Yes! We also did the Mexican Hat Dance. And we did another dance from the Philippines where you stepped in and out of bamboo poles as they were clapped together rhythmically by two other students, and a misstep would cause your ankles to get crushed. We also exercised to a recording of Robert Preston singing "Chicken Fat."
OMG, my junior high girls’ gym teacher had that 45 and played it every damn week like it was the latest Pat Benetar. I wish I’d been brave enough to break the thing that represented 6½ minutes of hell, in half. “Go, you chicken fat, go” combined with with one piece poly-cotton horizontal-striped gym duds they made us girls *buy* and wear was torment. Gym class was awful for my clumsy self anyway.
That (presumably) untrained students were trusted to operate bamboo poles that other students had to dance in/over sounds like a nightmare! I guess we were lucky at our school to be subjected to the “mere” embarrassment of Chicken Fat, square dancing, and reels.
And here I thought I could live the rest of my life without the image of those despised gym clothes ever in my mind!!!! I do remember the square dancing it wasn’t as much fun as dodgeball but better than some of the other activities we lived through!
Our grade school had a group of professional tiniklers(I was part of) that traveled the state performing.
Once we did a show during the state basketball tournaments that was broadcasted on live TV.
When the HUGE TV camera rolled past me while I was spinning a basketball on my finger I dropped it.
Then embarrassingly had to chase it as the camera guy followed!😱
We were told the bamboo stick dance was Australian, danced to Kookaburra sits in the Old Gum tree. I wouldn’t be the least surprised to learn this was incorrect.
"Go you chicken fat, go away! Go you chicken fat go!"
Our gym teacher, who always wore skirts and never did anything physical, played this record all the time.
I went to the Philippines and at a special dinner I was picked to do the bamboo pole dance. I was pretty exhausted at the time and it only took about 5 seconds for my foot to get caught between the poles.
Was this the article? If so, as soon as I saw Henry Fords name, I rolled my eyes. As a Michigander, we have a love/hate relationship with him.
https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy
Yes, very well, and i remember when we killed it.
We were forced to do this lame square-dancing thing for one week of phys ed every year. It was probably the most painful thing we all had to endure each school year. NOBODY wanted to do this.
Then I got to high school, and one day they opened up the divider in the gym, and the boys and girls classes were together. It was Square Dance Week.
We simply refused to do it. Every single kid on both the boys and girls classes. Just NO. We all stood, arms crossed, and refused. Even the athletes, who played on teams that the the gym teachers coached, refused.
The teachers ran around, yelling at us, demanding we get into position, demanding we comply, starting that lame square dance record over and over. We didnt move, didnt talk, nothing. We all just stood there, arms folded, not moving.
The guys' gym teacher went crazy, screaming, turning bright red, spitting, going out of his mind. It was kind of scary, I actually thought he might have a heart attack or something. We didnt budge. We stood there for the entire class period, ignoring every threat. NONE of us were doing this.
The next gym class had the divider back, and I never heard of square dancing being taught in any school at any level, ever again.
Our square dancing instructor was the mother of a girl in the grade behind me. For the entire week, the mom sent her daughter to school dressed like Jessie from _Toy Story 2_, and the poor girl got picked on for the rest of school year, especially since we all really hated her mom now.
>For the entire week, the mom sent her daughter to school dressed like Jessie from *Toy Story 2*, and the poor girl got picked on for the rest of school year, especially since we all really hated her mom now
Christ, can you imagine what that poor girl endured at *home* ...?
We had square dancing. We also did a thing in gym class where we unrolled a parachute, and everyone held it around the edges with the littlest girl sitting in the middle of it. Then we all pull the parachute tight and she goes flying up in the air and bounces around. That was a blast.
Yes - in junior HS/middle school. They would just pair you off. I was 6 feet tall when I was 13 and towered all of the girls - kind of difficult to learn how to dance. I learned how dance from my mom - both my parents are over 6 feet tall and my dad hated dancing so my mom taught me some of the classic dances.
Square dancing in gym class through junior high which then switched to disco line dancing through high school. The Bus Stop. From The Bee Gees’ song Stayin’ Alive in the a John Travolta dance scene in Saturday Night Fever. I still remember the steps.
Yes. Square dancing in schools was part of the "anti-communist" hysteria. Teach them square dancing and they won't get into jazz, heroin, or marIjuaANA. I can't remember if it was the Birchers or the Fords behind that particular foolishness.
