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For
many
people,
the
first
and
only
experience
square
dancing
was
during
those
awkward
pubescent
years
in
gym
class.
Many
remember
being
forced
to
hold
hands
with
someone
of
the
opposite
sex
and
do-si-do-ing.
Things
have
changed
quite
a
bit.
For
more
than
20
years,
gays
and
lesbians
have
been
gathering
together
to
square
dance
voluntarily.
In
fact,
there
are
around
100
gay
square
dance
groups
all
over
the
world.
Hollywood,
Fla.,
resident
and
professional
square
dance
caller
Andy
Shore
hopes
to
dispel
any
old
notions
about
square
dancing
when
he
teaches
free
classes
at
Manhattan
South
every
Friday
this
month.
He
says
that
there
seems
to
be
an
“image
problem”
associated
with
square
dancing
and
people
remember
it
from
when
they
were
younger
as
“icky.”
People
also
think
that
all
square
dancing
is
done
to
country
music.
That
is
not
so,
Shore
says.
Motown
and
Madonna
are
both
played
at
square
dancing
events.
Another
stereotype
is
that
you
have
to
be
part
of
a
couple
to
take
part
of
it.
Not
the
case,
Shore
reassures.
Dancers
meet
a
whole
bunch
of
people
and
get
paired
up
by
the
caller.
Shore
even
separates
couples
that
come
together
so
everyone
gets
to
know
each
other.
“I
like
people
to
mix
up,”
he
says.
Not
so
square
Shore
has
been
fascinated
by
the
square
dance
boom
since
he
first
saw
it
in
the
early
1980s
when
he
was
a
student
at
Stanford
University.
He
didn’t
actually
take
part
in
it
until
the
mid-’80s,
when
a
friend
talked
him
and
some
friends
into
going
to
a
straight
square
dance.
“I
had
a
blast,”
Shore
says.
“I
had
a
big
smile
on
my
face
all
evening.”
Shore
began
searching
for
a
local
gay
square
dance
class
and
found
one
close
to
his
Mount
View,
Calif.,
home
in
San
José.
He
joined
the
El
Camino
Reelers
and
was
immediately
hooked.
He
went
to
his
first
square
dance
convention
in
1987
in
Portland,
Ore.
“It
was
three
or
four
days
worth
of
dancing,”
he
says.
“It
was
like
a
family
reunion
and
was
non-competitive.”
Besides
meeting
many
friends
at
the
convention,
he
also
met
a
partner
who
he
ended
up
being
with
for
more
than
15
years.
Someone
noticed
that
Shore
had
a
great
singing
voice
and
suggested
that
he
take
up
calling.
He
attended
two
caller
schools.
The
first
was
the
Gay
Callers
Association
in
New
York
City,
which
he
attended
in
1987,
and
the
second
was
a
straight
caller
school
called
Superschool,
located
in
the
Poconos.
He
attended
there
in
1990.
Shore
kept
up
with
square
dancing
through
the
years
and
went
on
to
teach
dancing
as
well.
He
taught
for
the
Foggy
City
Dancers
and
the
Midnight
Squares,
both
in
San
Francisco.
He
has
called
in
22
states
in
the
U.S.
as
well
as
in
foreign
countries
such
as
Canada,
Australia,
Russia
and
Latvia.
His
involvement
with
the
square
dance
groups
has
also
included
a
stint
as
the
past
president
of
the
Gay
Callers
Association,
and
he
is
currently
the
chair
of
the
Caller
Lab
Foundation
fundraising
committee.
The
Caller
Lab
Foundation
is
a
national
non-profit
organization
whose
purpose
is
to
support
the
funding
of
projects
that
preserve
and
promote
square
dancing.
In
2002,
Shore
was
awarded
the
“Golden
Boot,”
an
award
given
by
the
International
Association
of
Square
Dance
Clubs
to
those
who
make
an
outstanding
contribution
to
gay
and
lesbian
square
dancing.
In
August
2004,
Shore
moved
to
Hollywood,
Fla.,
where
he
joined
the
South
Florida
Mustangs,
the
local
gay
square
dance
group
that
has
been
around
at
least
since
1983.
Bringing
people
together
Square
dancing
has
been
popular
in
the
gay
and
lesbian
scene
for
almost
30
years
and
has
never
completely
gone
out
of
style,
says
Shore.
“It’s
holding
steady,”
he
explains.
The
annual
convention
still
attracts
around
1,000
dancers,
he
says.
Of
course,
Shore
hopes
that
interest
in
square
dancing
with
grow
even
more.
“The
gay
square
dancing
community
is
aging,”
Shore
says.
“I
started
in
my
early
20s.”
Shore
says
that
one
of
the
major
differences
through
the
years
has
to
do
with
society
at
large.
“I
think
the
world
has
changed
in
the
last
20
years,”
he
says.
“There
wasn’t
internet
chat
rooms,
there
wasn’t
TIVO.”
Although
many
would
expect
to
find
square
dancers
in
big
cowboy
hats
and
boots,
that
isn’t
usually
the
case.
“Some
people
wear
cowboy
boots,”
Shore
says.
“But
there
is
no
dress
code.
It’s
very
casual
and
comfortable,”
he
adds.
Time
to
do-si-do
Manhattan
South,
a
local
country
western
bar
and
club,
approached
the
professional
caller
to
teach
...
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