Cane Country Squares

Cane Country Squares 2023 break up and free Christmas Dance was held on Friday 8th of December. The hall was decorated and dancers arrived dressed for the Christmas theme. Two squares danced most of the night with the new learners joining in.  We had enough Plus dancers for one and a half squares with the half square getting up to dance at one point rather than just waiting for a chance to swap with someone after the first dance of a bracket. It was a festive atmosphere with Matt calling to plenty of Christmas songs. The raffle consisted of an amazing collection of Christmas Hampers and there was a bottle of wine going to each of the two lucky spot and door prize winners. The club's donated clothing was also available on the night and it was nice to see some of the items, picked up on Tuesday, already being worn.  Of course, supper was the expected, excellent spread of savoury and sweet Christmas treats. Thanks Matt, for a great year of dancing and thankyou to all who help set...

Lots of Christmas theme outfits were worn on Tuesday 5th of December for our learners break up. It was such a fun night of smiles and laughter while dancing with two squares on the floor.  Our collection of second hand and new home made square dance outfits were made available. A few ladies gave new homes to some of the skirts. We hope they get years of enjoyment dancing in them. The outfits will also be available again this Friday night.  With some extra bling being tried out from our clothing collection. The guys in particular got into the fun of the night when a few of them had a go at dancing the right hand side of the couple, traditionally danced by the lady. It meant a few movements instantly had an unfamiliar direction for some turns and hand positions. As soon as they decided to have a go, the kids were fitting them out with skirts. It had been 20 years since Nifty had danced the right hand side. He has spoken of it often as common practise in the club he had come from...

Those who are new to the Cane Country Squares club may not be aware, we have a number of donated square dance clothing items and accessories available to dancers. They are bought into dance nights a couple of times a year (depending on interest) or items from our online listing can be brought into the next dance night, following a request to view and try things on. The current list of clothing can be found here.  https://canecountrysquares.blogspot.com/p/pre-loved-square-dance-clothing.html Don't worry if you are not into the clothing worn at big dance events. Our regular Friday club night dances are open to anything from smart casual to the old school square dance outfits. Some of our learners spotted new arrivals to the collection on Tuesday.  These were donated by Dot, after doing a clear out of gear she doesn't wear anymore. The new pre loved items are a few hand made circle skirts, needing a bit of repair to some seams, and a commercially made A-Line skirt.  The trad...

Dancing was cancelled on Friday 13th of October, due to our hall being used for the referendum.  What started as a Friday the 13th Black Friday theme, moved forward to the 27th, morphed slightly with a few Halloween decorations.  Most came dressed in black to make calling more difficult for Matt. The normal technique, to track positions in a square, is to remember particular coloured outfits.  Matt combined the usual fun of dancing with a few creative challenges. We joke that Sandy is always keeping score and could tell us if mistakes belonged to Matt or the dancers. We had a good turn out. The SSD dance level formed two squares during the first half of the night with a full square of Plus able to dance all evening. See more photos of the night in our 2023 photo gallery . A reminder, that because this theme night was moved forward, the planned Sports Theme night for November 3rd will now be moved to 2024. This coming Friday night will now be dancing as normal, with y...

The 1st of September was our Hawaiian theme night. In the lead up to the night Matt spoke fondly of a Hawaiian shirt he had owned that Anita had thrown out. The theme gave him an excuse to buy a new one.  The new shirt had to meet with Anita's approval for wearing around town, so it was not as bold as he would have liked. A few flower leis got Matt's bright colour fix for the night.   Outfits worn on the night by dancers included bright and bold floral prints, a couple of grass skirts and of course, Hawaiian shirts and floral leis. It was nice to have a visiting dancer and a number of spectators on the night. A few people popped in looking for a different dance at another hall on Targo St. We might see them again at our learners class starting on the 12th of September. Follow the link to our 2023 photo gallery to see more photos of the night.