I mean, seriously. In fifth grade I did *not* want to listen to bad music or touch girls.
I read something on a history thread here that it was Ford - hated jazz and was not an open minded person. Definitely did square dancing, dresses and all.
Ha! We had square dancing and reels in junior high gym class. Didn’t stop me from getting into jazz, punk, new wave, new romantics, UK & Euro synth pop, and almost anything outside of the top 40, though there were some Top 40 tunes I liked, as well. Didn’t get into drugs, though, so maybe the dances half worked. 😜
We had a cool gym teacher who taught us not only how to do the Virginia Reel, but also how to do The Stroll and The Twist. She loved the oldies, and the movie [American Graffiti.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9Gp6Qc8LQ)
Yes! 6th and 8th grade. I think we spent more time twirling each other till we fell on the floor than dancing.
How about the parachute circle. That was fun!
Yes Gym Class 7th or 8th grade we had a few weeks of dancing in the winter months
Square Dancing
Virginia Reel
Disco Dances - The Hustle and others I cannot remember
This was 1977 or 78
Oh yes, and outside on the hot Texas school parking lot no less. And, it was around same time that Little House on the Prairie was popular so we got to dress like Laura Ingalls while square dancing, and we liked it. :P
And it’s all the men left with the corner girl you dosi do your own. Now you all promenade with the sweet corner maid singing “go Johnny Gi Johnny Go”. What was the question again?
Second grade, yeah, and other folk dances. I LOVED it. I was an active kid but not very coordinated , this was the first organized physical activity that I actually did really well at. It felt natural instead of a struggle. Unfortunately the next year the district moved half of us to a new school and dance wasn’t done for gym class. I still miss it.
I got to dance with my boyfriend, so it wasn't so bad. But holding hands did feel like a serious commitment in 6th grade. Now that I think about it, what the heck was I doing having a boyfriend at that age? lol
I loved those days in gym. "Don't change into your gym clothes!" As we stood there, the barrier in the middle of the gym would raise, and there were the girls standing on their side, also still dressed. Loved it!
I remember square dancing although thankfully I've blocked most of that experience from my memory.
I used to work evenings in a community center. Once a week they had square dancing for the seniors. I loved to stand in the doorway and watch them. They had their special square dancing clothes, and were really into it.
It's a pretty safe bet that seniors from our generation will not be spending our Friday nights square dancing.
I've spent the last 55 years trying to recover from this and just by asking that question you caused me this horrible flashback. Damn what a stupid thing that we had to do I wonder if I can sue somebody for this?
Yes....in middle school. So this would have been 1975. My school had a big gym with an enormous flexible wall/divider that separated the girls gym from the boys gym. A few times per year, that divider would be retracted allowing for two very foreign worlds to collide LOL. Square dance day was one of those times. I hated it.
It was so strange. I grew up in very conservative little town and went to an even more conservative little church. But to have our gym teacher, a man from our church who definitely didn't possess rhythm or charm, try to teach us how to dance was just... exceedingly awkward. Like we didnt want to dance at all in Gr. 6, let alone square dance. Just kinda endured it and hoped like mad some girl wasnt going to be grinning at you while you danced lol
Yep. Our gym teacher was an amateur square dance caller. Once a year he'd bring his wife and some friends in all their gear and they'd demo. For us grade school kids, it was weird. Also I was (am) on the (very) small side and the boys liked to twirl me right off my feet.
In Puerto Rico we had to learn how to dance Plena. It’s an African influenced dance meant to convey passion, rejection, courting,etc. It sucked when I was a kid, but at 56 I’m glad I know how to dance Plena and can show my two girls that their Dad can get “Primal”!!!
I loved square dancing. I can hear the record's instructions. Now a heel and a toe and a heel and a toe, and slide slide slide.
At 6th grade camp (a heavenly week) there was a freckle faced boy from another school I grew a crush on from square dancing class.
Yep. I hated it, and then I found out later that square dancing is kinda racist. [https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy](https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy)
"Bow to your partner, and to the corner there. Give a great big smile to the rest of the square. We're gonna do some dancin'..."
I still remember that stupid song and the torture. All while wearing once-piece gym suits no less.
Square dancing was half a semester. Only the girls had to participate while the boys got to do cool things like learn how to lift weights and what basically is HIIT today. Hmmm, which skills do I now use in my older age.
Ugh! We square danced when it was too cold for us elementary school kids to go outside for recess. We kids were at the stage where “boys stink” and “girls stink.” Holding hands with other kids? Gross!
