Cedar City Welcomes Global Square Dancing Enthusiasts This August

Square dancing in Cedar City is stepping into the international spotlight this summer, as thousands of dancers from around the world prepare to gather for a major convention the first weekend of August.

Speaking on the Big Picture Morning Show on KSUB radio, Pat Matthews, president of the Hey Cedars and Rubik’s Cube square dance clubs, shared his enthusiasm for the event and the local response that made it possible. “In August is going to be a national square dance convention where people from all over the world are going to come here to Cedar City and square dance,” Matthews said during that broadcast. “So it’s pretty exciting.”

The convention, scheduled from Wednesday through Saturday of the first weekend in August, will be centered at the Heritage Center, with additional dancing space set up across the street in the building behind Ganache’d Brownies, formerly a movie theater. Matthews noted that the public is welcome to come watch, promising a colorful scene as dancers in traditional square dance attire fill the venues.

Cedar City Welcomed The Opportunity To Host

The road to securing the convention began with a bid. Matthews explained that a larger city initially appeared poised to host but at a steep cost. “I kind of raised up my hand and I said, do you want me to see what Cedar would do?” he said. “And it was amazing the outcome of that because Cedar just poured out everything and said, yes, we want it. Yeah, that’s awesome. And we’re going to do it right.”

Though square dancing is often viewed as uniquely American, Matthews described its global reach. He recalled dancing in a square where three of the four couples were from Sweden, pointing out that calls are delivered in English worldwide, creating a shared language on the dance floor.

Locally, Matthews leads the Hey Cedars adult group, which traces its roots back to the early 1940s and meets Wednesday nights, and the Rubik’s Cube youth group, which meets Mondays and includes about 20 dancers ages eight to 18. He sees momentum building again after past declines, emphasizing what keeps people coming back. “I think my favorite part is the actual togetherness that you get with square dancing,” he said. “Because that’s one of the things about square dancing that’s probably my favorite part is that you can’t have one person be the star. They have to work together to make it all work.”

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In August, that spirit of togetherness will extend far beyond Cedar City’s borders and onto its dance floors.

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Listen to our chat with Pat Matthews in the podcast below.