ASHFIELD — Alexis Fedorjaczenko wants the community to know that “anyone can square dance,” and a free square dance at Ashfield Town Hall on Saturday, Oct. 4, will provide an opportunity to try it out.
The event, which starts at 7 p.m., will be a fun-filled night for both new and experienced dancers, according to Fedorjaczenko, the dance’s organizer. There will be live music from the Falltown String Band, and callers Doug Wilkins and Lila West will lead attendees through the motions.
“We’re encouraging newbies to come at 7 because the dances start more simply. If folks come early, they’ll be swept into it,” Fedorjaczenko noted.
This is the second square dance Fedorjaczenko has organized in town, inspired by the fun she discovered while square dancing at the Cummington Fair in 2022. She said the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were weighing her down, but while dancing at the fair, she felt light and uplifted.
“This is not something I ever thought I would be doing,” she said. “It was one of those activities that just brought me into the moment. … It was just fun.”
After attending other square dances across the region and hearing that there were once dances held in Ashfield, she decided she wanted to bring one back to her community.
“I had heard about a history of square dances in Ashfield and it was charming,” Fedorjaczenko recounted.
She applied for and received grant funding and was able to hold her first square dance last March. Fedorjaczenko said the funding was more than enough to pay the band and caller, so she decided to use the leftover money to hold another dance.
“The last one was really well-attended. I was just totally blown away,” Fedorjaczenko said.
Fedorjaczenko said she’s noticed growing interest in square dancing in recent years. She and other newcomers have discovered the activity is fun, calming, and helps people take their minds off their day-to-day challenges and responsibilities.
“I feel like there’s been a little bit of a resurgence,” Fedorjaczenko said. “There’s something about flow activities where you’re focused on what you’re doing. … It’s super cool holding hands with your neighbors and skipping around a room.”
Fedorjaczenko added that while most square dances have one caller, this dance is unique in that it will have two: Doug Wilkins, who has called at square dances across the region for years, and Lila West, who grew up attending square dances in the area and is excited to get young people interested in dancing.
“She really emphasizes anyone can square dance,” Fedorjaczenko said. “We’re really happy both she and Doug were happy to share calling.”
The dance is free to attend and supported by grants from the Ashfield, Buckland, Shelburne and Williamsburg cultural councils.