"Virtual Square Dancing" is now being offered by a number of clubs and callers, both in our area and elsewhere. Generally this involves people dancing to sequences called through a video conferencing system such as Zoom. There may be people dancing in many different locations, in some cases from all over the world.

While this approach could be used for calling to geographically-distributed full squares (groups of eight real dancers), because the current rise in popularity of this form of square dancing is a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated limits on in-person gatherings, most current virtual dancing makes use of "two-couple" material designed to be danceable by just one couple. Some people do, however, dance such material just by themselves (one person), while a few larger groups (e.g., two real couples) sometimes also participate.

Here's a video that explains the idea, using only calls from the Basic list. (Note: Some details may vary from caller to caller.)

Here's another video that shows how the process looks at the dancers' end. It also includes examples of some common
calls from Mainstream and Plus, and shows the kinds of formations that typically come up in Plus dancing.

Local Groups

Times listed in the following table are all Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7).

Sundays 6:30-8:30pm Plus dancing	Stanford Quads Zoom is now a view of in-person dancing. for login information write to: info@stanfordquads.org
Mondays 6:00-8:00pm C-3A dancing	Top Cats Zoom is now a view of in-person dancing. for login information write to: info@top-cats.org
Mondays 7:30-8:00pm A-2 dancing	Outlaws for login information write to: harlankerr46@gmail.com
Round Dancing
Sundays 3:30-4:15pm Phase II & III 4:15-5:00pm Phase III & IV	Hosted by Sandi and Paul for login information write to sandradee312@gmail.com
Thursdays 7:30-8:30pm Phase II & III	Hosted by Sandi and Paul for login information write to sandradee312@gmail.com

Other Listings

Since the caller and other dancers can be anywhere, dancers looking for additional virtual dancing opportunities are not limited to ones hosted in their own area. Several groups have started assembling directories that may be useful in finding dances that match your interests and schedule.

Note that because many dances are attended by people from many different time zones, some of these events take place at times other than when we have typically done in-person dancing. Be sure to take note of the time zone associated with any announced time!

• IAGSDC - all levels
   
• Trailblazers - emphasis on Advanced and Challenge
  (but this one has all times translated to Pacific)
  Note: The link is to a directory -- click on the PDF to view the document itself.

Example

Here is an example of a Plus dance with people from a lot of different places, which also illustrates the kinds of modifications that some callers make to the calls to use them in a two-couple situation.

More Info on Facebook

If you are a Facebook user, you can find more information about upcoming virtual dances in the Virtual Square Dances group.