In a small church in the outskirts of Starkville, four couples at a time gather hand in hand to the sound of love songs. They dance in a square, hoping to not trip over one another at every call.
“Now allemande left,” Connie Wise, MSU alumna and experienced square dancer and caller, tells the group.
Shuffling feet follow the command. Everyone goes where they need to, except one individual who shouts, “Oh, this way!” Laughter follows the mishap. Wise hums along to the song between the calls and giggles at the beginner square dancers.
As the song ends, the dancers smile wide and come together for a group hug. The men shake hands as everyone breaks apart to rest until the next dance begins.
Some of the participants in this dance are part of the Jolly Squares, a square dancing club that has been a part of Starkville’s community for over 40 years. The group started an Introduction to Square Dance class in March.
A full square for a square dance involves eight people, or four couples. The caller shouts out commands, or calls, that the group must act out.  
Connie and Robert Wise, who love square dancing almost as much as they love each other, started teaching the class to grow the square dancing community in the college town where Connie grew up. Wise said that square dancing is more than how it appears on the surface.
“The main misconception about square dancing is that it’s a whole bunch of old people wearing the ‘foo foo’ dresses, and it’s just, you know, all hokey country music and its dancing kind of thing, and it’s really not anymore,” Connie Wise said.
Wise calls for events in the area, including events for Chi Omega sorority and the Baptist Student Union for their barn parties. Wise said even though she likes going to events such as these, they do not show all that there is behind the art.
“I do enjoy that, but my real goal is to grow the club, obviously,” Wise said. “You can only teach so much in one night, because when you come to class, it’s a progressive learning experience.”
The Wise couple met while square dancing, and they are now a leading part of the Jolly Squares. While Robert started in adulthood, Connie began her life of square dancing at eight years old.
Wise’s father, Paul Gentry, also an experience dancer and caller, introduced her to the world of square dancing. A few years after his passing in 2008, she picked up the microphone to be a caller.
As Connie Wise called for a full square in the fellowship hall of Adaton United Methodist Church, Robert Wise stood on the sideline, waiting his turn. He watched the new and experienced dance together as his wife corrected their every other move.
“There’s two things I always tell the new people: ‘you’ve got to learn your right and left’ and ‘you’ve got to learn to listen,’” Robert Wise said. 
Many attendees of the class learned through the Wise’s guidance. Both Connie and Robert walked everyone through difficult steps, and Robert showed off his phone app called Taminations that showed each call with their associated move.
One of the dancers, Cindy Hughes, attended the class with her husband to get back into square dancing. She said she picked up the hobby when she was younger but stopped for a long period of time to focus on family. Now that she is back into it, she is relearning a few things.
“[Square dancing] is much easier to learn when you’re 22 than when you’re 52,” Hughes said.
Hughes said she joined the Jolly Squares’ weekly festivities to be involved in an environment with good fellowship and a great family atmosphere.
All ages are welcome to join in learning the basics in square dancing. Round and line dancing are also taught during the weekly classes.
The Introduction to Square Dance class meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Adaton United Methodist Church in Starkville and costs $5 to attend. 

Gallery • 1 Photos

Courtesy Photo | Connie Wise

Connie (left) and Robert (right) Wise attend square dancing events most weekends.