‘A real treat’: Square dancing comes to seniors at Centre Hall’s Wynwood House

If you were walking by the Wynwood House personal care facility in Centre Hall on Thursday morning, you might have noticed a bit more noise than you’d expect emanating from a building full of senior citizens.

No need to worry, though. That extra excitement was just Regional Activity Director Cory Geishauser calling a Halloween-themed square dance event with around 20 of the facility’s 33 residents — many of whom were using wheelchairs.

Thursday’s square dance was the second one that Geishauser held at Centre Hall’s Wynwood House, located at 122 Wynwood Drive. The first was a patriotic-themed dance held on Sept. 11.

At the dances, residents of all ages who are both in and out of wheelchairs are encouraged to feel the groove, whether it be to a traditional square dance, a pre-coordinated dance like the “Cupid Shuffle” or a cowboy-ified variation of the “Macarena.”

“The main goal of these dances is to get the people here up and moving around, being active — and even if they can’t get up and dance, they can still have laugh and enjoy themselves, and that in itself is important,” Geishauser said. “These square dances are handi-capable, so everyone can do it.”

Volunteers from CARES of Central PA, local churches and elsewhere across Penns Valley attend the dances to help participants with wheelchairs do-si-do, promenade and swing their way across the dance floor at speeds they normally wouldn’t be able to reach just using their arms.

Although Geishauser only started as Wynwood’s regional activities director in 2023, his love of square dance can be tracked back 30 years, when he used to square dance with his grandmother and grandfather.

After his grandfather fell sick and was placed in a care home, Geishauser decided that he was going to bring the square dance to the facility, along with all of his grandfather’s square dancing friends — in wheelchairs or not. Since then, Geishauser has called dances for handi-capable groups in Pittsburgh, Johnstown, State College and more. And, in 2005, he started an Altoona-based Special Olympics square dancing group called the Hakuna Matatas that’s still active today.

“When people talk to me about the dances, most of them think that it’s this grand new idea, but it really isn’t — handi-capable square dancing has been around since at least the 1950s, and I’m just carrying on a great tradition,” Geishauser explained. “It’s actually pretty popular all across the world too. I’ve seen them done in Germany, Sweden.”

Geishauser added that he was even working with a handi-capable square dance group in Japan through Zoom, and that the participants in almost all the groups that he’s worked with over the years have had a great time.

Don’t just take it from him, though. Many of the seniors at Centre Hall’s Wynwood House were caught with bright smiles on their faces during the square dance, including 99-year-old Jennie Miller, who was brandishing a tambourine Thursday and banging along with the beat while a CARES volunteer pushed her wheelchair.

“[Geishauser] does a fantastic job with these dances,” Miller said. “They’re a real treat, and he plays the music we know and like too.”

Barbara Held, 87, said she also enjoys the events. Although she didn’t step onto the dance floor Thursday, she made sure to dress up in her best cowgirl garb for Halloween, with a light-blue bandana around her neck.

Held also played the part of a cowgirl too, letting out a hearty “yeehaw” after every square dance.

“The square dances have definitely helped our residents be a bit more upbeat in their day-to-day lives, even though they’ve only had two so far,” Wynwood House Executive Director Savannah Graham said. “After the [COVID-19] pandemic we really didn’t have a lot in terms of activities, so when [Geishauser] came in he really gave us a necessary revamp.”

Graham also noted that every Tuesday and Wednesday, married Centre Hall residents Audrey and Jack Oakes volunteer their time at the care facility, too, to play the piano and sing songs with the seniors, adding to the unique, engaging activities they get to do.

One of the songs that the residents enjoy seeing the Oakeses perform most is Ed Bruce’s “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys,” where during the song, Jack Oakes will don a massive, cartoon-esque cowboy hat.

“Between [Geishauser], the Oakeses and the other activities we do, this place’s overall feeling has definitely shifted from a basic care facility to more of a home, which is really great for not only the residents, but for everyone who works and visits here,” Graham said.

While Geishauser has yet to plan the care home’s next square dance, he’d like to hold them at least once “every month or two” for the seniors to enjoy.

“When COVID hit, the square dances slowed down a lot, and I was really hesitant about getting back into them, but I’ve got the bug back,” he said. “I’m married, my kids are teenagers and I coach volleyball, so sometimes planning these dances can be a tight squeeze, but it’s worth it all to see these folks smile. ... If I can make them smile, I’ve done good.”