Square dancers in Plains hit the big time
SQUARE DANCERS from all over the area were in Plains on Saturday night while crews from “Backroads of Montana” and “Under the Big Sky” taped upcoming shows. (Kathleen Woodford photos/Clark Fork Valley Press)
WILLIAMS MARCUS, host of “Backroads of Montana,” does his stand-up for the show in the basement of the First Security Bank in Plains during the club’s square dance.
The media descended on a small group of square dancers in Plains last Saturday night. Television crews from both “Backroads of Montana” and “Under the Big Sky” were at the dance located in the basement of the First Security Bank.
“Backroads of Montana” is a show on Montana PBS and consists of three or four stories featured in each episode. In between segments the show’s host, William Marcus does “stand-ups” where he introduces the next story. On Saturday the crew, which included producers Ray Ekness and John Twiggs, were at the square dance to shoot the stand-ups.
Meanwhile, producers Shawn Newton and Andrew Yancey are doing a segment for their new show, “Under the Big Sky” featuring “Backroads of Montana”. “Under the Big Sky” is a new program on KXLH which is part of the Montana Television Network. This episode will air sometime in the fall.
“There are 34 members from all over the area including Kalispell, Thompson Falls, Trout Creek, Ronan, St. Regis, Plains, Paradise, Charlo and Spokane,” said Darlene Jolly.
The small room was filled with couples doing a Promenade left and Promenade right as they dodged and weaved between camera crews and lights. Women in bright skirts with flaring petticoats twirled around the room with their partners as Ed Evans from Port Orchard, WA called the dance.
Marcus even gave calling a try toward the end of the night.
“Which is trickier than it looks,” said Jolly.
The dances last from 7 until 9 p.m. and they give lessons to new people during the winter. Their youngest member is nine-year-old Layla Harris who says she enjoys dancing, but it was hard to learn at first. Her grandparents are also dancers, Kate and Sig Person.
This episode of “Backroads of Montana” will air on May 22 at 7 p.m. and will feature a story about Troy DeRoche who is a Native American flute maker from Hot Springs. He and his wife also run an art gallery there. The fourth producer, Gus Chambers who was not at the shoot in Plains, also did some of his story for this show in the Alberton area.