Arlington Heights square dancing club celebrates 75 years

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (WLS) -- For 75 years, the Arlington Squares have been dancing.

The faces may change, but the dances look the same.

Sunday in Arlington Heights, the longstanding square dance club celebrated the anniversary with the theme, "Dancing Diamonds."

The Arlington Squares celebrated their proud history

"It's phenomenal that a club has lasted for 75 years," Arlington Squares President Denise Hopkins said. "We started in 1948. We've been continuously dancing since then. We're actually the longest continually dancing club in the state of Illinois."

On the occasion , the nationally-renowned Jet Roberts called the shots, which was a treat even for those who've danced for decades.

"Well I've been dancing for over 40 years, and I love the caller," square dancer Cynthia Suchy said. "He's fantastic. His voice is great. He's exciting."

For Suchy, square dancing is an escape.

"You're thinking about the dancing... not your problems... not anything else that's going on in the world," Suchy said.

Others come for the exercise.

"It keeps you healthy always, not only physically, but mentally, because you have to listen, know what to do, translate that, get your feet moving, get your body moving, so it's a total experience," square dancer Larry Johnson said. "It's a good exercise for your entire body."

Dancers need to listen and react to 50 calls for a basic dance and 100 calls for more advanced dances.

SOT Janice Cha / Square Dancer 1:40:42

"It gets me out of the house," square dancer Janice Cha said. "It gets me some exercise. I use my head, but mainly though it's like the social network that I can't live without now."