For More Information

Feel free to download our brochure

email us at info@getupanddance.ca or give us a call with questions about modern square dancing, our Club and joining our group

Facebook:
facebook.com/swingingSwallows

The benefits of square dancing are as varied as the music genres you’ll hear on any given night, but we like to break it down into three main categories: mental, physical, and social. Square dancing can help you... LIVE LIVELY...livelivelysquaredance.com/

 

 

About Us

The Swinging Swallows Square Dance Club is a registered not-for-profit Ottawa Valley organization. We have an Executive, a Caller and a fun bunch of members! Our Club Caller is Ron Gardner, our President is Andre Blais and the Past President is Bill Shields. The Vice President is Jeannie Mastine and the Treasurer/Secretary is Wendy Shields; the Social Convener is Mary Dament. The Advertizing and Publicity persons are Doug & Gloria Bateman. Please let us know if you have concerns, suggestions or questions.

COVID has affected our club activities as it has most everything else.  Some things are not up and running yet as before (for example, the Square Time publication is only on-line at present).  We require proof of at least three vaccinations and, though not mandatory, we encourage dancers to wear masks for the time being.

We like to visit retirement and long-term care homes and other community events to dance for their entertainment and our well-being, as a Club and as a person! These dance performances are done strictly on a volunteer basis. We also try to do a couple of ‘demonstrations’ each year to help raise awareness, interest, and participation in the activity we all enjoy.

In 2015 we began a new annual ‘tradition’ by hosting the Boys and Girls Club for a dinner and some dancing after. We all had a great time at the first event when Andy gathered old and young together in a big square to start the dancing! We’re planning and looking forward to the next Boys and Girls Club dinner/dance.

If you want more information about the Swinging Swallows, visit our nest in the Fellowship Hall of Wesley United Church at 275 Pembroke Street East in Pembroke, Ontario on a Thursday evening, mid-September through mid-April, from 7:00 pm.

The Swallows dance most Thursday evenings, from 7:00 to about 9:30. Since the Club is comprised of three square dance levels – Basics, Mainstream and Plus – we take turns for the ‘teach’ part of the evening, and then dance to ensure we have knowledge of the new moves. There are no square dance competitions or exams. We dance for fun not for perfection!
There is a publication called “Square Time” that dancers can subscribe to. It provides lots of information, including news from other clubs in the Eastern Ontario Square Dance area, and details about conventions, jamborees, and dances. We keep a copy on the Info Table for dancers to look at. 

We have a ‘party night’ nearly every month – Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc. -- to which we bring “finger foods”. Mmmmmm. At Christmas and the end of the dance year we have a pot-luck dinner prior to dancing. There is always cold water available, and tea and coffee cost a quarter per cup!

Where We Dance

The Swinging Swallows gather on Thursday evenings to start dancing at 7:00 pm. We’ve been dancing at Wesley United Church Fellowship Hall at 275 Pembroke Street East in Pembroke since the club was formed. The Hall is an excellent facility that provides two floors for dancing, if needed, and the use of a kitchen for our party nights. There is ample parking in the rear of the Church. Our sessions accommodate new and veteran dancers, all of whom enjoy the physical and mental workout that comes with square dancing.

 

Join Us

The Club has an annual membership drive every September (usually the second and third Thursdays after Labour Day). We invite people to come and see what modern square dancing is all about as it is quite different from traditional square dancing. (For more information on how the dancing is different, visit the “Modern Squares?” in the main menu.)

If you’re already a dancer and new to the area, or just returning to square dancing, email or call to ensure there will be someone to greet you, and come out on Thursday evening.  Dance nights are comprised of lessons and dancing what has been taught, and then it’s practice, practice, practice! It's not long before the new dancer is feeling like an old pro! Our membership is quite varied in ages and abilities with everyone enjoying the fun and friendships that are offered.