Browse Items (25 total)

Early Texas Dances

This article was written by Olcutt Sanders, a dance caller and historian who was among the founders of Foot 'n' Fiddle magazine, an early square dance magazine in Texas. View item

Early Dance Houses

This piece about Texas dance halls is a companion to the author's article on Texas dance history. View item

Ladies to the Center

This short article by Texas dance historian Olcutt Sanders looks at the role played by women in that state's dance history. Sanders notes the early absence of women: "A scarcity of woman… View item

Ray Smith - Sally Goodin and a Do-Si-Do

Ray Smith was the "Caller of the Month" in Let's Dance magazine, published by the Folk Dance Federation of California, Northern Section. View item

Texas Square Dances - Rickey Holden

This is a detailed description of three Texas squares, presented by Rickey Holden as an exhibition dance at the fourth annual New England Folk Festival, November 15–16, 1947. Holden based much of his… View item

Abilene Lift - Rickey Holden

An early description by Rickey Holden of the so-called "Abilene lift," a distinctive style of incorporating a two-steps into square dance movement. View item

Texas Callers - 1948

This cover fromFoot 'n' Fiddle magazine puts the spotlight on six prominent Texas callers: Jack Fomby, Jimmy Clossin, Ray Smith, Grady Wilson, Red Smith and Bob Sumrall. Texas dancers and callers… View item

Jimmy Clossin - bio

Biography of Jimmy Clossin, from 1947. Although SDHP has numerous items related to Clossin, we would love to add an audio file of his calling. To the best of our knowledge, he never recorded… View item

Texas Folk Dance Camp - history

This scrapbook documents the early years of the Texas Folk Dance Camp, starting in 1949. Inspired by Jane Farwell's camp at Oglebay Institute in West Virginia, the camp brought together Texas… View item