The Sierra Hillbillies Square Dance Club held its monthly dance session at Valencia United Methodist Church on Sunday afternoon, with this month’s dance having a “St. Patrick’s Day” theme.
“It’s excellent exercise,” said Sierra Hillbillies management committee member Chris Bare. “It’s great for our mental health, as well as our physical exercise. So, it is a wonderful social activity for seniors. We would like to have some more young people, and we do have a few in our classes coming up.”
Approximately 30 people took part in the event, dancing to the music and steps laid out by caller Phil Farmer.
“I started when I was 16,” said Farmer, who’s been calling for 52 years. “Back in those days, there were a multitude of teen square dance clubs all over. A lot of callers that are calling nowadays, they started back in those days, you know, so there’s a lot of us that are still out there doing it.”
Many of the event’s participants and management staff share a large concern regarding their group: the lack of younger people joining their ranks.
“We do have a little bit of an older crowd, I would say,” said Bare. “Maybe from 50 up.”
“It’s diminishing because there’s not enough young people,” said management committee member John King, who’s been with the group for 20 years. “It’s just deteriorating over time.”
While everyone agrees that the increasing average age of the group is a problem, their reasons for younger people not attending differ.
“We need more and more young people to come in for square dancing, and we’re not getting them because they have so many other activities,” said Sierre Hillbillies member Jody Milligan. “Soccer, flag football, baseball. All of those things are taking up their time. So, we’re not attracting young people, but it’s one of the oldest sports around!”
“The electronic age really hurt it,” Farmer said. “Kids stay home, play video games, they don’t go out. And, you know, economics. A lot of parents can’t take the kids out because they both have to work all day. When we were dancing, Dad worked, Mom stayed home all day, we were gonna go out and do something that night.”
Still, they held out hope that their beloved pastime would live on and that others would join their dance club.
“I just hope it isn’t a dying sport, because it really is fun, and it’s good for you,” said Milligan. “It’s good exercise.”
