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

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
Still Image

Central City - more photographs

Janie Chandler writes: "My mother, Carol Case, formerly Carol Chandler, originally Carol Angevine, was a Colorado square dancer from way back.The video I watched (from 1955) was a year before my… View item
Still Image

Central City - photographs

This collection of photos documents the young dancers who performed in the summers in Central City, Colorado. As opera-goers left the theatre, the dancers would swoop down the main street and bring… View item
Still Image

Central City dancers, 1967 & 1968

The first picture is a 1968 publicity photo taken of the square dancers, used by the Central City Opera Association to send to local newspapers:back row: Sharon _?_, Gary Schaub, Larry Wylie, caller,… 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

Chain Lightning - Butch Nelson (clip)

Another example of Butch Nelson's calling, with fast-paced patter keeping dancers moving briskly. Again, the patter clearly shows the caller's western roots. The music is played by the… 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
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
Moving Image

Chinese Fan - Lisa Greenleaf

This clip only shows the actual Chinese Fan part of the dance. Omitted are the opening figures, breaks, and the ending. The dance is usually done with dancers linking elbows; here, the caller simply… 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
Document

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