There’s a new wind blowing!

Den Nederländske Squaredansaren Ron van Dijk lägger varje år ner ett rejält arbete på att sammanställa ett nyhetsbrev, en slags årskrönika kanske man kan säga, med artiklar från olika Squaredansklubbar, organisationer och länder. Nyhetsbrevet skickas sedan ut, till så många Squaredansare som möjligt, för att sprida kunskap och intresse för vad dansare i de olika länderna gör och hur vi arbetar. Nyhetsbrevet är på engelska. Jag fick den stora äran att sammanfatta 2013 för Buffalo Square's räkning och jag tänkte nu publicera artikeln även här:

2013 has been a very exciting year for Buffalo Squares, the youth Square Dance Club in Sweden. We have launched a campaign of strength to show that we exist, and that we do care about Square Dance. We wanted to show that we have matured and that we are willing to do whatever we can for the survival of the activity we all love.

First of all, let us tell you about our Youth Dances. We arrange them twice a year, one in the spring and one in the autumn. They are weekend dances, Friday to Sunday and in varying cities. All young square dancers are welcome to join and some travel far to attend. We always gather on Friday evening, we dance, eat pizza, socialize and play games. On Saturday we go somewhere nearby, a shopping mall for instance, and dance in public. Since we want more people to be able to see and hear about Square Dance. At our dances, we spend the weekend together, we dance on our own terms, eat good food together, play games and have a lot of fun. Always. Sometimes we go wild and play a game of “Fruit Salad Square Dance” or “Gingerbread Square Dance”. On Sunday we have breakfast together and then we dance some more before it is time to go home. That is about how we arrange our Youth Dances.

The thing is, and we believe this is a pretty important part, that we share the whole weekend together. Many of us live several miles apart but at these dances, we do everything together. It is so much more than just dancing. Square Dance is the basis, the foundation that keep us together. But it is the culture of our group that is so unique, the connection that binds us together. We are united in a way that is hard to explain. We respect each other, have faith in each other and are always there for each other. We are the kids with the hungry hearts – And they will never keep us apart. When we ask our friends to take a beginner’s class and join our squares, we want to give them that feeling of belonging together. But how can we make them understand what it is all about? That is a good question. And our toughest objective right now.

Anyway, so we published an article in the journal of the Swedish Square Dance Association, telling other dancers about who we are, what we do and what we want to achieve. That was the first step of our campaign.

What else do we do? We attend larger dances and try to recruit newly graduated young square dancers. We want to show them that we are many more young dancers and we want them to try out our Youth Dances and get to know us better. We want to dance with them! We also tell and remind other square dancers about Buffalo Squares, so that they, in their turn, can recommend us to their youths. This spring, we also made kind of a commercial about Square Dance and Buffalo Squares, to attract young square dancers, to attract young people to a beginner’s class and again, to show other square dancers who we are. Knowledge and understanding are our most powerful tools.

Something else about Buffalo Squares: There is no prestige in our club. We do not believe in that and in a time when we are all fighting for the survival of Square Dance, there simply is no room for prestige. We have to be flexible. We need to cooperate. We need to strengthen our ties. We have to be willing to do whatever we can. Now is not the moment to talk about old times, to think that “it was better before…” or to lose hope. Always remember that we set the greatest barriers ourselves. Now is the time to act. There is a new wind blowing. There is another wave coming. This is when the tide turns.

This autumn, we launched the second step in our campaign. It began in January with scattered thoughts and ideas but now we have turned it into reality. In September Buffalo Squares launched our first and very own beginner's class of Square Dance. We simply called it “Square Up!” We taught a group of young people how to Square Dance – in a weekend. A beginner’s class that was adapted for young people. An intensive course in a fast pace and with an appealing set up. We just wanted the young people to get going, to dance and to give them a fair idea of ​​what Square Dance is all about. One could say that we copied one of our successful Youth Dances. We had a very enjoyable weekend, with focus on the dance, with music, nice friends, good food and games. Now that is Buffalo, and that is how we wanted our beginner’s class to be like. We did not just offer a course, but also a fun and delightful weekend, a highway straight into the heart of Square Dance. A feeling of belonging together. The true meaning of Square Dance and the connection that binds us together? Yeah, we wanted them to experience that right from the beginning.

We made young people Square Dance in less than 48 hours. We taught them Basic in a weekend and it all worked out just fine. We had a lot of fun together. It was their own free choice to decide whether they wanted to keep dancing after that weekend. I had a good feeling about it. We spotted three of them at a dance a couple of weeks ago, more than a month after they took the class. It was one of my proudest moments.

Right now, we are planning our next Square Up weekend, coming up this spring. We learned a lot from the first time and we will do it better this second time. We are the kids with the hungry hearts. We will make more young people Square Dance.

You can find us on buffalosquares.se or at our Facebook page. We hope that you now have got a better picture of the Youth Club Buffalo Squares and what we do in Sweden. Just remember that you set your own limits. No act is too small. This is when the tide turns.

We really hope to see you soon in a square!

The third step of our campaign of strength is yet to come.