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

Browse Items (111 total)

  • Subject is exactly "Traditional Western (pre-1940)"
Document

1940 Texas Square Dance Contest

Newspaper accounts of a square dance competition won by Bob Sumrall's Abilene set. The story goes into detail about each of the six competing teams,naming each of the dancers, the judges, and… View item
Moving Image

Herb Egender - part 1

Herb Egender was a member of Lloyd "Pappy" Shaw's legendary square dance demonstration team, the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers. This footage of his recollections of that experience was… View item
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Herb Egender - part 2

Herb Egender was a member of Lloyd "Pappy" Shaw's legendary square dance demonstration team, the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers. This footage of his recollections of that experience was… View item
Document

A Look at Square Dancing in Colorado

"Square dancing evolved a western version probably sometime in the late 1800s when the pioneers moved to settle the states west of the Mississippi. It was a square dance form that was much… View item
Moving Image

Black Hawk Waltz

Black Hawk Waltz is a classic round (or couple) dance. The tune was composed by Mary Walsh in 1877. Here is a link to an illustration of the sheet music cover; you may also view instructions on the… View item

Colorado Square Dance History

This is Part-1 of seven parts of a ninety-minute performance that was presented at the annual convention of the International Association of Square Dance Callers in 2007. That convention was held in… View item
Document

Colorado dancing - Cal Campbell

Dance caller Cal Campbell started dancing at age 6 in 1943; he has written a series of reminiscences of his experiences growing up in a small Colorado town and the vital role that dancing played in… View item
Document

Cowboy Square Dances of West Texas

This booklet provides an introduction to West Texas square dances. After a detailed glossary, complete with diagrams, the author provides a sample of dances as they might be called. The patter is… View item
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Square Dance - panel discussion

The consultants for the Square Dance History Project look at different aspects of square dance history. Participants include David Millstone, Tony Parkes, Phil Jamison, Bob Dalsemer, Jim Mayo, Larry… View item
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Square Dance Revival Due To Shaw’s Dreams in the 1920’s

This newspaper essay by Dorothy Stott Shaw describes, in her usual poetic manner, the rise of square dancing as seen through Lloyd Shaw and his experiences at Cheyenne Mountain School. There are more… View item
Document

Review of Cowboy Dances

This review of Lloyd Shaw's book comes from Douglas Kennedy, director of the English Folk Dance and Song Society from 1924 (after Cecil Sharp's death) until 1961. Kennedy had teveled to the… View item
Sound

Sally Goodin - Eddie Carol & his Corn Cobbers

Eddie Carol, called by some "the greatest authority on the American square dance In Australia," was a leading Australia caller who specialized in a singing patter style of calling after… View item