Page 34 - Senior Link Magazine Spring 2025 - Online Magazine

Exceptional
SENIORS
Fulfilling
Her Calling
Ellen Spoon
by Teri Henderson, Secretary, Lubbock Area Square and Round Dance Federation
hen asked why she started square dancing,
Ellen Spoon said, “So some people would stop
Wasking me. I went once and was stuck.” This is
the response many square dancers might give you, but
we are happy in our “stuckness.”
Square dancers could not dance without callers. They
are the people who give direction to the dancers, and
Ellen Spoon is a time-tested top-notch caller. She has
been giving those directions for close to 50 years.
The octogenarian from Tularosa, NM, started calling
34 Lubbock Senior Link
when asked many years ago by her caller friend, Hap
Pope, to teach lessons.
Although mobility limits her to calling nowadays, she
relishes the activity. Not being able to participate in the
actual dancing is difficult, but that hasn’t stopped the
great-grandmother from being a driving force in the
local dance associations. She is currently the caller for
Diamond Plus Dancers, Lone Star Promenaders, and
Club A in Lubbock. She is the Elected State Delegate for
the Lubbock Area Square and Round Dance Federation.
She teaches square dance lessons or assists in teaching,
depending on the session.
In her off-time, Ellen even designs her own
choreography. Calling a tip involves doing a patter
call and a singing call. The patter call is often danced
to a caller’s own choreography. Coming up with new
choreography is time-consuming, but Ellen is both
talented and creative.
Her most notable calling experience was at the Texas
State Square and Round Dance Convention in Lubbock
in 1978, in the popular Main Room, but she once called
at a dance hall where they chased bats out before the
dance could start. She has called in a swimming pool
and in a river. Dancers and callers will dance just about
anywhere.
Promoting square dancing is a full-time job with little
financial reward, but it offers much in the way of life