Squaring up with the Rainbows

On this evening, the first Wednesday in the new year, the rainbow flag flies proudly below white Christmas lights hanging from the rafters at Wischemann Hall. A half-dozen squares take shape on the wood floor and Minkin occasionally abandons his laptop and caller’s booth to show off new moves. Instead of belt buckles, boots and cowboy hats, dancers are decked out in fleece vests, cross-trainers and mom jeans.

It’s beginner’s night, and more than 25 new faces have shown up. The old pros, aka “angels,” are there to meet and greet and show them the ropes on the dance floor.

Cathy DeWilde remembers getting dragged to the dance hall for the first time by her partner.

“That first week I was thinking, what have I gotten myself into? By the third week, it’s all smiles,” she said.

Today, she’s the club treasurer, logging in the new arrivals and making sure everyone gets a name tag.

On this night, several straight couples and single straight women have dropped in for a lesson. The Rainbows always welcome with open arms dancers of all sexual preferences.

“When you’re my age, it’s hard to find new friends,” says Pat Newton, a 63-year-old straight woman. “It’s kind of dorky dancing, but it’s so much fun. You screw up and oh, whatever.”

She enrolled in 2011, but had to take last year off to heal an injured knee. When she walks in the door tonight, before the music kicks in, someone yells, “Pat! You’re back!” and she’s instantly among friends again.

“One thing that’s a little different about this is that at the end of a tip (a combination of dances in one square), everybody crosses their hands and says, ‘Thaaaaaank You!’ And everybody gives each other a hug. In straight clubs, they just shake hands and say, ‘Thank you.’ To me that’s the difference,” says Whitworth. “You get seven hugs after one tip, and there are four tips in an hour and a half. Where else in our culture do people get 28 hugs in one night?”

Even though the Rainbows overcame discrimination years ago, they still run across an occasional club, or other dancers, who are “less than accommodating.”

“They don’t know how to deal with it,” says DeWilde. “It’s befuddlement. However, if you’re good, you become an ambassador and it doesn’t matter. It’s just, ‘She can dance!’ It doesn’t matter what position you’re in or what role you’re dancing. None of that matters.”

Bay Area freelancer John Beck writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. You can reach him at 280-8014, john@sideshowvideo.com and follow on Twitter @becksay.

DANCE CARD
What: Redwood Rainbows square dance club
Founded: 2007
Dance nights: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday
Upcoming special events: Friday night dance, Feb. 15; “Weave the Spring” all-day dance, March 2; Stumptown Stomp in Guerneville, May 17-19 and the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs event in San Francisco, July 4-7.
Information: www.redwoodrainbows.org

Rainbow dance tip: “It’s OK if you miss a call, but don’t talk about it. Listen for the next one and try to catch up.”
Bonus: Redwood Rainbows caller Steve Minkin is considered a master of the form, calling more than 10,000 dances in his career. He’s also an accomplished author, recently publishing the novel “Showdown at the Hoedown,” a romance and mystery set at a large square dance in California circa 1870. Check it out on his website at www.steveminkin.com or at amazon.com.