The Busy B Square Dancing Club was founded by Ed and Lois White, who discovered square dancing while they were vacationing in Arizona in 1990. The club was officially began four years later.
The Mullica Hill library and the Busy B Square Dancing Club will host the an evening of square dancing on Thursday, May 29, at 6:30 p.m.
The Busy B staff and a professional square-dancing caller will provide lessons to attendees who are 18 and older, along with sessions for beginners and expert dancers alike.
“Participants will be divided into groups and the program is open to individuals, couples, groups, etc.,” said the library’s head of adult services, Andrew Brenza. “Bill Legante, of Busy B, reached out to the library and offered to provide the class.”
The Busy B organization – according to its website – was founded by Ed and Lois White, who discovered square dancing while they vacationed in Arizona in 1990. The club was officially established four years later.
“Ed was a retired RCA manager, and he and his wife, former ballroom dancers, pursued square dance lessons after they returned home from vacation …” Brenza explained. “One of the places where they practiced their dance steps was at the Glassboro senior center, under caller Ray Kauffman.
“Ed soon became such an enthusiastic advocate of square dancing that he decided to organize a square dance club for South Jersey singles of college age and older,” Brenza added. “This club eventually became known as the Busy Bs.”
Ed would also serve as the club’s first president for two years. The group has since been all over the South Jersey area, offering dance lessons to singles, couples and families alike.
The club got further attention in a Courier Post article on Jan. 5, 1994.
“In square dancing, by the end of the evening, you’ve touched hands and socialized with everyone in the room,” White told the newspaper. “Square dancing is for fun, not competition. All you have to do is walk to the beat of the music. If you can walk, you can square dance.
“It’s a very wholesome activity.”
The library square dancing event requires registration in advance on the GCLS website. It is recommended that attendees wear comfortable and close-fitting shoes.
