It covers a wide variety of formation dancing from easy to most difficult sequences. Besides moving in time to the music a great deal of thinking is required to translate given calls into formation dependent movements. Nevertheless, dancers have great fun in giving all the attention, concentration, and team cooperation necessary to succeed.

To learn square dancing you attend a beginners' course. Depending on the learners' and teacher's skills such a course may run for about 8 to 40 weeks or sessions. The first major goal is to graduate as a "Mainstream dancer" with enough knowledge and practice to start dancing in a regular Mainstream (ca. 70 calls) square dance club.

It is recommended to start square dancing with a partner. Without a partner you're bound to run into trouble: You have to either take away somebody else's partner or sit out many a dance. Neither choice is much fun.

Usually, mainstream clubs start beginners' courses in September or October.

If you want to find out if square dancing suits you as a pastime and learn just a few fundamental figures of it, you may attend a free introductory session, called OPEN HOUSE. If you just want to see how square dancing is done and talk to dancers, simply visit a club on its club night.