LEWISTON —  Twin City Spinners will open the first hour of their regular Thursday club nights to anyone who would like to try modern square dance at Martel Elementary School, 880 Lisbon St.

In just one hour, dancers will get in nearly 3,000 steps (over 1/2 mile) while having a great time. There is no prior experience necessary to participate in these community dances, and no expectation of commitment.

“We are hoping to show people just how much fun square dancing really is,” says Al Hipkins, club caller. “So many people had a bad experience as children in school, and this dancing is nothing like what they did then.”

When the club started 3 years ago, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported “Nothing square about it —  With pouf part of the past, and hip-hop and Latin on the turntable, this is not your grandpappy’s square dance.”

Twin City Spinners Square Dance Club meets from 6:30 to 9 p.m. every Thursday for their club dance night and class.

The club also holds four to six “mainstream” dances each year. These dances are for square dancers who have learned the “mainstream” list of calls (69 figures). There is also round dancing — a cued form of ballroom dance — and line dancing at these events.

Modern square dance is based on traditional square and contra dancing, but with new music and a new look. Gone are the old scratchy records, poufy skirts and boots. In are short sleeves (and pants for ladies), comfortable shoes, and the hottest new music from rock, Latin, jazz, dance, hip-hop, country and more.

There is also a greater emphasis on using known figures in new ways rather than learning hundreds of new figures.