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

Browse Items (25 total)

  • Spatial Coverage is exactly "USA, Texas"
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"Meet Your Honey, Go Hog Wild"

This collection of anecdotes describes early dances and social norms in Texas cowboy country. View item
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"The Texas Cattle Country and Cowboy Square Dance" – Olcutt Sanders

This article, scholarly yet accessible, provides an excellent look at square dancing in west Texas in the late 1800s. He starts with a look at the conditions that set this region apart from… View item
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Swing Your Partner  (Texas, Doc Journell)

This is the first issue (see Additional Files) of a square dance magazine edited by C.D. "Doc" Journell. A major focus of this issue is a discussion about the formation of a national square… View item
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Texas Dance Memories

This booklet was compiled by Betty Casey; it presents an overview of Texas square dance history. The booklet features short profiles of 14 "first pacesetters," figures who are important in the history… View item
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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
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Cowboy Dance (1923 article)

This description of dances on the Texas frontier was included in a 1923 collection, Coffee in the Gourd, edited by J. Frank Dobie for the Texas Folk-Lore Society. The author paints a vivid picture of… View item
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Early Dance Houses

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

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
Still Image

Hollis Johnson

photograph View item
Document

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
Still Image

Jimmy Clossin - record album

Cover and label of instrumental album produced by Jimmy Clossin View item
Sound

Jimmy Clossin, producer - square dance instrumental music

Although he never recorded albums featuring his calling, Jimmy Clossin did produce recordings of instrumental music. These clips come from Square Dances without Calls (1940), with music by the Blue… View item