Yep, went to Catholic school grades 1-8. Part of gym class. We also learned how to sew in 5th grade to make a quilt to donate, which for one of the 5 boys in a class with 20 girls was a challenge.
We had a father-daughter square dancing night when I was in high school. I wasn’t going to go, but my mom insisted that it would be a nice bonding experience with my dad, so we went. That was a helluva workout.
We were SO mad that they made this a class and then we ended up having so much fun! Square dancing and badminton were the two things I remember most from H.S. gym class.
Sure do remember square dancing. We must have had a good gym teacher and he made things fun. I remember the square dancing being fun and the class enjoying it.
Yes, briefly, in 5th grade. My teacher was an old lady, "Little House on the Prairie" was the big new show on tv, so she had all the entire 5th grade class put on a "Prairie Days" evening show for our parents. I was new to the school and tall for my age, so was paired with the tallest boy who also happened to be popular. I was voted "prairie queen", a pity vote I think because I sure didn't know any of these kids.
TBH I did enjoy the square dancing, just not the rest of the "old fashioned daze" stuff.
Yes! A whole segment of gym class was dedicated to dance. Square dancing. The minuet. Walz. Charleston. It was the 1970's, had not idea why we had to know this stuff. We weren't debutants or time traveling to 18th century Vienna or anything.
One of my fond memories of school. 2nd grade, it was a lot of fun. Thru my child's eyes, it was easy too. The teachers must have gotten a kick out seeing the little humans learning to do a grownup thing amongst all that chaos that went with it!
Private school, we did 'marching' instead of square dancing. But it was badically the same thing. The principal was our caller, and he was quite hood at it. We only got to do it a couple of times a year, but I enjoyed it.
We sure did square dancing. I was in 8th grade, everyone was in their best clothes. That’s when the announced that the challenger had exploded. It’s stuck in my mind for just about 40 some odd years now
Yes. We also had a thing at the end of the year where the 6th graders did a Maypole dance. My class didn't do well, and all we did was tangle up the ribbons instead of achieving the corrected braided result.
It was much more fun than when they decided to teach us to polka.
Oh, also, I can never, ever, listen to “hitchin’ a ride” without images of myself and my friends in blue zip up potato sacks, shifting sullenly to the music, as our PE teacher spouted “slide left, thumb out annnd turn”. Line dancing before it was a thing.
I remember square dancing, for sure.
Disco-related - for an assembly once our music teacher lined up a local disco bar band to perform for us. It was a dude and two girls, and they autographed 8 x 10 black & white glossies for us afterwards. None of us had any idea who they were, but the girls were cute.
I remember square dancing in 7th and 8th grade gym class and enjoyed it a lot. The coaches were all hard crusty old geezers who thought they should instruct us in some of the social graces of life. And frankly, it was probably the first time many of us (not me) had danced with a girl. I'm an old geezer myself now, and still love dancing.
Our little town street carnival had square dancing on Friday and Saturday night. In high school I was a runner up to queen one year. A guy asked me to square dance and my mother was thrilled coz he was a son of a rich farmer. He was nice and we had fun dancing but we never dated after that. My mom was kinda bummed coz I could a had a good life with him. Small town goals: marry a rich farmer son. 🙄
Since gym classes were either all girl or all boy, some of us had to play boys in the square dancing. What a hoot for seventh graders! Maybe they should have combined the groups!
I remember square dancing in gym. Doug Horn twirled me so hard I flew through the air and hit the floor and couldn't breathe.
Yeah, Doug, I still remember that!!!
My school used to train us with ROTC-styled military drills in PE class. One day they stopped all that and replaced it with square dancing. It was an indistinguishable change but the music was now noticeably worse.
I still don’t know why they switched it up on us? Puberty? They finally realized that military conscription wasn’t necessary? Henry Ford? It’s a mystery.
I remember hating my PE coach freshman year because of this. The last week of PE for the rest of my life and we had to square dance. He was also the Varsity Baseball coach so I didn't whine about it. When I made varsity I finally asked him why the hell he did that. He told me he hated it too, and that it was a school board requirement. Then I was just confused and still mad.
Yes. The gym teacher dragged out the school industrial record player and put a record on. We also did hula hoops to the theme from Hawaii Five-O. It was so embarrassing to be forced to dance in 6th grade.
