Square dance Square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples (eight dancers in total) arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances were first documented in 16th-century England but were also quite common in France and throughout Europe. They came to North America with the European settlers and have undergone considerable development there. In some countries and regions, through preservation and repetition, square dances have attained the status of a folk dance. The Western American square dance may be the most widely known form worldwide, possibly due to its
Youth square dance with other dancers then coming along to be their partners, rather than by any sort of pre-arrangement. Thus, at most clubs with a significant number of youth dancers, there is no requirement that dancers come with a partner and individual dancers are easily accommodated. (Youth square dancing shares this characteristic with gay square dancing and challenge-level square dancing.) In general, younger people learn more quickly than older people, and so on average clubs with younger dancers teach a given dance program in a shorter period of time. Some groups teach youth the basics in short-format classes such as a one-week