Rather than teaching specific square dance calls, he taught complete memorized sequences. His “brand” of square dancing was unique in that he did not follow the prescribed Callerlab format. There, Skip Barrett instructed for large groups of lesbians and gay men at bars such as The Tracadero Transfer and the Rawhide. In the meantime, gay square dancing sprung up in other regions, particularly in San Francisco.
In 1985, the Mustangs were honored with the prestigious Golden Boot Award for being the first-ever gay square dance club. That group of dancers coalesced to become the “South Florida Mustangs”. The initial spirit was one of competitiveness, but in time the dancers befriended each other and began learning square dance calls in a cooperative environment. In an effort to generate business, two bars and a bathhouse each sponsored a square dance “team” that met to compete and out-do each other in memorized sequences and styling. For background purposes…the stage was set for gay square dancing in Miami in the late 1970’s.
