Triangle Squares

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

Website: trianglesquares.com

Started: 1987

Admitted to IAGSDC: 20 May 1988 as Full Member

Status: Active

History:

From the Program Book of the 6th IAGSDC Convention, held in New York, NY in 1989:

A group of dancers from Times Squares in N.Y. visited Toronto in March, 1986, introducing the joys of square dancing at a well-attended firstnighter. A repeat visit the following March drew about ten squares of dancers. In September of 1987, squares assembled for our first official class. In May of 1988 two club members went to Arizona for the annual convention, at which Triangle Squares was accepted into IAGSDC membership. Our second Basic/Mainstream class danced through Toronto's hottest summer ever. This past year, we held our first Anniversary Dance in September, hosted our first fly-in in March, and graduated our third Mainstream class.

Triangle Squares was formed in 1987 and accepted as a member of the IAGSDC at the Scottsdale convention in 1988, which only two of our dancers attended.
The first fly-in was March 4-7, 1988, with about four squares of dancers in attendance. The callers were Joe Uebelacker and Anne Uebelacker.
On 22 May, 1990, there was a special Steering Committee meeting to decide details about the next fly-in, which began with a Club Dance on Thursday, 7 June, 1990, and then continued on Friday, 8 June with an Advanced Workshop on the Saturday and Brunch on the Sunday. We danced on Friday at St. Luke's (at Sherbourne & Carlton Streets) and then on Saturday at the 519.
In 1991, the Fly-In Early Bird dance was on Thursday, April 4, with Joe Uebelacker calling. Then on Friday, Tim Crawford called at St. Luke's, followed by a Saturday afternoon dance with Joe Uebelacker and a Sunday afternoon dance with Tim Crawford.
In 1992, we held the Fly-In the second (!) weekend after the Victoria Day weekend, so it was the weekend after the Memorial Day weekend. The Trail-In dance was on Thursday, May 28.
Then in 1993, we settled on the Memorial Day weekend as the traditional time for our Fly-In, which was that year May 28 - 30. Holding it on the Memorial Day weekend makes it more possible for dancers from the U.S. to come to Toronto.
Triangle Squares celebrated its 25th year, and held its 25th fly-in, in May 2012.

The Triangle Tarts are a semi-official drag appendage of Triangle Squares.
The Triangle Tarts first appeared as a cohesive group in the early 1990’s. Prior to this, two or three dancers agreed in an informal way to dress up in drag for special club dances and events. With time, the tarts coalesced into a core group of dancers who were agreeing upon themes and colour schemes for their appearances at club dances and events. As Triangle Tarts are an inclusive group, we’ve welcomed women to our family. A small handful of Tarts have participated in a few of the Honky Tonk Queen Contests at IAGSDC conventions, with a winner in 1992. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the Triangle Tarts danced in demonstration performances at various venues to promote and advertise the club and its classes. Since the 2010’s, The Tarts have marched in Pride Parades in Toronto and Peterborough, and have appeared at Pride festivals in Toronto and Ottawa.

Club Caller[s]: Andy Chong, Barry Clasper, Marge Coahran, Osamu Miyabe, Costa Roussakis, Don St. Jean, Joe Uebelacker (1987 - 2016), Anne Uebelacker (founding caller)

Levels: Mainstream through C1

Dance Location[s]: Jesse Ketchum School, and the 519 Community Centre, party rooms at 45 Carlton St, party rooms at 15 Maitland Pl

Fly-Ins Hosted:

• Scoot Across the Border

Conventions Hosted:

• 2002 | Cloverleafs & Maple Leafs
• 2016 | Maple Leafs Regroup

Awardsː

In 2016, the club initiated the Silver Triangle Award, given to members to acknowledge exceptional service provided to the club over the years.

2016-17

• Chris Homer, club founder, Maple Leafs Regroup Executive
• Joe Uebelacker, founding club caller
• Don St. Jean, member since 1987, long-time club caller
• Lee Godfrey, Maple Leafs Regroup Executive
• Susan Cox, former club President, long-time volunteer
• Colleen Dodds, former club Executive, long-time volunteer
• John Bailey, former club Executive, Maple Leafs Regroup Executive
• Michiel Bagchus, Maple Leafs Regroup Executive

2017-18

• Costa Roussakis, member since 1993, club caller and served as equipment manager
• Don Cheff, original member since 1987, on the first club Executive, a multiple Fly-In Committee member and Triangle Tart extraordinaire
• Brian Wilding, member since 1988,  former Club President and co-chair of the 2002 Convention, Fly-in Committee and Triangle Tart
• Niall O’Reilly, Executive and Fly-in committee work
• Andy Chong, member since 1988, on the club executive for many years, club caller
• Les Holloway, member since 1988, “artistic director” responsible for club logo, many t-shirt designs, fly-in decorating etc.

2018-19

• Holly Price, former club Executive and long-time Fly-in organizer
• Steve McKeown, former club Executive and Fly-in Committee
• Marge Coahran, Fly-in Committee chair

2023

• Barry and Pam Clasper, club caller and long-time supporters of the club

2024

• Paul Strauss, Executive & Fly-in committee work and SSD volunteer

• Christiana McLean, Social coordinator and SSD volunteer

• Osamu Miyabe, club caller

Ephemeraː

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  Request to join IAGSDC page 1

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  Request to join IAGSDC page 2