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

Browse Items (353 total)

  • Collection: Northern squares
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Merry-Go-Round, The - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes calls at the Dare To Be Square weekend held November 18-20, 2011, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. In his introduction to the dance, Tony commented that this dance… View item
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Duck for the Oyster - origins

This discussion of Duck for the Oyster was an e-mail from the author, Tony Parkes, to the coordinator of the Square Dance History Project. A search on this site for "oyster" will bring back numerous… View item
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Half Way Round - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes, caller, recorded at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, January 12, 2007. The dance was called frequently by Ralph Page, and it's possible that Page got the figures from Connecticut… View item
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Lazy H - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes is calling Ed Gilmore's classic dance, the Lazy H. As the dance progresses, Tony adds variations so that instead of couples doing a right and left through around a standing line of four,… View item
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Two Little Right Hand Stars - Tony Parkes

This dance appeared in Ralph Page's Northern Junket in Volume 1, #2, p. 17. This clip includes Tony's walkthrough of the dance.The dance is attributed to Ralph Page. Tony is using Rod Linnell's… View item
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Forward Five - Tony Parkes

The dance is based on one used by Ralph Page. Tony's shortened version goes as follows: A1 All go forward and back Go forward again, gent #1 bring two ladies home A2 At the heads, go… View item
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Dick Leger figure - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes calls a quadrille-style figure that he learned from the calling of Dick Leger. Leger did it as a singing call to the tune of "Wolverton Mountain," a country song made famous by… View item
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Gents and Corners - Tony Parkes

Danced during a Retrospective session at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, January 15, 2011. The caller is Tony Parkes; musicians are Randy Miller, fiddle; Peter Siegel, mandolin; and Bob… View item
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Singing Calls - a short history

History of Singing Squaresby Tony ParkesThe earliest description of a singing square I've found so far (in fairly shallow digging) appears in the first edition (1925) of Good Morning, prepared by Mr.… View item
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The Route - Tony Parkes

The caller is Tony Parkes; musicians are Yankee Ingenuity (Jack O'Connor, mandolin; Mary Lea, fiddle; Cal Howard, bass; Peter Barnes, piano), joined by Steve Hickman, fiddle and harmonica. Filmed… View item
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Darling Nellie Gray - Tony Parkes

This clip shows two versions of the dance, the traditional version called by Ralph Page as his usual ending dance and a variation by Maine caller Rod Linnell called "Atomic Nellie Gray." A… View item
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Parisian Star - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes taught this dance during his workshop session on New England Square Dances, recorded November 19, 2011, at the Dare To Be Square Weekend, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC.… View item