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

Browse Items (349 total)

  • Collection: Northern squares
Sound

That's Where My Money Goes

PersonnelTed Glabach, PrompterRobinson's Orchestra Paul Robinson, Violin John Robinson, Banjo Bob Emerson, PianoNotes from Steve Green (1978): The following pieces were recorded from a homemade 78 rpm… View item
Sound

The Basket - Ed Durlacher

Honor Your Partner was a series of rhythmic activities and dance albums, more than 20 in all, released by Ed Durlacher starting in 1949 and extending into the 1950s. This is the final dance on album… View item
Moving Image

The Farmer

Square Dancing at the Firemen's Hall in Grafton, OH.This dance starts off as as variation of the classic Uptown/Downtown, them moves into the Cut Away Six / Divide the Ring figure, with additional… View item
Website

The James W. Kimball Traditional Music & Dance in NYS Collection

Jim Kimball is a well-known historian who focuses on the music and dance traditions of upstate New York. The James W. Kimball Traditional Music and Dance in New York State Collection is a curated… View item
Moving Image

The Route - Bob Dalsemer

Recorded at Dare To Be Square, Seattle, 2009 View item
Moving Image

The Route - Rickey Holden

Rickey Holden calling a classic square dance figure, alternately called The Rout or The Route. Rather than a full walkthrough, he gives only a general introduction, setting up the dancers for some… View item
Moving Image

The Route - Tony Parkes

The caller is Tony Parkes; musicians are Yankee Ingenuity (Jack O'Connor, mandolin; Mary Lea, fiddle; Cal Howard, bass; Peter Barnes, piano), joined by Steve Hickman, fiddle and harmonica. Filmed… View item
Document

The Rural Square Dance in the Northeastern United States: A Continuity of Tradition

This doctoral thesis in folklore is based on a study of square dances in New York state, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Especially interesting are the descriptions of traditional dances, based on the… View item
Still Image

The Singing Caller

This book went through three editions from 1944 to 1951, testimony to the popularity of singing square dance calls in that period. The Table of Contents shows many familiar dances; others are set to… View item
Sound

The Slow One - Dudley Laufman

Dance as called by Lin Cady, though Dudley said he's at a loss as to the title since it was always done at the same speed as every other square. He identifies the tune as Solomon Levi, though the… View item
Moving Image

There Is a Tavern in the Town / Three Ladies Chain - Dudley Laufman

To the tune of "There Is a Tavern in the Town," Dudley Laufman calls as part of the "Square Dance" Retrospective session at the annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in Durham, NH. The musicians are… View item
Moving Image

This Land Is Your Land - Bob Howell

The caller is Bob Howell; is is a clip from the "Joy of Dancing" video issued by the Kentucky Dance Foundation and used with permission. Kentucky Dance Foundation, c/o Folk Dancer Record… View item