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
Still Image

Vermont square dancers, 1950s - children

This collection of photographs from the 1950s shows children dancing, mostly at the large square dance festivals held in Northfield or Montpelier, Vermont. View item
Document

Sashay newsletter, Vermont, 1953

Sashay was a country dance bulletin published by musician Emerson Lang, of Danville, Vermont. It's clear from the contents that Lang's readers were open to many styles-- mention is made of squares,… View item
Document

Square Dances and Fiddle Tunes of New England

This is an unpublished manuscript by Eloise Hubbard Linscott, author ofFolksongs of New England. In it, she aims to present a representative picture of the dances and tunes that she found at New… View item
Document

Country Dancing in Central and Western New York State

This overview of different forms of country dancing in upper New York State starts in the early 1800s. The author looks at quadrilles and squares, longways and round dances, "from rural house parties… View item
Document

Fall Lake George - outing clubs

This 2007 newspaper article describes an annual gathering of outing clubs at Lake George, New York. For many decades, young people interested in outdoor activities-- hiking, canoeing, rock climbing,… 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
Document

Chicago Syllabus - Ralph Page, 1959

This is the square dance portion of a syllabus prepared by Ralph Page for a 1959 institute in Chicago. It's smaller than similar syllabi prepared by Page since the opening section of the syllabus… View item
Sound

Comin' Round the Mountain - Bob Van Antwerp

Bob Van Antwerp, an important and early West Coast caller, was one of the founders of CALLERLAB. It's easy to forget that such individuals also had roots in traditional squares, as you can hear in… View item
Moving Image

Canadian Four Step

There are many examples of couple dances included in the SDHP collection.Click on this linkto go to a listing.Fall dance of the Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Callers' Association, a group formed in… View item
Moving Image

Canadian Breakdown - Ernie Shoebridge

Fall dance of the Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Callers' Association, a group formed in 1954 to preserve and promote Canadian square dancing. Recorded November 17, 2001, Etobicoke (near Toronto),… View item
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Old Fashioned Girl - Bill Hands

Fall dance of the Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Callers' Association, a group formed in 1954 to preserve and promote Canadian square dancing. Recorded November 17, 2001, Etobicoke (near Toronto),… View item