Desert Valley Squares

Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA

Website: http://http://www.desertvalleysquares.com//

Started: 1983

Admitted to IAGSDC: 1984

Status: Active

Club Caller[s]: Seth Levine, Linda Harry

Levels: Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, C1, and occasionally C2

Dance Location[s]: Mt. Olives Lutheran Church, 36th St and Thomas, Phoenix, AX

Fly-Ins Hosted:

Swing Thru Arizona - Martin Luther King Weekend - Even Years
West Coast A&C

Conventions Hosted:

History: The Desert Valley Squares, Ltd., is Arizona's Premiere Gay and Lesbian Social Square Dance Club. Founded in 1983 by Ted Oakes, MD, and a handful of others, the club now numbers about 30 dancers.

Remembrances: Ted did learn to square dance in San Francisco when he was with Don Durham. I believe Don discovered it first and then took Ted with him to dance. Ted moved to Phoenix and Don moved to Albuquerque where I believe he started the Wilde Bunch and called for them. I'm not sure what brought Ted to Phoenix but I assume it was for a job.

Ted started a group in Phoenix, but it folded when the group went below 8 dancers. I believe that was late 1982 or early 1983. He advertised again and this time the group stayed together. I would assume that was August 1983 as the documents you have were filled out by Ted and should be accurate.

I joined in Fall of 1984, the initial group was dancing Mainstream at the time. I know many of the founding members went to Reno to a rodeo to dance. After they returned was the first I heard talk of the IAGSDC. But DVS might have already been members.

When I joined we were dancing at the Phoenix Arts Council Hall on Latham. I assumed that was the original location but have no personal knowledge of that.

Ted taught with singing call records. I remember in April 1985, Don Durham came to Phoenix for a weekend and that was the first time I danced to an actual caller. After the dance my partner and I went out with the club to a men's bar attached to a bathhouse. We were feeling a bit out of place and mentioned maybe the group would prefer to be just men. Don Durham was adamant that we were wanted and emphasized they wanted to get more women involved and needed women to stay to help make that happen. We felt wanted and important to the group and stayed. We ended up attending the Denver convention and were hooked. The rest is history.
— Linda Harry

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