Swing your partner: Mt. Lebanon church hosts longtime square dancing club
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
The Peanut Squares Square Dancing Club in action
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Shawn Brown of Imperial serves as the caller.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Sue Hogan of Pittsburgh sports typical square dancing attire.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Members of the Peanut Squares execute a step.
Nick Yackovich, Peanut Squares co-president, with his wife, Ruth, take to the dance floor.
On a typical Tuesday evening, folks are kicking up their heels at Sunset Hills United Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon.
They are part of Peanut Squares, a local square dancing club whose members gather at the church on Country Club Road from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
The activity attracts about 25 to 30 people and costs $5 for the evening. “They come from all over, even the outskirts of town,” said Ruth Yackovich of South Fayette, whose husband, Nick, is the club’s co-president. “It’s open to anybody.”
Peanut Squares has been active for many years, moving to Sunset Hills in October. The club gets its name from the group’s original caller whose name was Charlie Brown, hence the name Peanut Squares, in honor of the Charles Schultz comic strip.
Square dancing is an American folk dance that involves four couples in a square formation dancing to a specific sequence or series of steps announced or cued by a caller. It remains popular and has been declared the official dance in 28 states, according to the Country Dancing Tonight website.
Peanut Squares follows the social square dance (SSD) method, an entry-level program that doesn’t take long to learn.
“SSD is basic square dancing,” said Nick Yackovich. “It’s basic square dancing calls to teach you and get you to more difficult calls.”
Shawn Brown (no relation to Charlie Brown) of Imperial serves as the caller, a role he’s held since age 11, a year after his father, Scott, introduced him to square dancing. He’s been caller for about 12 years.
In Brown’s mind, a combination of characteristics makes for a good caller.
“Good choreography, being able to entertain and trying to keep as many people happy as possible,” he said. “If you can sing, it helps a little bit.”
Brown displayed his singing ability on a recent Tuesday as he sang the Eagles tune, “Take it Easy.”
Matt Williams of Union Valley is training to be a caller. At a recent Peanut Squares gathering, Williams came early to work with some of the less experienced dancers in the class. He’s been square dancing since he was 8.
“I grew up with a family that square danced,” he said. “I just always loved it because it’s part of our American tradition. We’re all working together to make it for a new generation.”
Ruth Yackovich said participants don’t necessarily have to have a partner to get involved.
“You can come as a single,” she said. “If we don’t have enough guys, we have people who can do the men’s part.”
Anyone interested can just show up any Tuesday and dance.
“I came and now I’m hooked,” said Beth Romig of Mt. Lebanon, the club’s other co-president.
“It’s fun,” added Kimberly Jumper of Greensburg. “It helps me take my mind off of everyday problems for a little bit. I don’t think about anything but dancing.”
Concentration is key. Wendy Hughes of McDonald said it took her about four weeks to get comfortable with all of the steps.
“It’s challenging, but it’s not hard,” she said. “You’ve got to pay attention. If you start thinking something else, you miss a direction. It’s fun. The experienced dancers are always trying to help you. There’s a really wide variety of people from different backgrounds.”
Those involved feel it’s not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night. Bonus: the dancing is good exercise.
“If they would have told me 10 years ago I would have been square dancing, I would have told them they were out of their mind,” said Bob Hoppe of Bethel Park. “It’s about as good, clean, happy fun as you can get.”
“After you listen to the music and dance to it, it helps relieve the stress of the day,” Ruth Yackovich added. “These people become your friends. It’s a fun evening. Come out and try it.”