Where to Learn Square Dance in Hunters Hollow, KY: A Local's Guide to the 3 Best Academies

Hunters Hollow, Kentucky, sits at an unlikely crossroads: a quiet Appalachian town of 2,400 that has become one of the most respected incubators for square-dance talent in the Bluegrass State. Less than an hour from Lexington, the town draws on a century of Southern Appalachian calling traditions while producing dancers and callers who compete and perform across the region.

If you're looking to learn square dance—whether you've never do-si-doed or you're training for the National Square Dance Convention—three local institutions define the scene. Each offers a distinct philosophy, a different pace of learning, and a genuine entry point into one of Kentucky's most enduring folk arts.

What to Know Before Your First Class

Square dance is a called dance form: a caller directs dancers through formations and figures in real time, often to live fiddle or bluegrass accompaniment. Most classes welcome solo dancers—partners rotate throughout the evening—though couples can certainly stay together. Comfortable leather-soled shoes and casual attire are standard; full prairie skirts and bolo ties are optional except at formal exhibitions.

Beginner classes typically run in semester-based sessions, since square dance builds on a defined vocabulary of figures that must be learned in sequence. Drop-in options exist at some venues for experienced dancers reviewing their "mainstream" or "plus" level calls.

Best for Traditional Foundation: Hunters Hollow Dance Academy

The approach: Rigorous technique rooted in Southern Appalachian heritage, with deliberate exposure to modern singing-call choreography.

Director Martha Jennings, a 30-year veteran caller and 2019 Kentucky State Folk Arts Award recipient, built the academy's curriculum around the region's calling lineage. Students spend their first two semesters mastering traditional patter calls before advancing to contemporary square-dance figures. Jennings and her two co-instructors—both former callers with the Kentucky Folklife Program—emphasize posture, timing, and the social etiquette that has governed square-dance gatherings in Appalachia for generations.

The academy produces a notable number of regional competitors. In 2023, three of its advanced students placed in the top ten at the Kentucky State Square Dance Festival in Berea.

Best for Performance and Community: Bluegrass Square Dance Center

The approach: A social, performance-oriented environment that treats square dance as both skill and celebration.

The Bluegrass Square Dance Center operates out of a renovated barn on the edge of town, with a sprung-wood floor and a small stage that hosts monthly hoedowns. Director Tommy Vance, a former competitive dancer turned event producer, structures classes around preparation for these gatherings. Students learn figures in context: rather than drilling in isolation, they rehearse within full squares, adapting to the spontaneity of live calling.

The center's inclusive ethos is concrete, not just rhetorical. It offers one of the few adaptive square-dance programs in the region for dancers with mobility differences, and its youth troupe, the Bluegrass Buckaroos, performs at county fairs and nursing homes throughout central Kentucky.

Best for Individualized Coaching: Southern Steps Dance Institute

The approach: Tailored instruction in private and semi-private settings for dancers with specific goals or scheduling constraints.

Dr. Elaine Pruitt, a former university dance professor with a doctorate in movement analysis, founded Southern Steps after retiring from the University of Kentucky. Her institute caps enrollment at six students per class, allowing her to diagnose individual movement patterns and correct posture or timing issues that might go unnoticed in larger groups.

Pruitt's clientele includes competitive dancers refining their exhibition routines, wedding couples preparing for called first dances, and older adults returning to square dance after joint replacement or other physical setbacks. She also consults with callers on gesture and vocal projection.