Headline: Silver Squares was in need of a caller! Article: Thank you, Denny Frey from Batavia Silver Stars, for coming to our rescue. Denny was a hit with his vinyl records and vintage songs. We had five squares of extremely happy dancers. We hope he will join us again!! Submitted by Anne Granger --------------------------------- Headline: Silver Squares—Presidents Day Dance—5/6/2024 Body: We celebrated President’s Day with all our friends at Silver Squares. Four squares of happy dancers enjoyed dancing to our caller, Jim Gotta. Jo-Ann Baxter was dressed in her patriotic best. Thanks, Jo-Ann! Submitted by: Anne Granger ----------------------------------- Headline: Silver Squares Soup, Sandwich & Salad Dance Body: Soup was the word of the afternoon. Seven crockpots of delicious soups were shared at our Soup, Sandwich and Salad feast. In addition, we had a variety of other dishes plus desserts. Yes, we did dance too!!!! Thank you to our wonderful cooks and bakers. Submitted by Anne Granger --------------------------------------- Headline: Silver Squares St Pat’s Day Dance—5/6/24 Body: What a day! We had an amazing St. Patrick’s Day dance with many dancers dressed in “their green.” Copy Cats came to steal their banner back and we also had PIE DAY. Ninety eight slices of absolutely delicious pies!!! Where else could you go to have so much fun?? Submitted by: Anne Granger ----------------------------------- Headline: Silver Squares Valentine’s Dance—2/12/2024 Body: Valentine’s Day is always a special dance at Silver Squares. Lots of fun, pictures, dancing, and good food with friends! Submitted by: Anne Granger -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- President’s Corner June 2024 We currently have 16 clubs in the Federation: Batavia Silver Stars, Boo Bull Squares and Rounds, Cayuga Cut-Ups, Cloverleaf Squares, Copy Cats, Dalton Gang, Fun Bunch, Happy Squares, Pairs N Squares, Penn Yan Friendship Squares, Shirts N Skirts (Fulton), Shamrock Squares, Silver Squares, Southern Tier Wheelers, Village Squares and Waterwheel Squares. We hope you take the opportunity to dance with our member clubs this summer, there are many dancing opportunities. We want to highlight some special dances coming up this summer: Copy Cats Class Fund Raiser- All Singing Calls Dance with caller Ron Brown on Saturday, June 1st, 2-4 pm in Penfield. Fulton Shirts N Skirts are sponsoring the Elaine Eno Memorial Dance on Saturday, June 8th from 1-8pm in Fulton NY, all proceeds will be donated to the ALS Association. Federation’s Free Friday Night Dance –“ Friday, June 21st from 6:30-9:30 pm at Perinton Memorial VFW, in Fairport. The Cut-Ups 63rd Anniversary Steak Roast & Dance – Sunday, August 18th from 12 noon to 4 ppm in Vince’s Park Pavilion in Seneca Falls. The Hip Boot Boys will be calling. Dalton Gang Second Annual CURE Dance for Childhood Cancer Awareness on Saturday, August 24th from 1- 5pm in Bliss NY. all proceeds go directly to CURE. If you can’t attend the ALS or CURE Dance, please consider donating to them. Our callers and cuers are volunteering their time to these events. Please check the Promenader for more details on these dances. The Federation’s 64th Dance-O-Rama (DOR) was held on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the Perinton Rec Center. It was very successful, with 130 + in attendance. We all enjoyed dancing to callers Mike Callahan and Jonathon Weiner and cuer Alice Bubel. We were happy to recognize 20 of our 2024 graduates who attended DOR. This year our clubs’ classes have added 26 new dancers to our dancing community. The Daphne -Norma Leadership Award, highest honor awarded in our square dance community, was presented to Linda and Glynn English, long time members of Cayuga Cut-Ups. This year during the DOR 2024 program, the Federation recognized many of our “behind the scenes” volunteers. This includes work behind on scenes on the Promenader, the WNYF website, our insurance coverage, our contracts and the DOR committee. Each volunteer was given a “WNYF Thanks You” dangle. Again, we thank each of our volunteers, whether you have been volunteering for many years or this is your first year. Without the dedication and support of our volunteers, we would not have the wonderful dancing opportunities we enjoy in western New York. This year, the DOR basket raffle and 50/50 were very successful. We appreciate all the beautiful baskets the member clubs donated to DOR 2024. Special thank you to everyone who participated in DOR, as volunteers, dancers, callers, cuers, etc. Without everyone’s efforts, DOR would not happen. Upcoming Summer Demo – more details coming, please save the date: Greece Historical Society – Annual Strawberry Festival Fund Raiser – more than 50 500 attendees each year Monday, June 17th 4-7 pm, Mike Callahan will be calling. (Admission is free if dancing only. If planning to participate in the dessert tasting, you need to pay admission.) We will be sending out more information to the clubs and volunteer signup sheets. We hope to see you on the dance floor this summer! Debbie & Jeff Blood ------------------------------- Let’s Dance! – Readers Digest – March/April 2024 We came across a wonderful article in the March/April issue of Reader’s Digest, "Let’s Dance" by Claire Sibonney. Scientifically, it reinforces the benefits all our dancers know, but newcomers might not be aware of... Dancing is not only fun but very good for our health. Also, “for many people, dance has become vital to their quality of life,” according to David Leventhal, program director at the Mark Morris Dance for PD programs. To us in the dancing community, this is nothing new. Many of us see this each time we walk out on the dance floor, dancing in squares or rounds to our favorite callers, cuers and music. The article mentions “growing evidence shows that dancing can boost brain health and help manage symptoms of neurocognitive and movement disorders.” Helena Bluman, cognitive scientist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City was quoted: “Dancing requires more brain power than simpler repetitive exercises. It’s socially demanding, cognitively demanding, and physically demanding.” According to David Leventhal, program director at the Mark Morris Dance for PD programs: “In dance we have to learn patterns, think symmetrically and asymmetrically, we have to remember sequences.” It is known that both white and grey matter decline as we get older making communication in the brain lag and certain cognitive tasks such as multi-tasking and problem-solving tougher. A 2018 study by researchers at Otto van Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany, analyzed MRI scans of older adults who had participated in one of two programs over a six-month period. One of the groups practiced dance, the other group did a traditional exercise program with cycling and strength training. Findings: Both groups Improved their level of physical fitness, but the dancers grew more white and gray matter in part of the brain responsible for cognitive processes such as working memory, attention, and high-level thinking. Conclusion: Dancers’ memory center isn’t shrinking as quickly, improving their overall quality of life and potentially reducing the risk of dementia. MRI doesn't measure social benefits, but we dancers already know that regular gatherings with dancing friends makes a big difference in wellbeing and outlook on life. Submitted by Jeff and Debbie Blood ---------------------------------------