Wheeler Dealers Square Dance Club Celebrates 60 Years in Lexington!

Wheeler Dealers Square Dance Club, the longest continuously running square dance club in central Kentucky, is celebrating its 60th anniversary on August 15th. A not-for-profit organization, it was founded six decades ago by a group of coworkers from IBM who were looking for a fun activity to do
together. Today, the club still offers the opportunity to have fun, make new friends, and get some exercise.

The club is a fixture on the Lexington square dance scene, and offers a 12-week beginners' course each Fall at Beaumont Presbyterian Church, 1070 Lane Allen Road in Lexington. This year the course begins on Tuesday, September 9th with a free introductory lesson from 7:00-9:00 pm, and classes are held twice a week, Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Wheeler Dealers encourages anyone looking for a fun social activity, good light aerobic exercise, and a congenial community to come to the introductory lesson. No previous experience or special skill is required. Dancing is done at a medium walking pace – as the club likes to say, “If you can walk, you can square dance!”

Square dancing dates back hundreds of years, and has its roots in European folk dances and social dances, including English country dancing and the Quadrille. It arrived in the US with European settlers during the 17th and 18th centuries, and evolved over the years into three main regional styles: New England, Appalachian, and Modern Western.

Wheeler Dealers teaches Modern Western style square dancing. The club, which currently has around 60 members, estimates that over the course of its 60 years it has taught about 1,200 people, ranging in age from 8 to 90.

They have about 20 students per course, but classes are also attended by “Angels,” prior graduates who join the classes to assist new students. With almost as many Angels as students in each class, there is help on hand for every beginner.

The club has a roster of talented callers teaching its classes and “calling” the social dances that the club holds twice a month at Anchor Baptist Church. Their knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm add to the enjoyable mood at both. It's not uncommon for good natured teasing to fly back and forth between the caller and the dancers, and the jovial atmosphere is part of what knits together this friendly community.

A variety of music is used, including today's country hits, classic pop oldies, and old time country music. There are occasional “singing calls,” with the caller singing live to recorded music and the dancers often joining in. In addition to square dancing, the classes also teach some of today's popular line dances.

Between the Wheeler Dealers and the other clubs in the area, there's an opportunity to square dance socially five times a month in Lexington, and even more if you want to travel to Louisville or Indiana. In addition to locals, these dances draw people from Versailles, Danville, Louisville, Winchester, Georgetown, and even from out of state.

Throughout the year, the Wheeler Dealers hold themed dances like Valentine's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Derby, luaua, cowboy, and pajama party dances. They also periodically use dances to raise money for good causes, like providing school supplies for local students in need.

All dances are generously supplied with snacks, but twice a year the club goes all out for its potluck dinners featuring a bountiful array of home cooked dishes and indulgent desserts. Not coincidentally, these are two of the best-attended dances of the year, with around 125 attendees.

In addition to classes and social dances, the club keeps busy with other events, like their annual Community Dance, which invites the public for a night of country dancing. And they put on exhibitions at nearby festivals and events, including Lexington's 250th Anniversary celebration, the Hoecake Hoedown, Wilmore Street Fair, Winchester Pioneer Days, and others.

The Wheeler Dealers Square Dance Club invites the public to join them for their next session of beginners' classes, starting in September.