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

Browse Items (180 total)

  • Subject is exactly "General - Dance and Culture"
Document

The Buzzards' Glory Barn Dance 1928–1966

In the early 1970s, Bob Dalsemer heard about a dance series in Albanstown, northern Baltimore County, Maryland; the dances were no longer being held so he interviewed two sources to create this… View item
Document

Old Time Square Dancing on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

Author Bob Dalsemer discovers a long tradition of the "big circle" square dance on this island off the North Carolina coast, far from the Appalachian Mountains where it is usually… View item
Still Image

Pardners - Jerry Lewis square dance

The 1956 film Pardners, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, originally had a square dance sequence with Jerry Lewis as the caller, testimony to the role that square dancing had in American popular… View item
Document

Square Dance Camps - 1951

As the wave of square dancing took off in the post World War II era, callers and organizers responded with a number of weekend and weeklong camps to cater to the growing interest. This editorial from… View item
Moving Image

Baltimore Square Dance

Beginning in 2013 the Baltimore Square Dance is a key event in the vibrant Baltimore Old Time Music scene. Monthly dances are attended by all ages, featuring bands and callers from around the region… View item
Moving Image

Monday Night Square Dance History (Minneapolis)

This is an excerpt from "Monday Night Fever," a Minneapolis community television program produced in 1986 by Bruce Davis, who provides the narration. The film is an introduction to the… View item
Document

1976 Square Dance Historical Pageant

Cal Campbell provides this account of the production of the historical pageant at the 1976 National Square Dance Convention. View item
Document

Shall We Dance? - Maine, 19th century

This article, written by theMaine Memory Network Curator and Historian for the Maine Historical Society, takes two mid-19th books as a focal point for looking at etiquette and social status as… View item
Sound

The Old Square Dance Is Back Again - Carolina Cotton

For this 1949 recording,on the Mastertone label, Carolina Cotton (aka the Yodeling Blonde Bombshell) was joined by Fenton "Jonesy" Jones. The release was timely, as the late 1940s saw the dramatic… View item
Website

Ed Thrall and the Story of His Most Contentious Hall

Thrall Hall in East Windsor is a lot of things. By most accounts, it's a fascinating example of vernacular or folk architecture, a 70' x 100' facility with a floor resting on tires that could be… View item
Website

Primo Fiore

Primo Fiore was born in Brooklyn on September 6, 1930 but raised his family in Deer Park, New York, while working as a physical education instructor in West Islip. His gifted speaking voice, combined… View item
Document

Clarence Haller - Ralph Page correspondence

These letters were sent from Lucile and Clarence Haller, Indiana square dance caller, to Ralph Page, the dean of New England dance callers at the time. They are clearly interested in learning more… View item