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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1998)
July 3, 1998 • Ju st out 2 ) Friendship Set to Music sidekick to the gay rodeos, but the movement took hold and other clubs began popping up across the nation. The association became international with the formation of Squares Across the Border, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based club established in 1983. Portland’s Rosetown Ramblers joined the association in 1984. Since then another Portland group, Heads to the Center, has been established to accommodate advanced square dancers. Between the two groups, several activities take place throughout the year. Classes are offered on Wednesday during fall, winter and spring, while the first Saturday of every month finds dances at the Portland Police Activities Association in Southeast Portland. These dances, Philips says, are a hybrid of square dancing and country western, which Philips describes as basically line dancing and two- stepping. “We’ll dance to pretty much anything,” Philips says. “We’ve danced to the Village People, of course. And at Christmas time we’ve done a square dance to ‘Jingle Bells.’ ” Continued from page 19 bine and recombine steps to keep as many peo ple as possible moving. He dreams, he says, of becoming a full-time, professional caller. “It’s about how we treat each other,” he says, and takes a thoughtful pause. “Square dancers aren’t made, they’re bom. Only lots of them don’t realize it just yet.” t h e R o s e , the 15th annual convention of the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs will be held July 3 to 5 at the Jantzen Beach Doubletree Hotel Ballroom, 909 N . Hayden Island Drive in Portland. The (dancing) general public is welcome to par - take in a country western dance with DJ Don Harris on July 3 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m . at the Doubletree. Cost is $5. The public can watch dancers at the conference free of charge throughout the weekend. For more information about the ROSETOWN R a m b l e r s , call 234-9944, or visit the group’s Web site at www.rdrop.com/users/ramblers. I WEAVE A bove: O u r Com m ittee S o F ar displays the Portland prom otional tourist bags that will greet convention attendees; below : “ W ith gay danc ing the term s ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ are ju st technical term s.’’ — K ate Yule S quare dancing,” says Michael McMullen, the Rosetown Ramblers’ caller, “is friend ship set to music.” McMullen caught the bug quite by acci dent. Employed as an organist at a church, he was asked to keep an eye on the square dancing group practicing in the basement. A few weeks later he took his partner along, and they were both hooked. Years later, when the interna tional convention took place in Seattle, his partner, who was then nearly blind due to the ravages of AID S, still managed to dance. “To say there were tears in the hall would be an understatement,” says McMullen. Five years ago, he decided to enroll in the school sponsored by the gay callers association prior to the convention. “I was told I had talent,” he says. “But I was also urged not to quit my day job.” McMullen works as a financial planner and speaks of calling square dancing in decidedly logical terms. “It appeals to the problem-solving, analyti cal side of me,” he says. “The choreography is like geometry in motion. There are 4,000 dif ferent square dance calls, and you have to fit the call to the crowd. It requires a great deal of creativity.” The goal of calling, McMullen says, is to keep 80 percent of the floor dancing. If every one is dancing, he explains, then the more advanced dancers are probably getting bored. For the past two years, he has left his notes at home and called by sight, which requires him to constantly monitor the crowd and com R est “ e a s y ” w ith o u r v e ry v is ib le m eans o f su p p o rt. tguyenA tte à £ eaMê,‘ Even if you’re still in the planning stage, our realtors and certified tax consultant will provide the facts and the support that you need to get you through home selection, loan applications, inspections and appraisals, to closing on the home of your dreams. And we ll be there in person, every step of the way. W e offer free, in-depth customer education along with complete professional services, including: HOME & INVESTMENT PROPERTY PURCHASE & SALES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LICENSED TAX CONSULTATION & PREPARATION Call now to take advantage of our encyclopedic knowledge... (5 0 3 ) 653 8378 fax (5 0 3 ) 786-1227 9981 SE 32nd Avenue Milwaukee, Oregon 97222 Serving the entire Portland metro area since 1979.
