By Jordan Green Editor-in-Chief
Do you want to dance with somebody? Would you like to strut to a boot-scootin’ boogie? Or do you think you’ve got the moves like Jagger?
Whether you think you’ve got two left feet or are ready to steal the show, members of the Alva Twisters Square Dance Club want to teach community members and Northwestern students how to square-dance, two-step and line-dance.
Starting Thursday, the club will offer weekly dancing lessons to the public for the first time since the pandemic began. Longtime members say they hope students and people of all ages will come and find out that square-dancing isn’t for blockheads. It’s for fun-loving folks.
“I don’t know where I’ve had any more fun than when I started square-dancing,” said 78-year-old Lovella Tolle.
Northwestern students might know Tolle from the Coronado Cafeteria. Tolle worked for years at the front entrance, swiping students’ meal cards at lunch time. She says she’d like to see those students join her, their friends and others on the dance floor.
Lessons are free and will take place Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lutheran Hall, 212 Maple St. The club has about 25 members and is seeking to grow, Club President Melvin Evans said.
“Once somebody gets started, it’s a lot of fun,” Evans said. “It’s not a profession. We just have a blast doing it.”
Club members host dances regularly and perform at area events like the Big Cruise and Car Show. They also attend the state’s annual square-dancing convention in Oklahoma City.
Square-dancing is an enjoyable form of exercise, Evans said. Above all, club members say, it’s a great way to make new friends.
“We care for each other,” Tolle said. “We’re a small group of people that enjoys dancing, and we enjoy visiting. If you want a group of friends that you don’t get otherwise, this is the best way to get a group of friends to run around with.
“It’s not just dancing. It’s friends that you can hang with. … When you don’t have a family, it gives you a family.”
For more information on lessons or dances, contact Evans by calling 580-829-3226.