Square dancing in the capital

CTV Ottawa: Be there and be square Square dancers in the city for a Canadian festival strut their stuff on Parliament Hill. CTV's Eric Longley reports.

It’s hip to be square in Ottawa these days.

More precisely, it’s hip to dance square.

Dozens of square dancers converged on Parliament Hill Thursday morning for a huge hoedown on the lawn.

They are in town for the Canadian Square and Round Dance Convention. The massive gathering takes place every two years in a different Canadian city.

This year the event has attracted over a thousand dancers from across Canada, the U.S. and beyond. “We have four ladies here from Japan. We have a couple from Australia. We have some from, a Canadian couple from Qatar,” says Festival Chairperson, Wendy Vandermeulen.

Square dancing involves four couples arranged in a square, performing steps as they are called out by the square dance caller. The festival features modern square dancing, which combines old time steps  with new ones danced to more contemporary music.

The festival continues to Saturday at the Ottawa Convention Centre.