Anyone not convinced that Laguna Woods Village is a swinging place might change their minds once they try the square dance sessions Monday afternoons in the Clubhouse 1 Main Ballroom.

To introduce the modern incarnation of this iconic American folk dance, the Village Square Dancers are offering free one-hour introductory classes Aug. 22 and 29 at 1 p.m., in a recreation that is at once art, exercise for body and brain, and plain old fun.

No special clothing or partner is needed. Just wear sturdy shoes and be ready to follow caller Mel Branham’s cues.

But don’t expect a simple “do-si-do, swing your partner left and right.” Instead, dancers polish their moves to contemporary pop tunes for this low-impact sport. Boys and girls dance together, girls and girls as well, and everyone has a good time while figuring out how and where to put their feet. Because square dancing is anything but simple, dancers say.

Paula Kruger, 79, a former folk dancer, tried square dancing when folk dancing became too demanding.

“I am a dancer by nature,” she said. “Still, square dancing turned out much more challenging than I thought.”

Kruger started square dancing last September with Branham’s class and proudly cites having learned more than 60 calls.

“It’s challenging. I call it serious fun,” she said. “It’s fun even if you don’t get it right away. Ten months into it, I am very proud of what I did — it’s an accomplishment.”

Branham himself took up square dancing 47 years ago when a grueling work routine had worn him down and the joy of life eluded him, he recalled. After seeing a flyer for a square dance at a grocery store, he decided to give it a go and became hooked.

Branham has been teaching dance, including round dancing (directed ballroom dancing) and line dancing, for 40 years. He owns a dance studio in Westminster and also volunteer-teaches handicapped dancers.

“One of my biggest rewards is seeing the dancers out there enjoying themselves,” he said. “I want everyone to have that experience.”

So what is a square dance call? It’s a series of steps and synchronized moves morphing into shapes like squares and stars. A call may have a name like “Wheel and Deal,” which the caller shouts out over the music and dancers then execute.

The dancers agree that square dancing soundly engages the body and the brain.

“It’s not loosey goosey,” Kruger said. “You can hear the call, but the brain has to get it to your feet.”

Square dancing is also a tonic for the heart, says Pat Hensley, 83, a dancer for 35 years and the president of the Village Square Dancers for 13. When her second husband unexpectedly asked for a divorce, she was devastated.

“My daughters had just left to get married. I just went to work and straight to bed at night,” she recalled.

Hensley had lost a lot of weight and her joy of life when a friend invited her to go square dancing. Apparently it took.

“Dancing took me out of a dark hole,” she said. “Within two months I was myself again.”

The companionship and exercise helped, Hensley said, and they still help her sleep well at night. A year after she took up square dancing, she also started round dancing, staying in motion every day except Sunday.

Perhaps the best part, Hensley met her third husband, Michael, through square dancing: “Mel introduced us. He called and asked me to accompany a gent who did not want to go dancing alone.”

That was on Jan. 6, 1995. Exactly a year later, on Jan. 6, 1996, they were married in Las Vegas, with Branham as their best man.

Today, dancing keeps Hensley fit enough to be a caretaker for Michael, who developed Parkinson’s disease and no longer dances.

“My mind has stayed sharp as well,” she said. “I am doing fine thanks to dancing.”

For Patti Crist, the camaraderie is part of the joy of square dancing. Crist, 84, enjoys seeing people at the dances whom she does not encounter in other clubs. She has danced for 35 years and her husband Bill, 89, for 60.

When she was widowed, she started taking square dance lessons at the behest of Bill, who eventually turned from date to husband. Both still dance and see it as a social activity that brings not only physical exercise and mental stimulation but also new friends and social contacts, she said.

“We exchange jigsaw puzzles, have social evenings and travel together,” Crist said. “Square dancers tend to be people of good caliber.”

Like their dancing peers, Crist emphasizes that dancing brings mental stimulation. “When you hear a call, the brain needs to direct the foot action. If you don’t get it right, it can break down the square for all the dancers,” she explained. “By now it’s become automatic for me.”

When David Angelo joined the square dance class, he had recently had triple bypass heart surgery and also had recovered from Covid. His partner, Caren Bowman, had danced for 15 years when she got Angelo to join her.

“She got tired of season tickets to the Angels,” Angelo said with a laugh.

The couple also dance with the Hand ’n Hand Square Dance Club in Mission Viejo.

“Dancing has been part of our lives for 20 years, along with walking. It keeps us sharp. You have to remember what goes where,” Angelo said.

John Beauregard, 75, dances at least three times a week. Beauregard, who lives in the Casa del Sol retirement community, dances with the Village group and with the Ramblin’ Rogues Square Dance Club in Mission Viejo. He also enjoys  ballroom dancing.

“My wife passed away six years ago. The dancing gets me out among people and makes me happy,” he said.

Square dancing has helped Leo Yen, 85, become acculturated in the U.S., he said. A square dancer for just two years, he said it was hard at first: “I felt like a student again, but people have been so kind.”

For Lisa Chou, who hails from Taiwan, it’s simply about getting in motion.

“After I retired, I wanted to move,” she said between steps. “Line dance, round dance, square, I love it all.”

If you have any questions about square dancing, call Pat Hensley at 949-859-8827 or Bill Crist at 949-454-2194.