LENOIR CITY — Tennessee’s largest square dancing club, The Little T Square Dance Club, is located in the heart of Loudon County. The club has been around for a while, hosting its first dance back in 1976.
The club is currently in the process of wrapping up classes with their current group and will begin a new cycle of classes with beginners.
These new classes for beginners will start on September 8 at the War Memorial Building in Lenoir City. The class on that day is free to whoever attends.
Why square dancing is beneficial and how has it changed?
One of the Little T Square Dance Club’s callers, Steve Kopman, talked about why people should come out and dance in Lenoir City. As it turns out, there are plenty of benefits to square dancing, both physically and mentally.
“A study was done 30-40 years ago that shows that the rate of Alzheimer’s Disease in non-square dancers was higher than it was in those that did do square dancing,” Kopman said.
Mental sharpness is something people can gain from square dancing. With the Little T Square Dance Club, you will learn tons of different calls which will help with memory.
Kopman also talked about the benefits of square dancing from a physical standpoint.
“When you are dancing, you may be walking three to five miles,” Kopman said. “However, you may not even feel it or realize it.”
Square dancing has also changed a lot over the course of time. Kopman revealed that the modern version of square dancing is not what people typically think it is.
“Today, it is totally different,” Kopman said. “You used to do just 10 calls over and over again. Now, people have a library of 100 calls in their head. I put them together in a way that best supports our group.”
In other words, a new level of sophistication has been added to square dancing over time. It is not just the same repetitive style that people may stereotypically think of.
For more information about the Little T Square Dancing Club in Loudon County, you can visit www.littletsquares.com. The website features ways you can register for square dancing classes, schedules, and people you can contact to learn more.
