Square Dance History Project
The rich story of North American square dance finally has a home in the digital age.

Browse Items (197 total)

  • Subject is exactly "Modern square dance - general"
Website

Buddy Weaver Podcast - Vintage MSD- Joel Pepper with Jack Barbour at Sunny Hills Barn

A live recording done at Sunny Hills Barn in Fullerton, California. From 1948 to 1962, it was the largest square dance hall in America boasting a dance floor that would hold 150 squares. Ed Smith,… View item
Document

History timeline - square dance and CALLERLAB

At the annual CALLERLAB convention, in April 2025, caller Clark Baker was asked to lead a workshop on the history of square dance and of CALLERLAB. Clark has been calling nearly 50 years, mostly at… View item
Website

Dancing for Busy People by Cal Campbell

Cal Campbell published "Dancing for Busy People" in 1995 to provide enjoyable dance materials that are accessible to dancers who have not taken Modern Western Square Dance classes. View item
Document

Easy Key Handbook of Square Dance Fundamentals

In the 1950s, square dancing in many locations was changing from traditional to modern squares, moving away from a complete set of patterns to a system in which dancers would learn basic figures that… View item
Website

Square Dance collection at University of Denver

The archives at the University of Denver (DU) hold a vast collection of square dance material. DU is the repository for two vast archives, those of the Lloyd Shaw Foundation and the personal… View item
Document

Square Dance Timing for Callers: Philosophy

New England caller Dick Leger, "the man with the guitar," believed strongly in fitting calls to the musical phrase. In this, he was sometimes an outlier in the modern square dance community… View item
Sound

Hotshot Callers - Joe Lewis

In this recording, Joe Lewis highlights the plight of an average square dancer who just wants to go out for an evening of fun. Instead, he's confronted by a hotshot caller using all manner of… View item
Document

Square Dancing Is NOT Out of This World

This is the text of a presentation by Joe Lewis at the 1959 National Square Dance Convention, part of a discussion of the future of square dancing.Lewis points out that the majority of dancers at the… View item
Document

National Square Dance Convention - 1959 Who's Who

This excerpt from the program of the 1959 National Square Dance Convention lists the better-known presenters at the event. As such, it's a useful snapshot of who was respected enough at that time… View item
Still Image

National Square Dance Convention attendance

The National Square Dance Convention has been held annually since 1952, with the exception of 2020 (the Covid year). Attendance rose steadily over the early years as club square dancing became… View item
Document

Square Dance Revival Due To Shaw’s Dreams in the 1920’s

This newspaper essay by Dorothy Stott Shaw describes, in her usual poetic manner, the rise of square dancing as seen through Lloyd Shaw and his experiences at Cheyenne Mountain School. There are more… View item
Moving Image

Tech Squares - I Will Survive, called by Don Beck

Don Beck Calling the last tip of the Tech Squares (MIT Square Dance Club) class graduation, December 1997 View item