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

Browse Items (160 total)

  • Collection: Traditional western
Moving Image

Cowboy Medley Square - Silver Spurs

Caller Red Henderson, who founded the Silver Spurs youth dance troupe, here calls a "cowboy square dance," mixing together figures based on traditional western square dances. The film dates… View item
Moving Image

The Visible Anthem

This 1972 documentary, half an hour in length, describes the work of the Lloyd Shaw Foundation. It includes footage of Dorothy Shaw speaking to participants at a gathering of the Lloyd Shaw… View item
Website

Schroeder's Playboys

Schroeder's Playboys - An Appreciationby Tony Parkes, August 2012If I could be transported back to the 1950s and had my choice of any one square dance band to hear and/or dance to live, it might well… View item
Document

Ballroom & the Barn: Dr. Lloyd Shaw, Dean Edwards & the Western Square Dance Revival in Colorado Springs

This article presents a look at square dancing in Colorado Springs from the perspective of Dean Edwards; it appears that the author adopted his views about Lloyd Shaw and to some extent misrepresented… View item
Document

Arizona Style of Modern Square Dancing

This booklet, created by a consortium of 20 local square dance club, was sponsored by the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, testament to the rising popularity of square dance at that time.… View item
Document

Cowboys' Christmas Ball - Anson, Texas

Poem written in 1890 describing the Cowboys' Christmas Ball in Anson, Texas. For more information about the author, see this website on cowboy poetry. The Ball continues, following the original rules… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance, Raton, NM

Outdoor square dance. Calls include "lady round the lady and the gent follow, lady round the gent and the gent don't go." The tune is Waggoner, sometimes called Tennessee… 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

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
Website

Utah Square Dance History

The June 28, 1973 issue of the Deseret News (a Mormon-owned daily newspaper published in Salt Lake City) contained a supplement on the 22nd National Square Dance Convention. The article on Utah square… View item
Still Image

Paul Phillips - photographs

The first photo is a portrait. The second photo shows Paul Phillips at the microphone. In the third photo, it looks as though he is one of the dancers; note the similarity of the shiny dark shirt. The… View item
Still Image

Jimmy Clossin - card, biography, flyer, letter, news story

Jimmy Clossin was an influential Texas caller who unfortunately never recorded commercially. (This Square Dance History Site would dearly love to post clips from live recordings—please contact us if… View item