Square dancing's been around since the 1600s. It's a quintessential piece of Americana. You need only turn on a Hee-Haw! rerun to learn everything you need to know, but I'll explain it anyway: A group of people ranging younger than 10 to over 90 gather together in a dance hall absent of hay bales, banjos or fiddles, and - with nary a set of one-strapped overalls or a straw cowboy hat among them - wait for the "caller," (the one that tells you when to "swing your partner" and/or "do-si-do"), to launch into an old traditional square dancing favorite: "Cake by the Ocean" by DNCE, or perhaps the Village People's "YMCA," or maybe a disco/calypso remix of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" if they want to go old-school.

Yeah, this ain't your dad's square dancing, though he's certainly welcome to join. Last month, members of Olympia Area Square Dance Inc. gathered at Lac-a-do Hall in Olympia for their final lesson in B-51 - the first tier of square dancing instruction comprising the first 51 moves. There are five more tiers after that.

That sounds like it would give even Mikhail Baryshnikov pause, but dancers of all ages and all walks of life were up to the task.

"The dancers here are everything from state employees, plumbers, accountants, doctors, lawyers and stay-at-home moms," said Alice Huber, herself a dancer and government worker. "I even saw a young mother dancing while holding her newborn."

Huber added that she had seen at least four couples meet and marry during her time with the club.

It's not easy, they just have really good instructors. In addition to a few dancers from higher tiers serving as "Angels" to the newcomers, retired Army Officer Glenn Raiha serves as their official caller. Part instructor, part DJ and part freestyle rapper, Raiha, together with his wife and fellow retired Army officer Nancy, honed his skills for years at square dances throughout the world during his military career, so he's not afraid to call a dance to Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" or Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".

"You can call a dance to all sorts of music," said Raiha. "You start to recognize all sorts of songs that work for a dance with a little adjustment or improvising."

Keeping up on the hits doesn't go unappreciated either, since more than a few kids and teens tap their toes to Raiha's rhymes.

"I got into it after I saw my grandma square dancing at the fair," said Noah Davey, age 10. "It's a lot of fun."

It is a lot of fun, the most fun they've had since they were kids, according to some. It's also great exercise, burning 250 to 400 calories an hour, in addition to strengthening bones and muscles.  New lessons start next month, right around the time most of us are trying to figure out who shrank all of our clothes, so if you're looking to have a lot of fun and maybe get back in shape, it's hip to be square.

For more information on Olympia Square Dance Inc., please visit olympiasquaredance.com.

New lessons begin Jan. 19, with a free introductory lesson Jan. 12.

For more information on official square-dancing clubs throughout Washington, please visit the Square and Folk Dance Federation of Washington at squaredance-wa.org.