We had two opportunities to learn square dancing at Merlefest. The first was an afternoon dance featuring The Sheets Family Band and third generation caller Uncle Ted.

With Uncle Ted

We had so much fun at this dance. Uncle Ted is a great caller and we were able to participate and learn a tremendous amount without the need for loads of experience. We did big circle mountain dancing as well as the elementary reel. One of the great things about this kind of dance is how inclusive it is. Ted explained that if you don’t include the kids and introduce them to the dance from a young age, the dance will be lost.

Here’s a very short video clip of one group going through the sequence for the elementary reel. After that, the band kicked in and we had to try it with the music.