English country dance groups have been popping up across Clark County over the past decade, creating a space for people to enjoy a form of socialization that has become increasingly uncommon.
One of the biggest dance organizers is Amy Lynn Brown who is the administrator of a Facebook group called “The Dances.”
She got into the English country dance scene about 10 years ago when a friend of hers took her to one.
“I’m like, ‘I’m gonna go, and I’m just going to be a fly on the wall,’” Brown said. “Within five minutes, I was on the dance floor having the time of my life.”
For Brown’s 40th birthday, she hired a dance caller from McMinnville and hosted her own dance at her party.
“There were 75 people on the dance floor the whole time and it was totally a success,” Brown said.
After the dance she received so many messages asking about how people could find places to do those dances, that she decided to start scheduling dances monthly.
“I said, ‘I’m going to have a teen dance next month’, and we had 75 people come to the teen dance and then it just kept rolling from there,” Brown said.
Since starting, Brown organized themed public dances every month and has even been hired to call private dances.
“I did 12 of my own and then had 18 private hires last year,” Brown said.
On one occasion, Brown was hired to do a dance for the Rainmakers, a debate club that’s part of the National Christian Forensics Communication Association, and she got every single kid out there on the floor.
“I can get kids to feel comfortable because they’re being instructed,” Brown said. “It’s not a freestyle where you’re scared to look at somebody who’s really got the groove. When you give me something organized to do and I can just follow the instructions, that is really freeing and fun.”
Elsewhere in the county, Kirk VanGelder’s group has been organizing its own dances for 12 to 15 years.
“We got introduced to the dances through our kids’ friends up in northern Washington,” VanGelder said. “The kids participated and were pretty excited about it and wanted to bring that down here to our area.”
The family’s dances initially started in their backyard, with the occasional location being found in a rented space.
“We are generally on the fourth Friday of the month, being able to do it at the Fern Prairie Grange,” VanGelder said.
Despite the growth of the dances over several years, the main target demographic, according to VanGelder, is families.
“We get a fair amount of parents or grandparents that come. Some participate, some just watch and enjoy the music,” VanGelder said. “Most participants are going to be junior high through, kind of, college-age.”
VanGelder’s dances are less about production value and more about creating a space for people to meet one another.
“It’s a great way for guys and gals to meet one another in a casual atmosphere with no commitment,” VanGelder said.
Over the years, VanGelder has seen couples meet at his dances and even get married. One of them was his own son, Caleb.
“It’s good fun, it’s good fellowship and it helps guys meet gals and gals meet guys,” VanGelder said.
For the past two to three years, James Coder has been hosting his own small dance group with his friends.
“I basically grew up doing English line dancing,” Coder said. “Lots of regency era movies. They all do these dances and some people in my family were involved, so I started when I was about 12.”
Unlike Brown and VanGelder’s dances, Coder doesn’t have a sound system or decorate his venues.
“I do pretty low effort dances. I bring a speaker and a Spotify playlist, I’ll write things on a whiteboard to let people know what’s going on, it’s pretty simple,” Coder said.
One thing that Coder’s group does have in common with the other two is the search for a space to dance.
“Finding a place can be tricky. We’ll do the Manor Grange sometimes, but when it’s nice out we’ll actually just do outdoor dances,” Coder said.
Coder’s group of dancers typically consists of church-going friends from his own circles, meaning participants range in age from about 16 to their mid-20s.
“I’d say that 70 to 80% of the people that go to my dances already know most of the dances so teaching is pretty quick,” Coder said. “Having a small group is also nice because I can also run around and help people where needed.”
Coder throws a little variety into his lineup by having swing dance practice and line dances interspersed throughout the sets.
Since most of the attendees know the regular English country dances, Coder finds he spends more time on teaching swing dance moves than teaching anything else.
“Lots of people want to learn more advanced moves, so it challenges me on the off time,” Coder said.
Though Coder doesn’t have the same resources as the other two groups, the group he dances with keeps coming back month after month.
“Dances are a great way to enjoy time with good people,” Coder said. “Start a group. It really doesn’t take much. As soon as you start dancing, you’ll find other people who dance and can link you up and get involved.”
Amy Lynn Brown runs an English country group called “The Dances” on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/435995193443626.
Kirk VanGelder’s dances have an email sign-up and can be reached by email vandad12@gmail.com.