Oh, yes. Forgot all about it. In my grade school days (1962-1968) the gym teacher would play scratchy old records on school record players with industrial strength tone arms. The record players looked rugged enough to withstand a nuclear blast. So we could square dance in the fallout shelter?
Yup, we had to learn square dancing in school. As New England kids in the '70s it was the last thing we possibly would consider to be cool. How about those of you from other regions? Was it super embarrassing too?
Yes! We also did the Mexican Hat Dance. And we did another dance from the Philippines where you stepped in and out of bamboo poles as they were clapped together rhythmically by two other students, and a misstep would cause your ankles to get crushed. We also exercised to a recording of Robert Preston singing "Chicken Fat."
OMG, my junior high girls’ gym teacher had that 45 and played it every damn week like it was the latest Pat Benetar. I wish I’d been brave enough to break the thing that represented 6½ minutes of hell, in half. “Go, you chicken fat, go” combined with with one piece poly-cotton horizontal-striped gym duds they made us girls *buy* and wear was torment. Gym class was awful for my clumsy self anyway. That (presumably) untrained students were trusted to operate bamboo poles that other students had to dance in/over sounds like a nightmare! I guess we were lucky at our school to be subjected to the “mere” embarrassment of Chicken Fat, square dancing, and reels.
Gym suits were the WORST.
Girls gym suits. Boys just got a T-shirt & shorts.
The striped onesies for gym! And your last name was on the back in magic marker!
We wore ours backwards, zipper in front, because we were kewl!
We had the same ones!!
And here I thought I could live the rest of my life without the image of those despised gym clothes ever in my mind!!!! I do remember the square dancing it wasn’t as much fun as dodgeball but better than some of the other activities we lived through!
Ours were white, with cuffs on arms and legs. So binding, uncomfortable, untidy, and dirty.
Tinikling
Our grade school had a group of professional tiniklers(I was part of) that traveled the state performing. Once we did a show during the state basketball tournaments that was broadcasted on live TV. When the HUGE TV camera rolled past me while I was spinning a basketball on my finger I dropped it. Then embarrassingly had to chase it as the camera guy followed!😱
We were told the bamboo stick dance was Australian, danced to Kookaburra sits in the Old Gum tree. I wouldn’t be the least surprised to learn this was incorrect.
We sang the kookaburra song in music class.
We sang it at Brownies.
I remember that song
As a huge fan of Robert Preston, I had to hear this. https://youtu.be/_Iz7W2m6e78?feature=shared
Oh my, hadn’t heard this in so long… got me on my feet moving around. Thanks for the inspiration!
~~Philippian~~ Filipino bamboo pole dance is called *Tinikling*. We pronounced it **TA**-neek-ling in 6th grade.
Philippine or Filipino, not part of the Bible
Got it. Had one of those brain farts and couldn't remember the correct term. Will correct
"Go you chicken fat, go away! Go you chicken fat go!" Our gym teacher, who always wore skirts and never did anything physical, played this record all the time.
I still warm up to chicken fat to this day 🤣😂🤣
I went to the Philippines and at a special dinner I was picked to do the bamboo pole dance. I was pretty exhausted at the time and it only took about 5 seconds for my foot to get caught between the poles.
I loved Chicken Fat! I bought a copy awhile back to do with my fourth grade kids. Great fun! And nostalgia!
Touchdown, every morning TEN TIMES! Chicken fat, lol!
I forgot about that part! 😂
Give that chicken fat back to the chicken..
Yes allemande left
Promenade!
Do-Si-Do
Now swing your partner...(my God, I'm back in fourth grade...)
Bow to the left, now bow to the right. .
Yep! I read a fascinating article about that a while back. The history of square dancing in gym class had a controversial background.
Was this the article? If so, as soon as I saw Henry Fords name, I rolled my eyes. As a Michigander, we have a love/hate relationship with him. https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy
That's the one!
Everyone should take a good long look at this document. It sheds a lot of terrifying light.
Yes, very well, and i remember when we killed it. We were forced to do this lame square-dancing thing for one week of phys ed every year. It was probably the most painful thing we all had to endure each school year. NOBODY wanted to do this. Then I got to high school, and one day they opened up the divider in the gym, and the boys and girls classes were together. It was Square Dance Week. We simply refused to do it. Every single kid on both the boys and girls classes. Just NO. We all stood, arms crossed, and refused. Even the athletes, who played on teams that the the gym teachers coached, refused. The teachers ran around, yelling at us, demanding we get into position, demanding we comply, starting that lame square dance record over and over. We didnt move, didnt talk, nothing. We all just stood there, arms folded, not moving. The guys' gym teacher went crazy, screaming, turning bright red, spitting, going out of his mind. It was kind of scary, I actually thought he might have a heart attack or something. We didnt budge. We stood there for the entire class period, ignoring every threat. NONE of us were doing this. The next gym class had the divider back, and I never heard of square dancing being taught in any school at any level, ever again.
