BAMBERG, Germany -- Americans here had the opportunity to expand their interests and revisit a traditional pastime of their country.
The Bamberg Cornhuskers, a square dancing group three decades old, held its annual open houses recently, and the group's lead caller and an original member of the group, Thomas SpAfA$tling, hopes more Americans will come see in the future what the club has to offer.
"Come and try it," he said. "We will teach [newcomers], and not just have you sitting and watching."
Square dancing is not a recent phenomenon in Germany and the Cornhuskers are not the first club to excite interest in the historical American dance style.
The European Callers and Teachers Organizations, a registered organization for square dance callers, round dance cuers, clogging instructors and contra/traditional square dance prompters in Europe, celebrated its 50th anniversary this past June in a German town.
The Bamberg club has existed since 1978 and was started by about 40 Americans from the local military community.
"In former years, we had mostly American members, and performed at the elementary school on post," SpAfA$tling said.
SpAfA$tling would like to see more Americans become involved in the group, now composed largely of German members.
"We have about one American member and about 80 German members," he said. "It's not just couples, we have a lot of singles come. Anyone can come. Some people come every two weeks and sometimes guests visit from other clubs."
SpAfA$tling believes the widespread nature of square dancing increases the attraction to it. Many clubs follow a mainstream program of figures and music, so the skills learned in one club are easily transferrable to groups in different cities and countries. Similar groups are located in cities throughout Germany, including Schweinfurt, WAfA1/4rzburg and NAfA1/4rnberg.
SpAfA$tling has been a member of the mainstream program, CALLERLAB International Association of Square Dance Callers, since 1981.
CALLERLAB provides resources and information to callers to help them teach uniform figures and dances.
Starting with the September open house, the program will be geared toward new members, and every week one new dance figure will be learned. By the time the class completes training, about six months later, participants will be able to dance more than 70 figures.
Beyond the weekly dance nights, the Cornhuskers perform both locally and outside of Bamberg. They give about 8 shows a year, including a castle tour every June.
"People come from all over Germany and we tour and perform at different castles," SpAfA$tling said, "including some of the ones near here like Giechburg."
Though the group offers a lot, it does not commit members to every event and meeting.
Member Lothan Hofmann became part of the Cornhuskers in September of last year, and feels it was a great decision.
He said that vacation time caused him to miss a few classes, but it was easy to get back into the dancing upon his return.
"My wife is also a member," he said. "In July 2009, we graduated from the program."
Hofmann was first introduced to the Cornhuskers when his grandson saw a presentation by the club in the early 1990s.
"Fifteen years later I noticed something in the newspaper about the Cornhuskers," he said. "And I went to the open house."
The two-hour meetings every Friday are simply for camaraderie and dancing. The dancers rotate through nearly all the moves, with few breaks in-between, while SpAfA$tling calls from the small stage.
Another incentive for Americans to attend the upcoming open houses is that many members speak English. SpAfA$tling is a fluent speaker and does all calling in English.
All are welcome to attend the open house events; there is no fee for the lessons provided.
For more information, visit http://www.bambergcornhusker.de/.
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