few pictures, click here for a Slide Show.
For the first time, the Green Mountain Steppers joined South Burlington’s National Night Out, an annual celebration to generate support for local crime prevention efforts and bring an awareness of drug prevention to the community. Thirteen GMS members walked in the parade from University Mall to the South Burlington High School, handing out flyers to parade bystanders. The flyers welcomed all participants to come to the September Fun Nights and join the club. During the evening, the Steppers danced at the High School, and pre-registration forms were handed out. Event attendees were given the chance to ask questions of dancers and find out more about Western Style Square Dancing. To view a few pictures, click here for a Slide Show.
The GMS annual Ice Cream Social Dance was held August 1 at Mater Christi School, and more than 50 dancers twirled their way throughout the evening to Advanced, Mainstream and Plus calls by Al Monty. Guests included dancers from the Connecticut Valley Swingers, the Lamoille River Swingers, North Country Swingers, Lake Champlain Squares, and the Central Vermont Squares. The dance was chaired by Anne Willett and Tana Bullard. In addition to dancing, this annual event gives ice cream lovers the chance to indulge in their favorite ice cream flavors, topped with treats of chocolate, strawberrys, sprinkles, M & Ms, and nuts. To view a few pictures, click here for a Slide Show.
On Thursday July 16 the Green Mountain Steppers held their annual summer picnic-workshop at the camp of Ray & Erna Niquette on Lake Champlain. Located on Niquette’s Bay, the camp provides a secluded view of the lake while dancing to Al Monty’s calls. The club has held its annual picnic here for several years with a potluck dinner before dancing. Swimming was optional, and anyone could have done so. Members come every year to enjoy the camp atmosphere, the great potluck, and dancing to Al Monty.