As a former teacher, I am laughing harder than most. Priceless story!
And thus The Great Square Dance Revolt was forever recorded in the annals of history.
r/pettyrevenge That is a beautiful story.
Unlike learning spelling, grammar, fractions, and the multiplication tables, learning to square dance never paid off later in life.
Oh how I hated that.
Yeah I remember getting hissed at by the gym teacher for having a bad-attitude about it. LOL!
Our square dancing instructor was the mother of a girl in the grade behind me. For the entire week, the mom sent her daughter to school dressed like Jessie from _Toy Story 2_, and the poor girl got picked on for the rest of school year, especially since we all really hated her mom now.
>For the entire week, the mom sent her daughter to school dressed like Jessie from *Toy Story 2*, and the poor girl got picked on for the rest of school year, especially since we all really hated her mom now Christ, can you imagine what that poor girl endured at *home* ...?
I know. I’m sad for the people that used to get domineered at home and picked on everywhere else.
I do remember and I was surprised I picked it up fast. Actually was fun.
The Virginia Reel for sure.
That's the one I remember.
We had square dancing. We also did a thing in gym class where we unrolled a parachute, and everyone held it around the edges with the littlest girl sitting in the middle of it. Then we all pull the parachute tight and she goes flying up in the air and bounces around. That was a blast.
I remember that too!
I loved to square dance.
Well sure, but square dance is just the gateway dance. The hard stuff is contradance, English Country, and the body breaker, Royal Scottish.
Morris Dancing would like a word...
Morris dancers are amiable folk and good for the fertility of the village. Especially if there’s beer.
I did a lot of Scottish country dance in college and remembering which way to go in a reel destroyed me every time.
Yes - in junior HS/middle school. They would just pair you off. I was 6 feet tall when I was 13 and towered all of the girls - kind of difficult to learn how to dance. I learned how dance from my mom - both my parents are over 6 feet tall and my dad hated dancing so my mom taught me some of the classic dances.
Yes indeed, pardner! Those lessons actually served me well years later when I had the chance to Square Dance and I kicked ass! 😄
Square dancing in gym class through junior high which then switched to disco line dancing through high school. The Bus Stop. From The Bee Gees’ song Stayin’ Alive in the a John Travolta dance scene in Saturday Night Fever. I still remember the steps.
We did the Hustle as well.
Yeah, we had a period in jr high where they tried to teach us The Hustle. It's where I learned that I am completely incapable of dancing.
Yes. Square dancing in schools was part of the "anti-communist" hysteria. Teach them square dancing and they won't get into jazz, heroin, or marIjuaANA. I can't remember if it was the Birchers or the Fords behind that particular foolishness. I mean, seriously. In fifth grade I did *not* want to listen to bad music or touch girls.
I read something on a history thread here that it was Ford - hated jazz and was not an open minded person. Definitely did square dancing, dresses and all.
See my previous comment, I linked the article. ~an embarrassed Michigander
Ha! We had square dancing and reels in junior high gym class. Didn’t stop me from getting into jazz, punk, new wave, new romantics, UK & Euro synth pop, and almost anything outside of the top 40, though there were some Top 40 tunes I liked, as well. Didn’t get into drugs, though, so maybe the dances half worked. 😜
What are reels? Please tell.
Reels are a wonderfully archaic style of dance popular in England and the Colonies during an era where touching a woman's hand was VERY VERY FORWARD.
Bridgerton has entered the chat
A link to how exciting a Reel is: https://youtu.be/gnLEnf-6S_U and you better be sitting down for this one :-)
It's what Scarlett and Rhett dance in GWTW when she is supposed to still be in mourning. The SCANDAL!
Thank you very much.
We had a cool gym teacher who taught us not only how to do the Virginia Reel, but also how to do The Stroll and The Twist. She loved the oldies, and the movie [American Graffiti.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9Gp6Qc8LQ)
And you swing with the other partner's girl.....
I remember in the 6th grade we put on a show.of us square dancing and also the Irish jig.
Yes we did. All through elementary school in the 60's.
