June 22-25, 2016 – National Square and Round Dance Convention, Des Moines, Iowa.
For those of you who missed Jerry Story’s keynote address at the National Convention, his message needs to be heard by everyone who cares about the future of square dancing.
“Clubs, Dancers, Dancer Associations and Callers ALL want the same thing! We all want this very special activity to continue, to grow and to thrive. We are all on the same side and we must work together if we are going to bear witness to this goal. That means things as we have always known them or done them HAVE TO change.”
Click on the following link to read the rest of Jerry’s message: http://jerrystory.com/Portals/0/Save%20Square%20Dancing%20Official%20Rewrite.pdf
Read Jerry’s keynote address at the following link: http://jerrystory.com/Portals/0/KeyNote1.pdf%20-%20Copy%20-%20Copy.pdf
SDM Showcase of Ideas Display!
Final registration at the 65th National Square Dance Convention in Des Moines was 3,932.
About half of the Minnesotans showed up for this photo.
Minnesota dancers on the left side and on the right side are Wisconsin folks who were also doing a group photo.
Minnesota garnered the second highest number of dancers at the convention: 306! Some of them marched in the Parade of States Saturday evening. Iowa had the most dancers in attendance: 557. Illinois took third with 297.
Exhibition dancers were colorful and added sparkle to the convention.
The River City Riders from Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, have performed at five national conventions.
The Ghost Riders Band from California has been featured at 14 national square dance conventions and provided live music Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the mainstream hall. A different caller sang/called with them every five minutes.
Ar-Dale Dancers at the National Convention in Des Moines.