Meet our Members: Corinne Constantine

“Meet our Members” is a new occasional feature on our website that will let you get to know your fellow club members better. We’re starting with the most recent Mainstream class.

Corinne is a born and bred Manhattanite, commenting: “I grew up on the East Side, but moved to the West Side as soon as I could. Why did I move? I found the East Side too homogeneous.” Although now retired, she worked in higher education administration at all the major universities in New York City, the longest period being for Columbia University. Asked if she had any experience square dancing prior to Times Squares, she said, “Absolutely none.” She heard about our club through a friend, long-time square dancer and Times Squares’ member Tom Alamo. But what brought her to the Mainstream class was retirement: “These days I have more time to do other things, to try new activities like square dancing. I thought it would be fun and get me out and about, meeting new people.”

Corinne finds square dancing “indeed very challenging to learn all the calls.” But, she continued: “As a new dancer, I find putting them together in a dance to be the most difficult part of it. However, it’s a whole lot of fun, and I‘m slowly learning the calls. Repetition is good for a newcomer. Having dances to go to in addition to class is also great for someone just learning.”

Asked if anything about square dancing has surprised her, she said, “How difficult it is. Very challenging. But once I ‘get it,’ it will be so much fun.” She has felt welcomed into the extended family of Times Squares, stating: “The club and the people are wonderful, helpful, and nice. They make learning fun, and that’s what I’m looking for. I just wish my problems with my back and neck would go away so I could enjoy dancing for longer periods at a time.”