Learn to Dance Program
Learning to square dance is as easy as counting to four and walking in a square. The Mineola Railers will teach you to dance and have you out on the dance floor before you know it.
March 7, 2016, that's when our "Learn To Dance" program began here in Mineola. We invite you to come out to the American Legion Hall on US HWY 80 East here in Mineola. Tim Tyl will have you on the dance floor before you leave. We think this will be the beginning of a new chapter in your life that you will wish you had opened much earlier. Now that the "Learn to Dance" program is up and running check with us periodically for dates to jump on board with the program.
We will instruct you in the square dance calls and encourage you to move along at your own pace. You will be able to dance with us in a comfortable environment and progress at a pace you feel most comfortable, without a lot of pressure to move faster than you feel you can. Soon you will not only be dancing with us here in Mineola but if you like you will be "travel dancing" to other clubs in the area and taking square dance vacations that take you all over the country, on cruises, and overseas. Square Dance is called in English all over the world, anywhere they are square dancing you will be able to dance, worldwide.
We think that when you discover the fun and fellowship of square dancing you will want to continue to grow in this great activity. This will keep you coming on Monday nights and not wanting to miss a single week of dancing.
We have discovered an interesting phenomenal in new dancers. It is usually the lady that drags the gentleman to the square dance hall to learn to dance. After a couple of evenings of dancing it is the gentleman who is encouraging the lady to not miss a single dance night. That said, we would like you to just come out and experience square dance. We guarantee it is not what you did in grade school.
See you Monday night!!!
FAQs
What if I have two left feet?
That one is really easy. I went to the doctor the other day to have my annual physical and ask him about that. Well it came from a highly ranked medical professional that in all his academic training and practical experience he never encountered that physical defect and if I could come up with a true example we could be rich men. I was photoshopping a group picture not too long ago when one of our dancers didn't have on the coordinating shoes for the group. Well I thought the best thing to do was to just use my new editing tools and fix the issue instead of trying to get the group back together in the correct attire and re-shooting the picture. I was quite proud of myself until it was pointed out to me that one of the ladies in the picture had two left feet. She is a pretty good square dancer even with those two left feet.
What if I don’t have a partner?
You can meet all kinds of people at square dancing. There are life long friendships made, people meet their life partner at square dance groups. There are singles clubs, couple clubs, youth clubs, and most clubs are open to everyone that dances.
What is this going to cost me?
Here at the Mineola Railers we request a $5.00/person donation to help us keep the doors open. You won't have to pay a large fee up front or tie yourself to any particular time commitment.
Am I too old to do this sort of thing?
Several years ago I was involved in organizing a square dance birthday party. The gentleman was turning 100 years old. We had his favorite caller coming to town to call the dance for him as a tribute to his dedication and love of square dancing. He didn't dance every dance that evening, he wasn't the most agile, but he kept up with the other dancers in his square and had a great time.
What if I don't have the energy or the stamina to dance?
One of the many good reasons to square dance, is that square dancing is a very good aerobic form of exercise. You will need to just start out easy and build up to dancing 2-3 hour dance sessions. Not many of us could do that when we first started to dance.
What if I don't want to wear those short skirts and fluffy petticoats?
Clubs today are accommodating to most all attire. Most do require that a dancer be dressed in an appropriate manner for the time. It is prefered that men wear a long sleeve shirt and that we do remember that square dancing is considered a family activity so modest attire is prefered. There are some more formal dances that are billed as proper square dance attire and that is usually defined as either the short dresses with petticoats or long praire type dresses for the ladies and a long sleeve shirt with long pants for the gentlemen.