Allan Laufer

At Cast A Shadow In The Sun, 1991

Allan Laufer
06 Oct 1958 - 22 Oct 1993

Clubs & Associations

Independence Squares
South Florida Mustangs
Squares on the Delaware
Times Squares

Remembrances

IN MEMORIAM
Allan Laufer

In the issue before last I wrote an article about attending, along with Bob Rosenthal, Allan Laufer’s excellent performance in “The Marriage of Figaro.” Unfortunately I have to relate that Allan died in early October just a few days after his 35th birthday. Skip and Betsy attended his graveside burial in New Jersey. Allan’s presence in the Times Squares as dancer and caller will be fondly remembered by his friends.
— Mac^[1]

Allan Laufer was a classically trained opera singer who allowed his passion for square dancing to give birth to two different square dance groups in the Philadelphia area. Allan relocated to the New York area from South Florida in the late 1980s to pursue his opera career and while visiting friends in Philadelphia and checking out the country western dance scene there, he found a welcoming atmosphere for square dancing. Based on this enthusiastic welcome, he felt moved to start a square dance group in Philadelphia. Further encouragement from the locals and from Chris Phillips of the South Florida Mustangs (where Allan was a member and learned to square dance), Allan started calling for Basic/Mainstream classes in September of 1988 and this group gave birth to the Independence Squares in 1989. He took this enthusiastic group to the Times Squares convention, Peel The Apple, in New York city in July 1989 and made sure that they got to meet all the members of square dance royalty and the movers and shakers of the IAGSDC. There was not a tradition in the IAGSDC that he did not make us aware of. In the fall of 1989, shortly after Peel the Apple, Allan decided to start another square dance group. Whereas Independence Squares was a board-run organization, Allan started this second group, Squares on the Delaware, as a caller-led organization to better realize his vision of a square dance organization. This second group attended their first convention, Cast A Shadow In The Sun in Miami in May 1991. Unfortunately, as Allan’s health declined, this second group became inactive in 1992.

While spending a lot of time and effort on square dancing, Allan never let go of his dream of being an opera singer. During the year before his death, Allan had a role in “The Marriage of Figaro”. While I did not see it, I heard that he was wonderful, and I am sure that this warmed Allan’s heart until the day he died.

With his vocal training and lessons, Allan’s singing calls were the stuff that dreams are made of! His rendition of “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” made us melt. We still cannot hear this song on the dance floor without thinking of Allan and bringing a lump in our throats.

Attending his graveside burial was a moving experience and is something that will not be forgotten. Spending time with others who knew Allan may not have brought him back but was a reminder of all that he was and what he meant to people.
— Mike Rutkowski and Tim Harper^[2]

Find A Grave Memorial 62767876