Who are we?

We are Portland’s LGBTQ square dance club for Mainstream and Plus dancers, and we provide a safe space for all people in our community. We warmly welcome all dancers, including our allies of the LGBTQ community. Our club is primarily geared toward adult dancers, but mature teenagers are also welcome when accompanied by a responsible adult.

How do we dance?

We dance the Mainstream and Plus levels, according to the CALLERLAB definitions.

We take pride in breaking many stereotypes about square dancing, including:

• No dress code. Our dancers wear whatever is comfortable for them. Most dancers wear jeans, and many dancers wear shorts in the warmer months. You won’t see many frilly skirts and cowboy shirts at our dances—but some of our dancers love traditional square dance attire, which is admired but not required.
• No partner required. We warmly welcome solo dancers. No one needs to bring a partner to our dances, and we will do our best to find a place for everyone on the dance floor.
• No locked-in gender roles. Traditional square dancing puts the male dancer on the left and the female dancer on the right. But as an LGBTQ club, we often have dancers of the same sex dancing together, and many of our members have learned both dance positions. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see the traditional dance positions reversed, and we encourage all of our dancers to dance the role in which they feel comfortable.
• Musical variety. You will hear a wide variety of music at a Ramblers dance. You’ll probably hear some country and western music, but we are by no means limited to cowboy songs.
• High energy. You won’t see shuffling feet at a Ramblers dance. We bring energy and enthusiasm to every dance. We are a popular destination for dancers from other clubs because of our dancing style and a guaranteed good time.

How can I join?

Dues of $50 are payable in October for the following calendar year. Dues are pro-rated for new members joining after January. For information, send an email to info@rosetownramblers.com.

How can I learn?

There are five levels of modern square dancing. In increasing level of complexity, they are:

• Social Square Dance
• Mainstream
• Plus
• Advanced
• Challenge

We offer lessons at the Social Square Dance and Mainstream levels, which includes 68 calls. Once dancers learn those 68 calls, they can square dance anywhere in the world because the calls are uniform internationally and calling is always done in English.

We take 12 weeks to learn Social Square Dance (SSD). We generally offer series of lessons from September to December and from January to April. Classes meet in the evening once each week, for 90 minutes.

We then take an additional four weeks to teach the Mainstream calls that are not included on the SSD list, wrapping up in early June. We generally take the summers off from scheduled dancing, but we have occasional social gatherings, including pool parties, the Portland Pride Parade, and dance demonstrations.

Classes are taught by an experienced local caller/instructor. Experienced dancers (called “angels”) join students in each square, so new dancers have plenty of support as they are learning.  Our goal is to make learning fun and rewarding, both for new and experienced dancers.

If we have enough dancers who have mastered the Mainstream level, we periodically offer Plus classes.

For more information about lessons, click here.

What if I have questions?

Please send an email to info@rosetownramblers.com .