Nearly 400 dancers will take to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds from July 6 to 8 for .
Every two years, the puts on a dancing festival in a community in B.C., and Cloverdale has been chosen to host this year.
Wendy Krueger, who works at Walnut Elementary in Fleetwood when she鈥檚 not calling cues for local dance clubs or organizing the upcoming festival as co-chair, said that square and round dancing have a long history in Surrey.
鈥淭he clubs first started around here about 60 years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t became huge when movie stars were dancing on set.鈥�
鈥淪ince the mid-90s [the popularity] has been dropping,鈥� she admitted. 鈥淧robably due to there being so many more choices [of activities].鈥�
But the festival still has a dedicated following among regional dance groups.
It鈥檚 hosted by the Fraser Valley Square & Round Dance Association and the Vancouver & District Caller Teachers Association. Dancers are coming in from across B.C. and some will be travelling from Washington, Idaho, and even as far as Australia to dance at Shannon Hall, the Alice McKay building and the Cloverdale Rec Centre next week.
Organizers call the festival both fun and educational.
In both square and round dancing, the dancers move in unison, directed by live cues. The simple routines are memorized and combined in thousands of ways 鈥� each dance may be made up of familiar steps, but it is unique in its execution.
Co-ordinating the three-day mini festival was no small feat. A grand total of 43 presenters 鈥� 18 round dance cuers and 25 square dance callers 鈥� will call the dances over three days, for hundreds of dancers in three separate buildings.
鈥淪quare dancing comes in many levels, because, like anything, people like to do it to the Nth degree,鈥� said Krueger, who has been calling dances for six years.
At the BC Festival, there will be 鈥渕ainstream,鈥� 鈥減lus,鈥� 鈥淎1鈥� and 鈥淎2鈥� levels of dance, ranked from entry-level to advanced.
The different levels will alternate between the two dance halls, because, as Krueger explained, Shannon Hall is better suited to the sport than the Alice MacKay building.
鈥淪hannon is the absolute perfect dance hall,鈥� said Krueger. 鈥淎lice McKay is more accustomed to roller derby and wrestling鈥� [so] we鈥檙e trying to share the beauty of Shannon Hall.鈥�
The group of volunteers is looking forward to the festival. It was a lot of work to organize, said Krueger.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite fun though,鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淲e enjoy it.鈥�
If you鈥檇 like to come by and watch the dances, admission for the festival is $2.
Spectators can watch round dancing at the from 3:45 鈥� 4:45 p.m. during the festival, or from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 8, at Shannon Hall. The 14 different rounds will feature two-step, rumba, jive and much more.
Organizers recommend that spectators join the group in the evenings from 7:30 鈥� 10 p.m., as that鈥檚 when the most dancers will be enjoying both square and round dancing in Shannon Hall and Alice McKay building, both located on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.
For more information, go to .
