Browse Items (972 total)

Sammy Spring (1883–1958) was a fiddler and square dance caller from Otis, Massachusetts, in the western part of the state. This website includes photos of him and a lengthy interview conducted in 1939 by Edward Welch, a worker with the Federal…

A series of color slides taken by Russell Lee at an Oklahoma dance in 1939 or 1940. More information about the first one can be found here. A larger sample of the photographs is available here at the Denver Post website and the complete set of color…

Written in 1949 and republished many times, this is a vital reference for anyone interested in southern Appalachian dance. Patrick Napier is a well-known dance leader at the Christmas Country Dance School in Berea, Kentucky, and this is his…

Nils Fredland calls a contemporary composition as part of the "Square Dance" Retrospective session at the annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in Durham, NH. The musicians are Old New England (Bob McQuillen piano; Jane Orzechowski, fiddle; and…

To the tune of "There Is a Tavern in the Town," Dudley Laufman calls as part of the "Square Dance" Retrospective session at the annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in Durham, NH. The musicians are Old New England (Bob McQuillen piano; Jane…

Dudley Laufman calls as part of the "Square Dance" Retrospective session at the annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in Durham, NH. The basic figure is shown below, but you'll see the dancers starting to anticipate the calls and getting…

The first picture is a 1968 publicity photo taken of the square dancers, used by the Central City Opera Association to send to local newspapers.

People in the photo are;
back row; Sharon _?_, Gary Schaub, Larry Wylie, caller, Les Brown, and…

Photograph of participants in 1964 square dance leadership conference organized by Bob Osgood at UCLA, along with a roster of participants. Jim Mayo describes this event in his 2003 book, Step By Step Through Modern Square Dance History:---"Bob…

Four covers for Bob Osgood's Sets in Order magazine, drawn by famed cartoonist and animator Chuck Jones, who was a square dance enthusiast in southern California. There are many more. See an article on Cartoon Brew website about Jones and the…

Douglas Kennedy succeeded Cecil Sharp as director of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. He visited the United States in 1939 to teach dancing and to observe what he could while in this country. While he was in the south, a Smoky Mountain square…

Scholarly presentation by noted dance researcher Elizabeth Burchenal and published in the Journal of the International Folk Music Council. Burchenal begins her talk thus:

"The term "folk dance" as used here does not refer to "popular dance" or to…