Columbia
Valley Twirlers
Radium
Hot Springs, BC
Club History
The Columbia Valley Twirlers Square Dance Club was formed in
the fall of 1995. Its first Executive
was elected in early 1996. By the end of
the first dance season, the Club had 30 members. A caller/instructor came in every second
week. On the alternate weeks, the Club
VP, Werner Gessner, did the instruction with records & a few old tapes on
an old record player & a ghetto-blaster.
In the fall of 1996 the Club ran a radio & poster
campaign to recruit new dancers. We
offered 3 free nights for the newcomers.
We ended up with 22 new dancers, bringing our membership to 52. Changes were made that fall. Werner became the full-time instructor, but
it was soon apparent that the inadequate sound system & limited selection
of music was hurting us all.
In an effort to alleviate this situation, a number of
Afeelers@ were put out. On the
suggestion of Art McMullen (President of the Alberta Callers at the time) and
Bob Weller (caller from Edmonton), the Club purchased a set of teach tapes from
Bob & put an ad in the
AHanhurst Records & Equipment Swap@ in the USA -- SUCCESS!!
After a quick trip to Portland, Oregon by the Forbes= and Robideau=s, the Club became the proud owner of a Hilton record player
& quite a number of records. Bob
Weller also sent out copies of his video tape
ALearn to Square Dance@ & they were invaluable.
Club members signed them out to watch at home & get ready for the
next week of dancing.
Through the 1996-97 dance season, the
Club started holding special dance weekends every 5 - 6 weeks, with guest
callers from BC, Alberta & the US coming in. In the spring of 1997 the Club purchased a
variable speed tape player compatible with the Hilton record player. Since then, we=ve never looked back.
Werner continued to instruct the dancers until 2001 when he & Mia
moved from the area. Albert Robideau
(Club President) then took over and, (let=s not forget) with Carol=s help, is still doing a great job.
The Club now has a good selection of music for dancing and
instructing. Special thanks go to Bob
Weller for all the time he=s put into teaching tapes, and to our visiting callers for
their invaluable assistance.
The Columbia Valley Twirlers believe that square dancing is
supposed to be FUN! The mainstream
dancers help out the new dancers
B we have no split classes for the new dancers. We dance alternating new dancer-/-mainstream
tips every Club night. The system works
great & the new dancers are part of the Club from the beginning. Some members of the Club have advanced to
Plus, & our Plus nights are run the same way
B alternating teach-/-full Plus tips.
The Club, however, keeps its emphasis on mainstream
B doing it well & having fun at the same time. The Caller Lab program is followed as closely
as possible.
The Columbia Valley Twirlers dance every Friday night at
7:30 from the latter part of October to early May, at the Radium Community Hall
in Radium Hot Springs, BC. Plus nights
are held on the first & third Tuesdays of each of those months, also at
7:30. Visiting dancers are always
welcome. Information contacts are as
follows:
Albert Robideau 250-347-6573 e-mail: acrobideau@hotmail.com
or
Reg Jean 250-348-2287
website: radium.squaredance.bc.ca
Located in Radium Hot Springs, BC, our Club is a member of
the BC Square Dance Federation. Because
of the proximity to Calgary, the Club is also an affiliate member of the
Calgary & District Square & Round Dance Association.
In 1999 our Club nominated BOB WELLER as a contender for the
Alberta Rose Award, with much-appreciated assistance from Mavis Weatherhead,
and we backed a winner! Bob received the
award at a Calgary Stampede S & R D Assoc. dance. At the presentation it was said:
AThis will probably never happen again
B a British Columbia club, through the Calgary & District
Association, nominates an Edmonton caller!@ It should happen
more often; we=re all part of the square dance family.
Our membership is known for their
Aenthusiasm@ &
Aoriginality@, perhaps euphemistically, because someone=s always coming up with new ideas for club-sponsored events
and unique
Afun@ badges to earn.