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

Browse Items (1940 total)

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
Still Image

Hollis Johnson

photograph View item
Document

Honest John

Honest John is an unusual dance that was greatly admired by Ralph Page. An accompanying video shows it being danced by a group that includes some members of the Ed Larkin dancers. This file presents… View item
Document

Honest John - 1950

This collection of newspaper articles all focus on the dance "Honest John," a specialty of dancers in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont. Comments in italics are… View item
Moving Image

Honest John - Adam Boyce

Traditional quadrille, recorded at an open house sponsored by the Ed Larkin Dancers, Tunbridge, Vermont, March 12, 2010. The prompter is Adam Boyce, and the musicians are Harold Luce on fiddle and his… View item
Sound

Honolulu Baby (clip) - David Park Williams

From the CD set "Mostly Quadrilles," containing two CDs of called dances, 24 in all, and two CDs of just instrumental tracks, arranged by David Park Williams. Musicians are Bill J. Sparrow,… View item
Document

Honor Your Partner - records

Honor Your Partner was a series of rhythmic activities and dance albums, more than 20 in all, released by Ed Durlacher starting in 1949 as 78 rpm records, continuing into the 1950s and beyond as vinyl… View item
Document

Hoodoo Religion and American Dance Traditions: Rethinking the Ring Shout

Article by Katrina Hazzard-Donald looks at the relationship between African-American churches and traditional dance. As the article's summary puts it: "When one considers the history of American dance… View item
Moving Image

Hot Hash called by Mike Sikorsky

Mike Sikorsky calling Hot Hash at the Plus level at RIVCO in Indio, Calif. on November 12, 2011. This video also includes an interview with Mike Sikorsky, conducted and filmed by Andy Abeles. View item
Sound

Hot Time in the Old Town / Girls to the Center (clip) - Richard Kraus

View item
Sound

Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight - Ted Sannella

Ted Sannella rarely called singing squares, but in this example of Hot Town in the Old Town Tonight, he uses patter calling at the start to help dancers learn the pattern of the dance. He then starts… 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