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

Browse Items (499 total)

  • Collection: MWSD
Document

Cherokee Indian Circle Dance - Indian style?

Where does the square dance call "Indian style" originate? This description of a Cherokee dance, published in 1947, offers interesting possibilities. It comes from a booklet authored by two… View item
Document

Chicken Plucker - choreographic innovation

The Chicken Plucker routine created by Bill Shymkus appeared in the October 1957 issue of Sets in Order; the same issue contained ads for the new record release by Lee Helsel. This routine is… View item
Sound

Chicken Plucker - Lee Helsel

This is an excerpt of a 1957 recording (Sets in Order #1102) by Lee Helsel that was the first recording of the Chicken Plucker routine created by Bill Shymkus. The dance figures appeared in the… View item
Still Image

Chuck Jones - Bugs Bunny square dance

This cartoon of Bugs Bunny all duded up and ready for a square dance, and the accompanying note, were made by Chuck Jones for Harriet Kline.Chuck Jones was an enthusiastic square dancer; see the… View item
Website

Chuck Jones - square dance adventures

Famed animator Chuck Jones (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, and many more) was an ardent square dance enthusiast, part of the southern California boom in squares in the early… View item
Still Image

Chuck Jones - square dance drawings

If Grundeen provided the back cover cartoon forSets in Order, it was Chuck Jones who produced many covers and sketches. Himself an avid square dancer and caller, and president of the Rip 'n' Snort… View item
Still Image

Chuck Jones covers - Sets in Order

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… View item
Moving Image

Clark Baker - Calls and Concepts

In this third video in the series, Clark explains the difference between square dance "calls" and "concepts" and notes that "concepts are what make Advanced and especially… View item
Moving Image

Clark Baker - MWSD & Challenge

Clark describes the structure of modern western square dancing as it exists today, outlining the different programs or levels. He then talks about he got involved in MWSD Challenge dancing, explaining… View item
Moving Image

Clark Baker - MWSD & music

Many traditional square dancers look at videos of MWSD and see a lot of stop-and-go rather than continuous motion; this is often termed "puzzle solving set to music." Clark reminds the viewer that in… View item
Moving Image

Clark Baker - Tech Squares

Clark describes the history of Tech Squares, the MWSD group based at MIT in Cambridge, MA. This club takes new dancers through the Mainstream in 8 weeks and on through Plus in 5 additional. A typical… View item
Moving Image

Clark Baker - traditional and modern

In this fifth and final video in this series, Clark Baker looks at two related kinds of dancing and explains the attraction of each: MWSD squares, especially in the Challenge program, on one side, and… View item