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

Browse Items (101 total)

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

Bluebonnet Squares with Melton Luttrell

These are recordings of two sessions led by Melton Luttrell at the 1987 National Square Dance Convention in Houston, Texas. The focus of his sessions was square dancing as led by Herb Greggerson in… View item
Still Image

Bob Sumrall - newspaper clippings

Two newspaper clippings about Texas caller Bob Sumrall. The first, from January 14, 1947, focuses on a new square dance team that he formed and that will be performing at the Inaugural Ball for the… View item
Document

Bob Sumrall - Olcutt Sanders correspondence, 1939

These letters between Bob Sumrall and J. Olcutt Sanders provide a glimpse into Texas square dances in the late 1930s. Sanders was a serious student of square dance history, part of a group of… View item
Moving Image

California Heritage Dancers exhibition

The video shows the California Heritage Dance Group in a demonstration at the California State Square Dance Convention in San Diego, CA in April 2011. The demonstration shows the Spanish influence on… View item
Moving Image

Chain 2 Ladies, Chain 3 Ladies - Bill Litchman - Traditional Western Square Dances 2b

(This clip shows the actual dance; a separate video shows the walkthrough.) Bill Litchman taught this dance as part of his session (November 19, 2011) on Traditional Western Squares at the Dare To… View item
Sound

Cheat or Swing (clip) - Sandy Bradley

Sandy Bradley calling with the Arm and Hammer String Band (Vermont): Pete Sutherland, fiddle; Joel Eckhaus, guitar; Hilary Woodruff, bass; Sid Blum, banjo; from Potluck & Dance Tonite, Alcazar… View item
Moving Image

Cheyenne Mountain Dancers - Docey-Doe Hoedown

Third in a series of three silent films made to accompany Shaw's 1947 recordings with the "Duel in the Sun" Orchestra. Working from an incomplete copy of the footage, we have attempted to create an… View item
Moving Image

Cheyenne Mountain Dancers - Split Ring Hash

Second in a series of three silent films made to accompany Shaw's 1947 recordings with the "Duel in the Sun" Orchestra. Working from an incomplete copy of the footage, we have attempted to create an… View item
Moving Image

Cheyenne Mountain Dancers - Star by the Right

First in a series of three silent films made to accompany Shaw's 1947 recordings with the "Duel in the Sun" Orchestra. Working from an incomplete copy of the footage, we have attempted to create an… View item
Still Image

Cheyenne Mountain Dancers in DC

Note: click on the image to get a larger picture.The Cheyenne Mountain Dancers appeared at the National Folk Festival in Washington, DC, in 1939, their first trip to the East from their Colorado… 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

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