History of the Chaos
I asked Gary to write a brief history of the club, so that we can continue what he started.
UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. (The History, or, story so far)
Upon moving back to Queensland in December 1999 after 2 years in Tasmania, Gary Petersen decided to start his own square dance club. After having experienced clubs operating under committees, that this would be a caller run club with no burden put on the dancers (no raffles, no bring a plate)
The first night of the club was Thursday 7th February 2000 at the deception Bay Community Hall. The level was Mainstream with a new group starting.
The following Monday was a highly anticipated Plus class at the same venue.
The club name was made up by Gary Petersen who had to be different.
The name: UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. was selected and has specific meaning.
UpBeat refers to the music and
Ch.a.o.s. stands for Choreographic applications on Squares.
The font used is Jokerman.
For the first 2 years, Gary ran 2 Mainstream classes per year, with the first class helping out the second, as there were no Angels. The Plus classes were extremely popular as there no-one else teaching Plus on the Northside of Brisbane at the time.
Gary conducted 2 Plus classes a year for a couple of years to meet demand.
In the early days he was accused of stealing dancers, but in reality was only catering to dancer demand. Like many new entities UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. was trying to make it’s mark on the square dance scene by offering something different.
By 2001, UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. was the fastest growing and youngest club in Brisbane.
To celebrate, Gary planned to have a full birthday weekend dance each year, on the first weekend in February with an Interstate caller.
2001 was Glenn McLaren from Tasmania
2002 was Jeff Seidel from South Australia
2003 was Steve Turner from Queensland (not a typo)
2004 was Mike Davey from Victoria.
Unfortunately, dancing Queensland, in early February without Air Conditioning is not a good idea. Also most clubs have not re-started for the year, so numbers were disappointing. After losses 4 years running, birthdays are now in-house on Monday night club night.
In 2003, Gary moved the Mainstream club to the Narangba Community Hall in the hope of attracting more dancers. Unfortunately the plan was not successful.
Upon realising the move had not worked, Gary tried to move the club back to Deception Bay but by this time, the hall was no longer available, so an alternative had to be found in the area. This was on a Wednesday, until Gary accepted a calling position at Tugun Twirlers in June 2004 and had to close the Mainstream night.
At this stage, Gary tried to running alternating weeks at the Deception Bay Community hall on Monday Nights. After about 18 months , he resolved to only callin Plus on Monday nights.
In 2000, we danced7.30pm to 10.30pm and in 2017, we dance 7pm to 9pm.
I wish continued success to UpBeat Ch.a.o.s.
Gary Petersen “The Rebel Caller”
Upon moving back to Queensland in December 1999 after 2 years in Tasmania, Gary Petersen decided to start his own square dance club. After having experienced clubs operating under committees, that this would be a caller run club with no burden put on the dancers (no raffles, no bring a plate)
The first night of the club was Thursday 7th February 2000 at the deception Bay Community Hall. The level was Mainstream with a new group starting.
The following Monday was a highly anticipated Plus class at the same venue.
The club name was made up by Gary Petersen who had to be different.
The name: UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. was selected and has specific meaning.
UpBeat refers to the music and
Ch.a.o.s. stands for Choreographic applications on Squares.
The font used is Jokerman.
For the first 2 years, Gary ran 2 Mainstream classes per year, with the first class helping out the second, as there were no Angels. The Plus classes were extremely popular as there no-one else teaching Plus on the Northside of Brisbane at the time.
Gary conducted 2 Plus classes a year for a couple of years to meet demand.
In the early days he was accused of stealing dancers, but in reality was only catering to dancer demand. Like many new entities UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. was trying to make it’s mark on the square dance scene by offering something different.
By 2001, UpBeat Ch.a.o.s. was the fastest growing and youngest club in Brisbane.
To celebrate, Gary planned to have a full birthday weekend dance each year, on the first weekend in February with an Interstate caller.
2001 was Glenn McLaren from Tasmania
2002 was Jeff Seidel from South Australia
2003 was Steve Turner from Queensland (not a typo)
2004 was Mike Davey from Victoria.
Unfortunately, dancing Queensland, in early February without Air Conditioning is not a good idea. Also most clubs have not re-started for the year, so numbers were disappointing. After losses 4 years running, birthdays are now in-house on Monday night club night.
In 2003, Gary moved the Mainstream club to the Narangba Community Hall in the hope of attracting more dancers. Unfortunately the plan was not successful.
Upon realising the move had not worked, Gary tried to move the club back to Deception Bay but by this time, the hall was no longer available, so an alternative had to be found in the area. This was on a Wednesday, until Gary accepted a calling position at Tugun Twirlers in June 2004 and had to close the Mainstream night.
At this stage, Gary tried to running alternating weeks at the Deception Bay Community hall on Monday Nights. After about 18 months , he resolved to only callin Plus on Monday nights.
In 2000, we danced7.30pm to 10.30pm and in 2017, we dance 7pm to 9pm.
I wish continued success to UpBeat Ch.a.o.s.
Gary Petersen “The Rebel Caller”
The Continuing Story,
As Gary Petersen decided to move on in October 2017 - it was a pretty seamless transition for the club to continue with Glenn Wilson as club caller. Glenn wanted the club to feel the same for the dancers and any changes were minor.
There were new badges for those that wanted them, in the same design as the previous one. There was a new club banner with a very similar design to the previous one. 5th Monday party nights continued as usual, as did the members draw.
Covid-19 hit in late 2019 and we only danced spasmodically in 2020.
The Deception Bay hall closed in April 2021, so we had to find a new venue.
We started dancing at the Kallangur Community centre in May 2021
Covid-19 restrictions stopped us dancing from time to time and at times, we danced in masks during 2021.
By mid 2022, we were back dancing at the New Deception Bay Community Hall with very few, if any, Covid restrictions.
In 2023 we are mostly dancing 3 squares each week.
More to come - Glenn Wilson
As Gary Petersen decided to move on in October 2017 - it was a pretty seamless transition for the club to continue with Glenn Wilson as club caller. Glenn wanted the club to feel the same for the dancers and any changes were minor.
There were new badges for those that wanted them, in the same design as the previous one. There was a new club banner with a very similar design to the previous one. 5th Monday party nights continued as usual, as did the members draw.
Covid-19 hit in late 2019 and we only danced spasmodically in 2020.
The Deception Bay hall closed in April 2021, so we had to find a new venue.
We started dancing at the Kallangur Community centre in May 2021
Covid-19 restrictions stopped us dancing from time to time and at times, we danced in masks during 2021.
By mid 2022, we were back dancing at the New Deception Bay Community Hall with very few, if any, Covid restrictions.
In 2023 we are mostly dancing 3 squares each week.
More to come - Glenn Wilson