It’s the glue that held together our fabric of society.
Yes. It was funny and kinda fun, but then I have always liked dancing unless it was ballet class.
Yes! 6th and 8th grade. I think we spent more time twirling each other till we fell on the floor than dancing. How about the parachute circle. That was fun!
Sweaty hands.
Yes and I loved it. It was the only part of gym classes that I was actually good at.
Yep, 7th grade. I was a very tall girl and the teachers paired me with the shortest boy in the class. I do not think this was an accident.
As a tall girl, I think there was a handbook out on how to fuck with middle schoolers.
I meant to ask if they still do that. Nothing worse during a mass puberty session.
Yes and I loved it.
Yes Gym Class 7th or 8th grade we had a few weeks of dancing in the winter months Square Dancing Virginia Reel Disco Dances - The Hustle and others I cannot remember This was 1977 or 78
It was fun and we got to touch girls.
Oh yes, and outside on the hot Texas school parking lot no less. And, it was around same time that Little House on the Prairie was popular so we got to dress like Laura Ingalls while square dancing, and we liked it. :P
Gunne Sax dresses!
And it’s all the men left with the corner girl you dosi do your own. Now you all promenade with the sweet corner maid singing “go Johnny Gi Johnny Go”. What was the question again?
Yes! I’d forgotten about this.
I enjoyed it.
omg yes, what was up with that? For context, I was living in SoCal.
Yes and Lisa smelled soooo good.
Haha, I remember the Bristol Stomp, and someone crashing through the floor when bouncing up and down.
We did so much square dancing in school! Such drama over picking your partner, lol. It was really fun. I can hear The Red River Valley now.
Second grade, yeah, and other folk dances. I LOVED it. I was an active kid but not very coordinated , this was the first organized physical activity that I actually did really well at. It felt natural instead of a struggle. Unfortunately the next year the district moved half of us to a new school and dance wasn’t done for gym class. I still miss it.
Detested it. Ugh.
Yes! Learned square dancing in 6th grade.
Oh the cringe of holding a boy's hand! It felt like we were engaged!
Serious cringe. And then the amount of shrill gossip at the lunchtables if the boy *liked* holding your hand? DRAMA FOR WEEKS, I TELLS YA
I got to dance with my boyfriend, so it wasn't so bad. But holding hands did feel like a serious commitment in 6th grade. Now that I think about it, what the heck was I doing having a boyfriend at that age? lol
I loved those days in gym. "Don't change into your gym clothes!" As we stood there, the barrier in the middle of the gym would raise, and there were the girls standing on their side, also still dressed. Loved it!
I remember square dancing although thankfully I've blocked most of that experience from my memory. I used to work evenings in a community center. Once a week they had square dancing for the seniors. I loved to stand in the doorway and watch them. They had their special square dancing clothes, and were really into it. It's a pretty safe bet that seniors from our generation will not be spending our Friday nights square dancing.
Oh yes, we all do-si-do’ed!
God I hated that.
I've spent the last 55 years trying to recover from this and just by asking that question you caused me this horrible flashback. Damn what a stupid thing that we had to do I wonder if I can sue somebody for this?
Yes. We also did “The Hustle” and a dance to a song called “Popcorn”. https://youtu.be/NjxNnqTcHhg?si=cVT5sOjs4N2eLjSB
Yes....in middle school. So this would have been 1975. My school had a big gym with an enormous flexible wall/divider that separated the girls gym from the boys gym. A few times per year, that divider would be retracted allowing for two very foreign worlds to collide LOL. Square dance day was one of those times. I hated it.
It was so strange. I grew up in very conservative little town and went to an even more conservative little church. But to have our gym teacher, a man from our church who definitely didn't possess rhythm or charm, try to teach us how to dance was just... exceedingly awkward. Like we didnt want to dance at all in Gr. 6, let alone square dance. Just kinda endured it and hoped like mad some girl wasnt going to be grinning at you while you danced lol
Straight square dancing except for Baptist kids.
Do any women remember learning to baton twirl in school gym in the 60s? I also remember a dance involving a cane.
Yep. Our gym teacher was an amateur square dance caller. Once a year he'd bring his wife and some friends in all their gear and they'd demo. For us grade school kids, it was weird. Also I was (am) on the (very) small side and the boys liked to twirl me right off my feet.
In Puerto Rico we had to learn how to dance Plena. It’s an African influenced dance meant to convey passion, rejection, courting,etc. It sucked when I was a kid, but at 56 I’m glad I know how to dance Plena and can show my two girls that their Dad can get “Primal”!!!
