Janelle Authur
Want to stay cool while two-steppin’ to your favorite Western songs? Ranch Western dancers simply traded their jeans for shorts and skirts along with their cowboy boots at the SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) Social Dance Club’s monthly Western dance on Friday, July 22, in the Sol Ballroom.
The club planned a hiatus for July, but Ranch Western dancers missed dancing and the camaraderie, so the club scheduled an informal, impromptu boom box dance. Rancher Bob Authur put together a playlist and served as DJ for the evening. Thirty dancers took to the dance floor for the two-step, swing, cha cha, waltz, Western partner pattern, and a few of the most familiar Western line dances, led by Jerry and Kathy Meyer and Rocky and Karen Hart. Dancers topped off the evening with the Western dances’ traditional end-of-evening waltz partner pattern dance, “I Love You Arizona.”
The club sponsors monthly Country Western dances with live bands as well as social and rock ‘n’ roll dances, hosted by a DJ. Upcoming bands for the Western dances include Whiskey Riverdogs, a Southern Arizona band playing at the Ranch for the first time on Aug. 12, Wild Ride on Friday, Sept. 9, and the Mamma Coal Band on Friday, Oct. 7. Patrick Rayl and the .357 Band will return on Friday, Nov. 4, and Wild Ride will close out the year on Wednesday, Dec. 7.
All the Western dances also feature a raffle, with entry requirements that change each month—such as cowboy boots, jeans, wearing a specific color, or, for the July dance, boots and shorts. The July winners, Bob and Sue Newman of the Rancho Vistoso Kactus Kickers dance club, won two tickets to the August dance.
All levels of dancers are welcome at the monthly dances, and newer dancers are encouraged to “come on down” and practice their newly acquired skills. Given the popularity of the Western dances and size of the dance floor, registration is currently limited to 70 dancers.
The club also offers a variety of dance lessons in the Fitness Center at the La Hacienda Club. Country-Western lessons scheduled for fall 2022 include Beginning and Intermediate Arizona Two-Step, Partner Pattern, and the Western Waltz. For details and to register for the dances and lessons, go to the club’s website at www.sbrsbdc.club.
Information on the dances and lessons is emailed directly to club members and those on the club’s mailing list approximately four weeks before the dance and/or lessons start date. Details are also included through a link in the weekly Ranch Reminder. Registration opens four weeks before the event.