The Riptides Square Dance Club will be hosting an Open House Dance on February 4, 2011, at Bayside Presbyterian Church, in Virginia Beach. No Square Dancing experience is necessary and there is no charge for this event.

Crown Record recording artist and Square Dance Caller, Matt Worley, will instruct the new dancers on the steps and experienced dancers will be on hand to help guide the way.  The evening will also feature demos of regular club level square dancing by the more experienced dancers.  Dancing is open to everyone from 10 to 100, and the fun starts at 7:30PM.  Need a partner?  Single dancers are also welcome.   

Square Dance?  When you first hear those words, you probably think of haystacks, barns, and a fiddler.  You may remember the dances that you were taught in High School gym class.  Come out and see how Modern Square Dancing has changed.  Today’s dancers are moving to modern music, in air conditioned churches, schools, and recreation centers.  The fiddle player has been replaced by modern audio equipment with a caller instructing the dancers.  Square Dancing is also worldwide now, with clubs in many European and Asian countries.  Wherever you go abroad the dancing is always done in English, so language is not an issue.

Bayside Presbyterian Church is located at 1400 Ewell Rd., Virginia Beach, VA.  (at the corner of Ewell Rd. and Independence Blvd.)  The Riptides Square and Round Dance Club is a non-profit club that was formed in Virginia Beach in 1963.  2011 will be the club's 48th year of hosting dances in Virginia Beach.  On the first Friday of every month dancers from all over the Hampton Roads area come out to dance to the calling of Matt Worley.  February 4th will be a chance for those that are not regular Square Dancers to come out and join in the fun.  The dancing begins at 7:30 and continues to 10 PM.

The Hampton Roads area is home to several Modern Square Dance clubs.  Every weekend there are dances in many of the local cities.  Weeknights will find the regular dancers attending workshops and new dancers attending dances for beginners.  Besides being fun and good for your health, Square Dancing is also cheap entertainment.  The local clubs ask for a $4 to $5 donation for an evening of dancing.  January 22 the Thalia Thumpers club will be hosting their Open House at Point of View Elementary School, in Virginia Beach.  Bob Worley will be the caller for that dance (father of Matt Worley).

Need more information about square dancing, or the upcoming Open House?  Check out the website http://fun.greatdances.net, or find us on Facebook (search for Open House, or search for Riptides).  To learn more about square dancing in the Hampton Roads area and around Virginia, check out http://squaredancers.org/ and http://www.vasquaredance.com/.  The website http://www.you2candance.com/ is another good source to learn about Square Dancing in general.

For more information on the Open House, or about the Riptides, contact Dave Hinde at 757 461-7222