Ranch Western dancers Fred and Tina Weber and Sandy and Terry Cooper dressed in “something green” for the March 10 Western dance sponsored by the SBR Social Dance Club. Terry also sported an orange mustache. (Photo by Bob Authur)
Ranch Western dancer John McCallum, pictured with spouse Pat McCallum, won a gift certificate to Dairy Queen, the door prize at the April 1 monthly Western dance sponsored by the SBR Social Dance Club. (Photo by Bob Authur)
Janelle Authur
Ranch Western dancers took to the dance floor in boots and color at the March and April SBR Social Dance Club Western dances.
On March 10, more than 80 Western dancers welcomed an early St. Patrick’s Day dressed in green and orange. Colorful clothing ranged from wild hats with lights and glitter to four-leaf clover shirts, jewelry, hat bands, and the most imaginative of all, an orange-dyed mustache! Wild Ride, a favorite local Country-Western band, played a wide variety of music as dancers enjoyed an evening of two-step, cha cha, waltz, swing, 3-step, partner pattern, and a few Western line dances.
At the April 1 dance, the theme was “something pastel” in honor of the arrival of spring. All shades of pinks, greens, blues, and other pastels dotted the dance floor. Clear Country Band made its first, well-received appearance at the Ranch, with a full dance floor all evening.
Both the March and April dances wrapped up with the monthly Western dances’ traditional end-of-evening waltz partner pattern dance, “I Love You Arizona,” a tribute to our adopted state.
The club sponsors Western dances with live bands monthly. All the Western dances feature a raffle, with entry requirements that change each month—such as cowboy boots or hats, or, for the March dance, wearing something green, and for April, something pastel. The March winner, SaddleBrooke resident Dawn Tankersley, won two tickets to the April dance. The April winner, Ranch resident John McCallum, won a gift certificate to Dairy Queen.
On Friday, May 12, another band new to the Ranch, the Highway Outlaws, will play. Whiskey Riverdogs will return to the ballroom stage on Friday, June 9, followed by Wild Ride on Friday, July 14, and Patrick Rayl and the .357 Band on Friday, August 4. Anthony Taylor Jr. Band will play at the Ranch for the first time on Friday, Sept. 8. Dances in October, November, and December will also feature yet-to-be-determined live bands.
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 limited to 80 dancers.
The club also sponsors monthly rock and roll and social dances, featuring a DJ or band, as well as a variety of ballroom and Western dance lessons. In May, the club will offer two lessons on the Cowboy Cha Cha, a partner pattern dance.
For details on upcoming lessons in 2023 and/or to register for the dances, 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.