Eighteen-year-old Evan Rhinehart has been square dancing with his family in Georgetown for five years, and now the hobby is helping him take his next step toward a career in aviation maintenance.
Evan received a scholarship from the Shirts ’n’ Skirts Square Dancing Club Georgetown, which will cover his first semester at Texas State Technical College.
A homeschooled student, he has been square dancing with the club to complete his physical education credit. His younger sisters, parents and grandparents are all part of the club.
Each Wednesday evening,the club meets in the gym at Christ Lutheran Church to dance. There are 60 members in the organization, which formed in 1974.
“Honestly it’s a lot of fun,” Evan said. “It’s really a community like no other.”
Linda Davis, vice president of Shirts ’n’ Skirts, first heard about the group from a flyer she saw in the Georgetown Public Library.
“I came for lessons, and I met my husband at square dancing,” she said. “We’ve been married 14 years. There are people of all ages here.”
Despite the club’s name, there is no dress code at Shirts ’n’ Skirts. On August 26, people in clothing of all kinds gathered on the basketball court to square dance. The caller, Brad Caldwell, who has been inducted into the Texas Callers Hall of Fame, played Dolly Parton to honor the recently deceased singer.
President Stephanie Arthur said the group will attend the National Square Dance Convention next June in Loveland, Colorado. When asked about the potential competition, she explained that it is not a competition and there will be no winners or losers.
“Oh, it’s just for fun,” she said.
