This Saturday, the main dance studio in the Forker Building will be transformed to create a toe-tapping good time.

The Central Iowa Barn Dance holds dances the fourth Saturday of each month and features the exciting live music of the Pretty Good Band. This month, the callers are Roger Alexander and Marcia Minear.

“The main purpose is to have people enjoy the social activity of traditional American square and country dancing,” caller Roger Alexander said.

Pretty Good Band member Lonna Nachtigal said barn dances were a frequent occurrence in the olden days. “It’s how everyone used to spend Saturday night before there was television,” she said.

The mission statement of The Central Iowa Barn Dance Association says, “The Central Iowa Barn Dance Association promotes American country dancing to bring enjoyment, delight and sociability to our community.”

Between 30 to 50 people regularly attend the dances, including a combination of students, faculty and members of the community, Alexander said.

“It’s mainly people who enjoy folk music, including both those people who have done this kind of dance before, and those who have not,” Alexander said.

Barn Dance participant Mary Jo Brearley said she’s been square dancing since the 1940s.

“When I moved to the area, I looked around for dancing that I was used to,” Brearley said. “It doesn’t really exist anymore; however, this comes the closest.”

After experiencing it, some people even change their minds about Barn Dance.

When Nachtigal attended her first Barn Dance, she didn’t think that it was for her.

“I was sure that I wouldn’t enjoy it, but when the music started and I saw how much fun it was, I wanted to join in,” Nachtigal said.

It is not important to bring a partner with you to the Barn Dance. Alexander said that it is the group’s custom to grab a partner when you get there.

“It’s easy to learn, and people that have come every time can dance with newcomers,” Brearley said.

The Barn Dances strive to promote community interaction by getting everyone actively involved.

“It’s not like your typical dance club that you go to with one person and stick with them the entire time,” Alexander said.

Some of the dances allow you to interact with many different partners, while in other dances your partner stays with you for the duration of the dance.

“I guess you can think of it as a 10-minute romance with your partner,” Nachtigal said.

Another way that the Barn Dance strives to promote interaction is by allowing ISU students free admission with their fee cards.

“So many of the activities in Ames are age-specific, where students only see students and adults only see adults,” Nachtigal said. “This is an opportunity for people of all ages to join in at the same time.”

Members of the Pretty Good Band for this performance include: Mary Sand on the fiddle, Rick Exner on the guitar, Joe Lynch on the concertina and Nachtigal on the hammered dulcimer.

The band plays a mixture of Celtic, Irish and Scottish music in addition to old time American tunes, and a few more contemporary tunes.

“It’s tunes that Pa Ingalls sat around playing in ‘Little House on the Prairie,'” Alexander said.

Alexander said the dance studio in the Forker Building is an ideal location for the Barn Dance because the floor is nice and the room is bright.

“We ask that no street shoes are worn on the dance floor because the dust and grit would wipe out the floor,” Alexander said. “It’s important to bring clean shoes that have not been worn outside.”