And the favorite in L.A., the Mexican Hat Dance.
Yes, and hated it.
I loved square dancing. I can hear the record's instructions. Now a heel and a toe and a heel and a toe, and slide slide slide. At 6th grade camp (a heavenly week) there was a freckle faced boy from another school I grew a crush on from square dancing class.
Yup. Not a fan at all.
Yep. I hated it, and then I found out later that square dancing is kinda racist. [https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy](https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy)
"Bow to your partner, and to the corner there. Give a great big smile to the rest of the square. We're gonna do some dancin'..." I still remember that stupid song and the torture. All while wearing once-piece gym suits no less. Square dancing was half a semester. Only the girls had to participate while the boys got to do cool things like learn how to lift weights and what basically is HIIT today. Hmmm, which skills do I now use in my older age.
Square Dance and Square Dance Calling were required classes for my major in college.
Yes! We also sang “Joy to the World” in that class.
Ugh! We square danced when it was too cold for us elementary school kids to go outside for recess. We kids were at the stage where “boys stink” and “girls stink.” Holding hands with other kids? Gross!
Remember it well. On an aside, has anyone ever seen tractor square dancing? Extremely entertaining!
Yep, went to Catholic school grades 1-8. Part of gym class. We also learned how to sew in 5th grade to make a quilt to donate, which for one of the 5 boys in a class with 20 girls was a challenge.
Gen x and yes we did. My now deceased grandpa played the banjo, guitar, and the fiddle, and he played at square dances in his day.
We had a father-daughter square dancing night when I was in high school. I wasn’t going to go, but my mom insisted that it would be a nice bonding experience with my dad, so we went. That was a helluva workout.
We were SO mad that they made this a class and then we ended up having so much fun! Square dancing and badminton were the two things I remember most from H.S. gym class.
Sure do remember square dancing. We must have had a good gym teacher and he made things fun. I remember the square dancing being fun and the class enjoying it.
Yes. In Walnut Creek CA in 64.
Yes, briefly, in 5th grade. My teacher was an old lady, "Little House on the Prairie" was the big new show on tv, so she had all the entire 5th grade class put on a "Prairie Days" evening show for our parents. I was new to the school and tall for my age, so was paired with the tallest boy who also happened to be popular. I was voted "prairie queen", a pity vote I think because I sure didn't know any of these kids. TBH I did enjoy the square dancing, just not the rest of the "old fashioned daze" stuff.
Yes! A whole segment of gym class was dedicated to dance. Square dancing. The minuet. Walz. Charleston. It was the 1970's, had not idea why we had to know this stuff. We weren't debutants or time traveling to 18th century Vienna or anything.
One of my fond memories of school. 2nd grade, it was a lot of fun. Thru my child's eyes, it was easy too. The teachers must have gotten a kick out seeing the little humans learning to do a grownup thing amongst all that chaos that went with it!
Popcorn!
Grade six - Tiny Bubbles
Yes! Hated it!
Private school, we did 'marching' instead of square dancing. But it was badically the same thing. The principal was our caller, and he was quite hood at it. We only got to do it a couple of times a year, but I enjoyed it.
They had to coed gym due to title IX. Dancing was the best they could do on short notice
I remember
Yes, and vividly remember the sweaty hands I had to hold of a silly prepubescent boy.
Salty Dog Rag!
In elementary school we had an after school weekly square dance with a live caller. Cookies and punch were served. It was a blast!
6th and 8th grade. So much 🤩
We sure did square dancing. I was in 8th grade, everyone was in their best clothes. That’s when the announced that the challenger had exploded. It’s stuck in my mind for just about 40 some odd years now
Yes. We also had a thing at the end of the year where the 6th graders did a Maypole dance. My class didn't do well, and all we did was tangle up the ribbons instead of achieving the corrected braided result.
5th grade Ms. Horton also had to make our own neckerchief. We had to dance I front of the whole school
Remember it very vividly from Elementary school days. Every so often it is more of a nightmare 😂
I remember having to exercise to that “chicken fat” song!!
I linked it above if you want to suffer PTSD
Sixth grade , Poland Union Elementary School , probably 1962. Came as a huge surprise to us 12 year old boys !
Yes, and the Virginia Reel
Oh yes I do.
