There is No Community Without U! The Todd CommUnity Dance

A sign sitting outside of a small building in the town of Todd, North Carolina reads,

“Todd CommUnity Dance, Friday 7:30, Y’all Come”

The Todd CommUnity Dance happens on the second Friday of every month at The Todd Mercantile. Potluck at 6, dancing at 7, $5.

I walked inside the Mercantile on a Friday in September, alone, albeit anxious. The nervous system tends to confuse that emotion with excitement. Within the store, there are a variety of products. I set my sights on a fish-shaped magnet that had the word “Todd” on it for my fridge, to remember this quaint little town and the night incoming.

After I paid my $5 admission and paid for the magnet, I made my way through the hallway; to my right was a room with various dishes lined up on a table. At the end of the hallway, my anxiety deflated as I met some of the kind regulars at the establishment. Since I arrived at 6 for the potluck, I made myself a plate with a variety of homemade dishes, and sat down with Sarah Zurhellen, the owner of the Mercantile. She works at Appalachian State, at the writing center. Sarah and her husband bought the business in 2023, she described it as her “retirement job that I started way too early”. What once was a little town that she visited for fun, turned into the home of a business that allowed her to foster community and a third space. After chatting with Sarah, I was introduced to John Turner, to talk about calling. Calling is an important role in the world of square dancing, as they instruct participants on what moves to do. John has been a caller for 25 years.

“Most people my age have been calling for 50 years,” John told me.

He initially started as a flatfoot dancer, then transitioned to calling. There is a rich history behind the culture of square dancing, that only continues to grow. John tells me about Todd Promenade, a day of free workshops at the Mercantile on Saturday, Nov. 7. People can learn calling, flatfooting and playing music for dances, or how to run the sound system, before a potluck and public dance that night. As John and I discussed the evolution of the local square dancing scene, he pointed out that there was a surge in interest after the COVID pandemic.

“Before COVID, we did not have a large number of people that was actually coming to the dances for whatever reason, but after COVID, for some reason it hit the college campus over here, and they love it.”

This made me realize the power of in person, human connection that we all craved during the pandemic. Based on word of mouth he had heard about the night, John told me that he anticipated a large turnout for the night to come.

The first part of the night was the family dance. I sat and watched in awe over the people who freely moved their bodies about the room. People joined together, new and old inhabitants of the world, holding hands and being guided by John and the band. I was invited by a kind lady, Beth, to get up and dance. As I became enmeshed with the group of dancers with varying levels of experience, I felt a sense of connection that could not be replicated. Although I had not known these people, I felt safe with them. It was contradictory to the “stranger danger” ideology I had grown up on. The way people spontaneously threw themselves into the mix, and confidently followed the steps was admirable to me. Putting yourself out there is an important form of exposure therapy. As more and more new faces entered the space, the room became hot and smelled like it. The very human smell of mixed body odor brewed in the air.

I stepped outside to cool down and chat with some of my friends that had shown up.

“This is a place where you can be silly,” said Gray, a Boone native.

I asked where the downtown was, and it turns out, we were basically in it! The small, unincorporated community of Todd, North Carolina does not have a downtown. Rachel, a friend who lives in Todd, told me locals joke that the mayor is the Mercantile owners’ dog (I could not confirm nor deny this fact).

More people piled inside, some watching from the sidelines, and some joining in on the fun. I partook in both. While sitting out for the dances, I hastily typed the vocabulary of square dancing in my notes app. John called out phrases like, “Do-si-do”, “Greet your partner twice”, “Yours is mine give me back mine”, “You swing mine I’ll swing yours”, “Go home”, and “Bird in the cage” (My favorite). I didn’t know what any of these phrases meant. Through John’s instructions and visual learning, I quickly learned the lingo.

The thing about square dancing is that it requires only 4 things, coordination, combined effort, listening and following directions, and the willingness to participate. None of these things have to be executed perfectly, and anybody can do it. It’s all about the free-flowing, community movement. No dance is complete without the band. The four-piece group, which included John’s son-in-law, Adam, played acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo and upright bass. They played together seamlessly, creating a bluegrass-y sound. Everyone in the room clapped along to the energetic rhythms. The large groups of people dancing buoyantly made the wooden floor tremor with excitement. It was a clear sign to me that this place was handcrafted, and worn, with a rich history.

By the end of the night I wasn’t tired. I was awake. My cheeks were sore from all the laughing and smiling. Every so often John asked the crowd whether they wanted a dance that was difficult or easy, and almost every time the masses asked for the challenge. We didn’t pull one off gracefully, by any means. We asked for the hard ones anyway.

So get out there, touch a stranger (consensually), connect with people regardless of age, class, sexuality, etc. and simply come together in celebration of the present day.

The next Todd CommUnity Dance is Friday, Nov. 13, at The Todd Mercantile. Potluck at 6, dancing at 7, $5, free for kids 15 and under. The Saturday before, Nov. 7, the Mercantile hosts Todd Promenade, a day of free dance workshops. Registration is at thetoddmercantile.com.