Club Do-Si-Dos Into Its 31st Year

“Bow to the partner, corner salute, circle the left, go lickety-scoot.”

Members of a Thousand Oaks square-dancing club listened to the caller and moved in unison, bowing, twirling, kicking.

“When people think of square dancing they usually think of haystacks and that old country music. That’s so out of date,” said Mary Ellen Kircher, president of the Pi-R Squares dance club. She said she has danced to the theme song from “Beverly Hills Cop.”

The dance group, formed by a group of engineers from Northrop Corp., celebrated its 30th anniversary last week.

The group, one of about 12 square-dancing clubs in Ventura County, has 130 members. But more than 180 people showed up at the celebration to kick up their heels. And Mayor Alex Fiore of Thousand Oaks came to congratulate the group, which has existed longer than the city has been incorporated.

At the Borchard Community Center in Newbury Park, women were decked out in lace and ruffle dresses and layered petticoats. And the men wore brightly colored ties matching their partners’ outfits.

“This is the way we always dress. It’s our costume,” Kircher said. “We don’t let anyone get out on the floor unless they’re in proper square-dance attire.

In a glimmering purple dress that cost more than $100, member Sue Grayson twirled around to get the full effect from her purple petticoat.

“I have about 40 square-dancing dresses, and my closet is full of petticoats of every color,” she said.

Grayson returned to the floor as caller Mike Seastrom sang out.

“Square-dancing is very, very popular,” said Seastrom, 39. “It’s the California state dance, and a lot of people are trying to make it the national dance. Not only that, but you can travel anywhere in the world, and there it is. I’ll be calling at a square dance festival in Japan next April.”