Staff Writer

Skip Brown sat high in the bleachers, watching as dozens of couples twirled across the dance floor below.

The 72-year-old Portland resident generally watches square dancing from a slightly different view: the caller’s stage. Brown has been calling at square dances since 1976 and wouldn’t think of missing a large gathering of dancers, callers and cuers from across New England.

The 52^nd annual New England Square and Round Dance Convention drew more than 1,000 dancers, 53 square dance callers and 24 round dance cuers to Biddeford last weekend. Seven dance halls were set up at Biddeford Primary, Intermediate and Middle schools.

Brown said he learned the art of calling while he was in the Navy and stationed in Germany. Since then, he has called too many dances to count. For years he took to the microphone nearly every day to lead dancers through their moves. Now, he calls at a dance in Alfred every Friday night and travels throughout New England for other events.

While Brown said calling can be difficult, he said it is also fun and provides happiness to many people.

“We teach them 68 different figures and call them in any sequence we want,” he said. “The calls must be executed in time to the music and the caller has to get dancers back to their original partner.”

Brown likened round dancing to choreographed ballroom dancing. Partners move around the floor in a large circle while a cuer calls out dance steps.

Brown said the best thing about square dancing is “virtually anyone can do it.”

“It’s not really dancing, you’re walking to the music,” he said. “It’s good exercise. It’s wonderful for keeping a sharp mind.

Johnny Wedge of Dracut, Mass., agreed He is a member of the New England Square and Round Dance Cooperation Committee and an experienced caller. Dancing is a “great cardio workout and social activity” for people of all ages and ability levels, he said.

The convention is a reunion of sorts for dancers who run into each other each year, Wedge said.

“I look forward to the camaraderie, the friendships. Some of these people you only see once a year,” he said.

Rob Petit, a Scarborough resident and vice chairman of the convention committee, said he always looks forward to seeing people from across New England and beyond. The first couple through the door last week was from Arkansas and dancers were expected from 14 states and Canada, he said.

Petit also looks forward to taking to the dance floor with his wife, Sally. They met when they were 14 years old and have been dancing together ever since. Petit remembers clearly what led him into square dancing. When he was around 14, caller Bev Dodge pulled into the Shaw’s parking lot in Saco on a flat bed truck for a demonstration in 1969.

Petit was hooked and never looked back. He and his wife started a square dancing group for children, then one for their parents. He said he would like to see more families and children get involved with square and round dancing. 

Dennis and Stephanie Coruth of Auburn, N.H., have attended the convention since 1982 and were chairmen of two past conventions. They have been dancing together for 30 years and are drawn to it by the social factor and the affordable, alcohol-free nature of square dancing, they said.

“You make all kinds of friends,” she said.

“And you keep those friends forever,” he added.

Priscilla Griffin of Nashua, N.H., whirled around the dance floor with multiple partners before taking a breather Friday afternoon at Biddeford Intermediate School. She has been dancing since 1970 and never misses the convention.

“We meet people we don’t see most of the year. The dancing is superb,” she said. “Everyone is dressed their best, the callers are calling their best, the cuers are cuing their best. It’s the best of everything.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.