On the 18th of August, Cane Country Squares celebrated Matt's 40th Birthday. Before Matt arrived for our usual Friday night of dancing, the hall had been decorated with silver and red balloons and streamers. On arrival he was given a red hat and bow tie and a 40th badge to wear for the night. The sound equipment had been set up and a TV was running photos from the day Matt was born up until our current learner class with Matt teaching Mia to Square Dance. A photo frame had been made, inspired by the frame made for the recent 40th QCA State Convention, in Buderim. Check our website  2023 Photo Gallery for more of these photos taken on the night. We had a great turn out with two squares on the floor most of the night. Some of Matt's Family and past members also attended. We even got two squares of Plus with Anita dancing. "No 'Crossfires!' " Ella and Mia both performed their own dances for Matt. Mia had been practicing her own chorography in the hall for a mont...

Another fun theme night, 14th of July was our Pyjama night. The hall was decorated with some cut out painted pictures of pyjamas and all members came dress in PJs.  Nifty came dressed in a floral op shop ensemble. Chris dressed in bright yellow printed with the ABC kids Hoot character and Scott came in a Koala onesie. We also had a couple visiting on the night, surprised by our theme. We had a good turn out with two squares able to dance mainstream level. At one point everyone got on the floor for a Plus bracket. The back square had some fun with a few Mainstream dancers, trying to keep up and repair their square, with the help of Plus dancers. It was a mild night and still quite warm in the hall, so dressing gowns didn't stay on for long. If you want to see more photos from the night check out our photo gallery .

Friday 5th of May was our Dance for Heart, annual fund raiser for heart health. Numbers were down a little with a few people, including myself away that night.  Heart shaped decoration were up in the hall and most dressed in red or with a heart theme.  I am yet to see Matt's spectacular heart suit in person, but it certainly made an impression on those attending the night. Funds on the night where raised by donations and a raffle for a large fruit and veggie hamper.  $200 was donated to the Bundaberg Health Promotions Group to support their Heart Start activities. Thanks to Anita and Jo L for taking photos to add to our  photo gallery  and web site.  Friday 26th of May was our AGM. It was quite well attended considering most of us are not fond of long drawn out meetings.  As it turned out, we had plenty of time to dance, with the AGM completed in a record time of less than 16 minutes. All office bearers were returned to the same positions unopposed. Ou...

Friday April 7th was Good Friday and as is our practice, there was no dance held that night.  The following Friday on the 14th we had something a little different with an Easter Egg Hunt. We had no special dress up but Jo K and her daughter wore Easter theme hair accessories at the front table and the hall was decorated. The kids where given little baskets while adults got small Easter bags, to collect tiny chocolate eggs placed around the hall on chairs and window sills. Mia won the closest guess for the number of Easter eggs in the jar. Jo L was away but sent along some hand made Easter egg decorated biscuits and Sandy volunteered in the kitchen. The next Friday, 21st April coincided with the National Square Dance Convention in Adelaide, SA. While Matt and family were enjoying the Convention, Rob ran recordings of Matt so we could still dance. Matt had recorded live from a few previous Fridays.  We had a really fun night. This was the second time we have danced to recordings...

Our final post for our 40th Birthday Weekend is for our last session held on Sunday morning 12th of March.  This was a huge weekend of dancing and while it took a lot of time and effort to put together, it was well worth it and enjoyed by all.  Our callers, Matthew Mills, Steve Turner and Nev McLachlan changed from their weekend theme of wearing red, white and blue shirts to 'The Bundy Boys' shirts, complete with a polar bear with a microphone. As is the custom, dress on the Sunday is causal for those heading home directly after the dance. Many ladies still wore skirts, some with more casual design square dance skirts and low volume petticoats. Even though some had a long drive ahead of them, the Sunday morning was very well attended. Dancing started at 9:30am with SSD, Mainstream and Rounds.  Steve Turner called some fun workshops with couples passing between facing lines of three. The callers again got a chance to dance with us while they took turns on stage. It is alwa...