The Peace Country Western Dance Club is more than just dance lessons. After completing Level II Two-Step and achieving the requisite skill level, students are eligible to become Club Members. Final approval is given by our Director of Dance.
In 2022, as a non-profit organization, PCWDC has been in existence for 30 years! How have we lasted for so long? It takes a lot of people, who are passionate about dance and committed to providing a safe and fun space for dance, working together to keep everything dancing along. We call these volunteers Club Members. In return for your time supporting the club, you have access to many benefits, including joining any PCWDC dance class throughout the year, the cost of which is included in your annual Club Member dues. We have lots of fun social functions, and a big reason people like to be involved with PCWDC is being a proud and integral part of a great group of people, who support the community and love to dance while doing it!
To start with, PCWDC student night is always Tuesday evenings, at the Golden Age Centre. These Get Started classes are taught by our instructor, Ed Johnston, who has over 30 years of experience learning and teaching dance. Level I two-step is from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, Intro to a New Dance is from 8:00 – 9:00 pm, and Level II two-step or another Intro to a New Dance is from 9:00 – 10:00 pm.
As a new Club Member, you may choose to help out on Tuesdays by dancing with a student, answering questions and helping make students feel welcome and at ease. You will notice that the majority of the newer Club Members are dancing with the students, and the experienced Club Members are observing. The reason for this is that the experienced Club Members can usually tell which part of the routine the couple is having difficulty with – whether it is the lead that is missing a step, or the follow, or if their frame needs adjusting, etc. As a new Club Member, you may not be comfortable in identifying this; however, this will come in time – as with any activity, practice makes perfect!! Once you feel more comfortable, you may wish to become a Teacher’s Assistant (TA), and you will then be given a shirt identifying you as a TA, and a name tag.
Club Members can also receive Next Level instruction. They meet on Thursday evenings at the Golden Age Centre from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. The first half hour of the evening begins by warming up with a variety of line dances, followed by instructional lessons starting at 7:30 to 8:30 pm. Our final half hour is a practice session to music that fits the particular dance class being taught. These instructional lessons are provided by a world-class dance instructor, Dale Tosczak, who will offer three weeks of dance classes based on the prior PCWDC session and then three weeks of another dance genre. The variety of Next Level dances taught are line dance, waltz, east coast swing, west coast swing, two-step, double shuffle, night club, foxtrot, salsa, rumba, cha cha, etc.
During our Thursday night Club Member instruction, as a new member, it is normal to feel overwhelmed for the first while, but just remember, we have all been there! It is important to proceed at your own pace, as it is best to learn a few steps well and remember them rather than a whole routine and forget it by the end of the evening. Our Club consists of a variety of levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) making us unique in that we help teach each other at all of these levels. We are all more than happy to help in any way, so please ask. No question is a silly question!!
We have a large list of choices for new Club Members on how they can support and help maintain the club, besides being a TA, such as volunteering at social dances, which are held once a month, helping with administrative and social media services, participating in demos, serving on the board, and a great variety of other vital functions! Our goal is to spread the jobs out so that it is a light load for all of our Club Members and we can spend most of our time dancing and having fun!
As with any club, there are meetings to attend. Most of the meetings are held by the Executive; however, there are a couple of CM meetings a year – so we can be sure we’re always giving everyone a chance to give input – and there’s an Annual General Meeting in May that everyone can attend.
We would love to welcome you into the inner workings of the Peace Country Western Dance Club, so that you can grow your own dance knowledge and experience, while helping others do the same. Please contact our Director of Dance (dod.pcwdc@gmail.com) if you have completed your Level II two-step and are interested in becoming a Club Member.