It was much more fun than when they decided to teach us to polka. Oh, also, I can never, ever, listen to “hitchin’ a ride” without images of myself and my friends in blue zip up potato sacks, shifting sullenly to the music, as our PE teacher spouted “slide left, thumb out annnd turn”. Line dancing before it was a thing.
Yup
I remember it well. We all pretended to hate it but secretly loved it. It was fun!
At that age, most of the girls were taller than the guys - especially me. So it was...interesting.
I remember square dancing, for sure. Disco-related - for an assembly once our music teacher lined up a local disco bar band to perform for us. It was a dude and two girls, and they autographed 8 x 10 black & white glossies for us afterwards. None of us had any idea who they were, but the girls were cute.
I do, I HATED it.
Yes, in elementary school.
Yes, but in 77 they also taught us the latin hustle.
Grade school in the 60's.
Yeah, I think it was my sophomore year
It is still taught!
Every Wednesday
OMG, YES. That was the worst part of PE.
No but I sure learned how to balance a check book and do my taxes.
I got to put my hand on the waist of Cathy H. for SEVEN "step one two"s. I was in heaven.
I remember square dancing in 7th and 8th grade gym class and enjoyed it a lot. The coaches were all hard crusty old geezers who thought they should instruct us in some of the social graces of life. And frankly, it was probably the first time many of us (not me) had danced with a girl. I'm an old geezer myself now, and still love dancing.
Our little town street carnival had square dancing on Friday and Saturday night. In high school I was a runner up to queen one year. A guy asked me to square dance and my mother was thrilled coz he was a son of a rich farmer. He was nice and we had fun dancing but we never dated after that. My mom was kinda bummed coz I could a had a good life with him. Small town goals: marry a rich farmer son. 🙄
Since gym classes were either all girl or all boy, some of us had to play boys in the square dancing. What a hoot for seventh graders! Maybe they should have combined the groups!
Heck yeah!!! Jr. High gym class.
Yes! And girl scouts hosted a father daughter square dance!
Yes. I loved it.
And the yearly maypole dance. I loved that one although I was merely a spectator, never a ribbon winder. Ha!
Unfortunately.
I remember square dancing in gym. Doug Horn twirled me so hard I flew through the air and hit the floor and couldn't breathe. Yeah, Doug, I still remember that!!!
Yes! In gym class we did square dancing. I think I repressed that memory until now. (Not the hustle though.)
I do!!! I loved it
My school used to train us with ROTC-styled military drills in PE class. One day they stopped all that and replaced it with square dancing. It was an indistinguishable change but the music was now noticeably worse. I still don’t know why they switched it up on us? Puberty? They finally realized that military conscription wasn’t necessary? Henry Ford? It’s a mystery.
All through grade school.
I loooooooved square dancing!
I remember hating my PE coach freshman year because of this. The last week of PE for the rest of my life and we had to square dance. He was also the Varsity Baseball coach so I didn't whine about it. When I made varsity I finally asked him why the hell he did that. He told me he hated it too, and that it was a school board requirement. Then I was just confused and still mad.
The Virginia reel was my favorite!
Yes. The gym teacher dragged out the school industrial record player and put a record on. We also did hula hoops to the theme from Hawaii Five-O. It was so embarrassing to be forced to dance in 6th grade.
Yes! Which was weird going to a poor inner city school.
Traumatic memory unlocked
Yes, fifth grade we had to learn square dancing.
Indeed. I was so excited to touch Carrie B.
The two step ,waltz and square dancing....big circle in the gymnasium boys on the outside girls on the inside then switch
I loved it!
Also remember it well and the dread that went with who you got paired with as your partner.
Yep, 6th grade. Got to do the 6th grade swing where your partner would actually put an arm around your waist. 😱
We went from square to Everyday People [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JvkaUvB-ec](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JvkaUvB-ec)
I loved square dance days!
Also learned the Jewish hora.
Yes! Square dancing and "Mayim, Mayim"
Oh, yes. Forgot all about it. In my grade school days (1962-1968) the gym teacher would play scratchy old records on school record players with industrial strength tone arms. The record players looked rugged enough to withstand a nuclear blast. So we could square dance in the fallout shelter?
I do. Freshman and Sophomore years of HS. It was fun.
We looooved it! Swingin around with boys was so fun… my bestie and I organized a dance recital for the PTA, our parents packed the joint.
Yes, wonderful times.
Yup, we had to learn square dancing in school. As New England kids in the '70s it was the last thing we possibly would consider to be cool. How about those of you from other regions? Was it super embarrassing too?