Loren Andrus' introduction to a full-fledged, square-dancing culture happened when he was in 4H.

"We had a dance one winter," said Andrus, 26. "It was an introduction to square dance. And then two years ago we had a square dance at the Institute (of Religion) and it was very enjoyable.

"After the dance, the callers, who are professional callers, told us if we enjoyed that, we should check out some of the square dance clubs that can be found throughout the valley," he said.

Since then, Andrus has been part of the Leather and Lace Square Dance Club. It meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Horizon Elementary School, 5180 S. 700 West. "In the summer, we meet in Murray Park," he said.

Andrus started square-dancing because he wanted to meet people.

"This was a good way for me to get out and do something rather than watch TV all night," said Andrus, who is a software engineer. "And you meet some great people.

"The club I'm in is for adults, single and married," he said. "There are other clubs that are strictly for singles and strictly for married, but we have both in ours. And we have maybe 30-40 people who attend regularly."

Andrus said the thing that surprised him most about these square dance clubs is they are part of a nationwide network.

"There is a national callers association in the United States," he said. "They do that so all the calls are universal. There are official calls and standard calls. So, I can attend a club in Florida and know what dance they are doing once the calling starts."

Another surprise for Andrus was the music.

"For the longest time, before I joined the club, I thought all square-dance music was that twangy country western," he said. "But that's not the case. In fact, all you need is a good bouncing beat and any type of music can be used. In fact, I only hear a couple of country western songs during our meetings."

Andrus, who is the secretary of his club, said it is important to educate the public about square-dancing.

"There are a lot of misconceptions," he said. "And one of those misconceptions indicate that people who square dance are old or old-fashioned. But that's not the case. We have people in our club from ages 18 to the elderly. And they are all a bunch of nice people."

For more information log on to www.utsquaredance.org.

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com