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

Browse Items (250 total)

  • Tags: singing square
Sound

Basin Street Blues - Bill Castner

This is a short clip of Bill Castner, a caller from California, calling at the Fiesta de la Cuadrilla at Hoedown Hall, Mantua, New Jersey, September 29 & 30, 1961.Castner was inducted in the… View item
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Too Hot Mamas - Chapel of Love Singing Square

This video is an excerpt of the Singing Square dance Chapel of Love. Singing squares use altered lyrics of popular songs to insert dance choreography instruction into the song. Based on the song,… View item
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Wreck of the Old '97 - Jim Munyon

Jim Munyon was a popular caller in southern California in the early 1950s. Indeed, he was one of the callers at the famous (and enormous) 1950 square dance in Santa Monica with Lloyd Shaw as the MC.… View item
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Blue Tail Fly / Jimmy Crack Corn - singing square

Bill Litchman calls the figures for this singing square, presented in 1991 at a dance workshop in Belgium. Bill comments: "I used the figure called by Melton Lutrell on the Square L recording… View item
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Comin' Round the Mountain - Bob Van Antwerp

Bob Van Antwerp, an important and early West Coast caller, was one of the founders of CALLERLAB. It's easy to forget that such individuals also had roots in traditional squares, as you can hear in… View item
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Two singing squares - Fenton "Jonesy" Jones

1) Solomon LeviFrom his series of Square Dances by Jonesy, this singing square features a simple figure that appears in other traditional dances.2) Darling Nellie GrayFrom the same album. As one… View item
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Hey Lei Lee Lei Lee (clip) - Bob Ruff

California caller Bob Ruff sings the calls set to a popular song at the time. This clip includes the introduction plus once through the figures. Vic and Debbie Ceder has information about Ruff on… View item
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Lonesome Me - Don Beck

Recorded December 1985 at Bay Path Barn, West Boylston, MA. The caller had been one of the founders of Tech Squares at MIT and was that club's first caller, in 1967. Another clip on YouTube, recorded… View item
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Otto Wood - live recordings

This item includes several examples of singing squares called by Michigan caller (and fiddler) Otto Wood, with his wife Marguerite playing piano or accordion. Otto and Marguerite were regulars at the… View item
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Yellow Rose of Texas - Dad Brundage

Dad Brundage was the father of Al and Bob Brundage, each of whom became well-known modern square dance callers. In his autobiography, This Is My Square Dancing Life, Bob Brundage writes, "Then when I… View item
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Two singing squares - Tod Whittemore, 1986

Tod Whittemore provides the instructions and calls the figures at these two singing squares: Maple Sugar Gal and Smoke on the Water. Music is by Allan Block on fiddle and Peter Barnes on piano.… View item
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Coming Round the Mountain - Jim Kimball

Afternoon workshop of traditional New York state square dances Sponsored by the Southern Tier Country Dance Society Saturday, May 14, 2016 Cuba Grange Cuba, NY Kimball starts with a few… View item