Love, or the prospect thereof, can make a man do crazy things.


In Dennis Wendlandts case, it made him learn to square danceand eventually to become a Spokane shopkeeper.


When Wendlandt and his wife, Shirley, first started dating in 1983, Wendlandt drove 80 miles to the Western Dance Center in the Spokane Valley from Lind, Wash., where he lived and worked for a farm-supply store, to take square-dancing lessons at her request.


Shed been square dancing for a while and said, I decided that if he was going to hang around, he had to square dance.


Some years and numerous dos-a-dos later, a love of square dancing motivated the Wendlandts to buy Circle 8 Square Dance Apparel.


They have operated the shop here, at 2030 N. Hamilton, for six years now. Inside, a rainbow of petticoats cascade down from the ceiling, and racks of brightly colored skirts, blouses, and prairie dressesa popular item among some younger square dancerspepper the stores floor. Boxes of dancing shoes line one wall, and though the stores customers predominantly are women, a selection of mens western shirts and dress pants are tucked in a corner near the front counter.


A small, enclosed case holds accessories ranging from belt buckles to silver collar tips, and nearby shelves hold bumper stickers and license-plate holders for the more emphatic square dancers.


Dennis Wendlandt oversees the stores day-to-day operations, and his wife, who works at the Spokane County-City Jail, selects much of the merchandise. They currently are the stores only employees.


The store operated for 20-some years before the Wendlandts bought it, but they dont know exactly when it opened.


The Wendlandts say its the only one in the Spokane area that specializes in square-dancing apparel, though other stores carry similar western apparel.


Circle 8s customers sashay into the store from towns throughout Washington, Idaho, and western Montana. The next nearest store of its kind is in Seattle, Dennis Wendlandt says. A square-dancing hall in Lolo, Mont., also sells the garb, but that shop is open only part of the time, he says.


Popularity of petticoats


Petticoats, the frilly umpteen-layered undergarment that makes a square dancers skirt puff out, are the most popular items sold at Circle 8. They come in a range of colors and styles, because, You want to be an individual. Everybody has different tastes and different pocketbooks, Shirley Wendlandt says.


Petticoats are measured along the bottom seams and typically range in size from 40 to 100 lineal yards of material sewn together. The petticoats that Circle 8 carries run from $50 to $150, although Wendlandt says that the store has ordered in petticoats that cost up to $250.


Almost as popularand necessary, she saysare pettipants, which a square dancer wears under her petticoat to cover her underwear when her dress flies up during twirls.


Because the stores customer base is relatively small, Circle 8 tries to rotate its inventory frequently, buying a few garments in many styles rather than a lot of garments in a few particular styles. An item might sit on the rack for weeks on end if it isnt popular among the stores regulars, Wendlandt says. She points to a rack holding Year 2000: End of the Millennium skirts as proof. She says she thought the skirts would sell well, but confides that she was one of the only people to buy one.


The store is open Tuesday through Saturday, but the Wendlandts close it several weekends each year to take their merchandise on the road. They hitch up a trailer and haul select inventory to square-dance festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest, going as far as Pocatello, Idaho, to the southeast and Port Townsend, Wash., to the west. This year, they plan to take trips to Libby, Mont., and Ocean Shores, Leavenworth, and Clarkston, Wash.


While at the square-dance festivals, they also do some dancing.


We like to travel to dance, and we like to dance when we travel, Shirley Wendlandt says.


Though the business relies on a regional customer base, a surprising number of square dancers live nearby, Dennis Wendlandt says. About 25 square-dancing clubs, each with anywhere from 30 to 100 members, meet regularly in Eastern Washington. A clubs members dance together at a designated location, oftentimes at the Western Dance Center, at 1901 N. Sullivan, and host social dances to which they invite other clubs.


The Wendlandts say theyve danced with almost every one of their customers at one time or another. They dont dance as much as they once did, but they still get out once or twice a week. Each of them has held positions with local square-dancing organizations, and in 1995, they were elected into the square-dancing hall of fame at the Western Dance Center.


Square-dance lingo


Shirley Wendlandt learned to square dance in her mid-20s while working as a teacher on a U.S. military base in Germany. Fortunately, she says, square dancing is called in English all over the world. She came back to the states and danced off and on for years, but started dancing regularly about 25 years ago.


Dennis Wendlandt says it was easy to learn how to square dance, though the lingo that goes along with dancing took some getting used to.


For instance, if the square-dance caller says, allemande left, a man would take his partners left forearm, and both would turn in a full, counterclockwise circle. If he calls for a yellow rock, the couple is supposed to hug.


After years of dancing, he says, I dont even think about the calls anymore. I just hear the words and do the moves.


The Wendlandts say square dancing attracts people of all ages, and theyve been on the floor with dancers from 6 to 85. The vast majority of square dancers are 45 years old or older, they say.


The stores name, Circle 8, signifies the beginning of a square dance. Square dancing is done in groups of four couples, or eight people. The four couples form a square before the dance begins, but the first maneuver typically involves joining hands and circling one way or the other, thereby making a circle of eight.


Square dancing evolved in the rural U.S. from several ethnic dances that immigrants brought from their homelands. With an aging population of dancers, Dennis Wendlandt says, square dancing has dropped in popularity. He says hes heard that its growing in popularity along the East Coast, though, and he hopes that trend moves out West.