Edited from the 2026 Pentiction Canadian National Square, Round & Clog Dance Festival pamphlet
- Try to arrive on time.
- Setup a square promptly when the music starts or at the caller’s request.
- Join the nearest square that is forming. If all nearby squares are filled, hold your hand up high so the caller can either guide you to a square where you are needed or get some other dancers to join you. AVOID DANCING IN CLIQUES!
- It is considered bad manners to walk through the middle of one square to get to another. It is equally rude to pass a square in need of a couple. NEVER walk away from a square once you have joined it.
- If your square breaks down, form two lines facing, and wait for a familiar call. Try to keep dancing.
- Introduce yourself to others in the square either before or after the tip. This will help you be friendly and you will make new friends.
- Always listen to the caller and resist the temptation to explain calls to others in the square. That’s the caller’s job. However, after the tip is over, you may offer help.
- There is no excuse for rough-handling fellow dancers.
- At the end of every dance be sure to thank the others in your square. They did contribute to your fun.
- Friendliness is part of good manners. Square dancing promotes friendliness since it offered endless opportunities for developing friendships. If you are not continually making new friends, you are not getting the most from square dancing. A good way to ensure a friendly atmosphere is to consider yourself always as a host to all other dancers. Friendliness comes from within yourself and can best be described as your interest in others.
- Because square dancing is a team effort, each member should keep up with the new square dance moves so the team (square) doesn’t break down. However, beginners should be encouraged and helped to become stronger dancers.
- Do NOT drink alcoholic beverages or eat garlic before attending a dance. Wear deodorant.
- Don’t take square dancing so seriously that you forget your reason for being hear: fun and fellowhip!
- Smiles are contagious, infect others with yours often!
Tips to being a better dancer
- Listen, listen, listen. Learn to be a good listener.
- Remember your original position: head or side. During a tip some calls ask for “original heads” or “original sides” to perform.
- Know where you are in the formation – centre, end, leader, trailer – so you will know what part of the next call to execute.
- Think before you move. With practice, the calls will come naturally to you.
- Learn the definitions, don’t dance by “feel.” Some calls may not “feel” right at first because you have become “conditioned” to dancing them from only certain positions or in certain sequences.
- Key off your opposite (the person in your position on the other side of the square.)
- Hand grips are preferred over arm grips in setups where dancers are facing. Thumb and fingers together. THUMBS SHOULD NOT BE LINKED AS WHEN SHAKING HANDS. Gents hold your hands palm up and ladies hold your hand palm down.
- Trust the caller. A call or setup may not feel right and you think you are in the wrong position – chances are you’re not. The caller will guide you through the sequence to an “Allemande left,” just be patient.