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          CAROUSEL CLUB 238          

        The Carousel Clubs organization  was established in 1972 as a federation of round dance clubs that joined together with the following goals:

1) to promote round-dancing at the high-intermediate and advanced levels

and

2) to provide a forum for member clubs to share a common repertoire of dances.

  Frank and Iris Gilbert came up with the idea and dubbed their advanced class in Florida as NCC #1 (it no longer exists).  Within 4 months there were 18 clubs and at the end of the first year, there were 34.  The Carousels purpose was also to eliminate step cues and to publish a figure manual based on the international ballroom style, the basis for our advanced choreography.  Eddie and Audrey Palmquist recognized the value early on and joined as NCC #36.  In 1976, they also invited to a barbecue at their home the R/D leaders who were attending the National Convention in Anaheim.  They sat, and ate, ... and drank and talked ... and complained about playing second fiddle at square dance events ... and late into the night, vowed to do something about it.  Audrey had them all sign a tablecloth as proof of their commitment to support the Gilberts in hosting the first Worldwide round dance convention in Kansas City in the Summer of 1977.  It was attended by 329 couples.  Irv and Betty Easterday are the only teachers who were there in 1977 and are still teaching today.  It was at that first R/D convention that URDC (Universal Round Dance Council) was formed.  In 1998, after the Gilberts passing, the Carousels ceased to be a separate entity and became part of URDC, now known as ICBDA (International Choreographed Ballroom Dancing Association). 

 There are currently over 1000 ICBDA members and 101 active Carousel Clubs worldwide with clubs in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Sweden and The Netherlands.  Each club provides a monthly report and, from the reports, lists of the most taught dances in the past month, the past four months and the past year are generated and distributed to the members.   Every year ICBDA  holds a four-day convention that provides three dancing halls with teaches at phase IV, V and VI. The monthly Carousel reports contribute to the identification of dances to be part of the convention evening dance programs.

Our Club was invited to join by Frank Gilbert at the first URDC Convention that we attended in 1993 (San Francisco), so NCC 238 has been in existence for 18 years.

The famous table cloth apparently still exists.

***********************

UPDATE,  NOVEMBER 2010

Since its inception in 1972, the Carousel Club organization has been known by the name “National Carousel Clubs” (NCC). In 1999, the NCC came under the leadership of ICBDA (then known as URDC – Universal Round Dance Council), but retained the “National Carousel Clubs” name. Today, there are almost 100 Carousel Clubs, not only from the United States, but from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and The Netherlands. There is currently increased international interest in Carousel Clubs with an enthusiastic attitude towards the ICBDA organization.

Recently, one of the overseas Carousel Clubs asked why the word “National” was in the “National Carousel Club” name, since it was not the intent of the organization to exclude non-US clubs. The ICBDA Board of Directors and Carousel Club leaders agreed, feeling that the “National” in National Carousel Clubs can be misleading and detracts from the international scope of the organization. It was obvious that it was time for a name change. So, after polling the Carousel Club leaders, the ICBDA Board of Directors voted to change the name of “National Carousel Clubs” to “ICBDA Carousel Clubs. The “I” in ICBDA reinforces the fact that the entire organization (including the Carousel Clubs) is international in scope.

For those who may not be aware of it, Carousel Clubs promote choreographed ballroom dancing/round dancing at the intermediate and advanced levels.  Their leaders faithfully provide monthly reports of the dances they teach and their current favorite club dances. These reports are posted monthly to the ICBDA member web site and are an important resource for ICBDA members and instructors to help promote a common set of dances across the geographically-dispersed dance community.

Glen and Helen Arceneaux
ICBDA Carousel Club Chairmen

From ICBDA Archives:

Click on Carousel for more info on Carousel Clubs

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100th Birthday Party Eddie & Audrey Palmquist - 1980s

Audrey Palmquist July 28, 1910 - September 11, 2010 We Remember Audrey - by Sandi Finch             Audrey Palmquist, the remaining half of the incomparable round dance team of Eddie & Audrey Palmquist, died peacefully in her sleep Sept. 11, 2010, at her home in Laguna Woods, CA.  She had just celebrated her 100th birthday.  Eddie died in 1999.             A native of Hamilton, Canada, Audrey was born into a family where no dancing was allowed.  She discovered dancing when, as a school teacher, she was required to take a YMCA recreation class to oversee playground activities at the school.  Folk dancing was part of the YMCA curriculum, and she fell in love with dancing.  With her first husband, Van Van Sickle, she started folk dance classes in local churches, started two round dance clubs and became a charter member of the Toronto and District Square Dance Association.              She met Eddie Palmquist when she organized two groups of dancers—one from Chicago and one from Niagara Falls—to go to the 1964 National Square Dance Convention in Long Beach, CA.  He had been widowed earlier that year and was a last minute substitute to teach a basic tango clinic.  Audrey was the moderator scheduled for that clinic.  She asked him to come to Toronto twice after that to put on clinics for her classes.  She moved to California in 1966 to teach with him and they were married in 1968.  Each has an extensive list of choreography to their credit, and together they wrote nearly 200 round dances and put on dance improvement clinics throughout the United States before retiring in 1996.              Ten of their dances have been named to the ICBDA Hall of Fame, more than any other choreographer.  They received the highest honors given by any of the international round dance organizations, including Roundalab’s Silver Halo Award and URDC (ICBDA)’s Golden Torch Award.             Audrey & Eddie were instrumental in the formation of URDC.  They hosted a barbecue at their home for cuers and dancers who had just attended the 1976 National Square Dance Convention in Anaheim, to talk about forming a separate national round dance only convention. Audrey had those in attendance sign a tablecloth as proof of their commitment to support the Gilberts who would host the “First Worldwide Round Dance Convention” the next year.               They were also among the charter members of Roundalab, attending the first convention  in 1977 and being named to its first Standardization Committee.             She is survived by her son Paul Van Sickle and Eddie’s five children.  She and Eddie are also survived by 20 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.

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