It is an indisputable fact that no society can exist without a culture, knowing that culture is the way of life of a people. Therefore, every society, no matter of its size or population must exist with certain cultural values and norms. Liberia, being a part of the member of the globe, is not exempted from this practice. Because of the importance of culture, it rare to see a society without culture, as this can be likened to a ship without as compass.
Basic Steps Square dancing always consists of four couples, each positioned on a different side to form a square. Each dancer starts facing center, and there must be a male/female combination for each couple. Of course, females and males can dance together, as long as the male and female roles are defined and decided upon ahead of time.
The female positioned to a man's left is known as his "corner," and the man on the woman's right is, in turn, her corner. The couples are then numbered and move counterclockwise through the square. Original partners often mean nothing, as some square dance steps require formations that call for interchangeable dance couples. You will often find during a dance that a woman will dance with a few of the men.
Below are some basic square dance steps:
HandholdThis is when a hand from one dancer comes together with the hand of another dancer. When this grasp is broken, the handhold is over.
Allemande Left This is when corners face each other and hold left hands. They walk around each other and return to their own original position. There is also an Allemande Right, which is the same movement in reverse.
Ladies ChainLadies singled out by the caller walk toward each other and hold right hands. They pass through, drop hands, and give left hands to each other's partners.
Balance Partners hold right hands, hop on their left foot, cross over the right, hop on the right foot, and then cross the left. This movement is similar to an upbeat jazz dance Grapevine step. There is often a repeat.
Opposite This is when a dancer joins together with that dancer who is facing directly opposite of them.
Set Two lines of dancers face each other, customarily with females in one line, males in the other. This usually requires six to eight couples.
Promenade
Partners cross hands and walk counterclockwise back to their original positioning.
What we found was that it was fun! But it was not just the dancing that was fun. We found relationships and friendships forming, first between us and the other students, and then between the students and 'experienced' dancers that were there to help us learn the various square dance calls or movements.