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

Browse Items (499 total)

  • Collection: MWSD
Still Image

Charley Thomas selling records

Founder of View item
Sound

Barnacle Bill (clip) - Cal Golden

Cal Golden was a prominent modern caller; another audio clip on this website shows him at the giant 1950 Santa Monica square dance, being introduced by Lloyd Shaw. He was a caller with deep Arkansas… View item
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Red Warrick memorabilia

A series of artifacts associated with Red Warrick View item
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Golden State Round Up 1964

Grand march at the Golden State Round Up, Oakland, CA, 1964. Each row is 4 squares, and there are about 50 rows That's 200 squares, or 1600 dancers. The event featured live music, with an 11… View item
Document

UCLA Leadership Conference - 1964

Photograph of participants in 1964 square dance leadership conference organized by Bob Osgood at UCLA, along with a roster of participants. Jim Mayo describes this event in his 2003 book, Step By Step… View item
Document

Osa Mathews - portrait and bio

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Document

Square Dance camp brochures

Lloyd Shaw's summer school in Colorado Springs started in 1941, then resumed in the years after World War II. This item includes a small collection of brochures illustrating various dance camps… View item
Document

Barn Owls square dance club

Items connected with one mid-1950s square dance club: • Program for 3rd anniversary dance, 1954, including club roster • Invitation to 5th anniversary party • invitation for regular dance •… View item
Still Image

10,000 Square Dancers Can't Be Wrong

1954 newspaper article and photographs about popularity of modern square dancing in St. Louis View item
Document

Catalogs

This collection of seven catalogs from the 1950s and early 1960s illustrates the range of materials offered to participants in the early square dance boom years, from recordings to clothing to badges… View item
Document

5 Steps to Better Dancing

The "5 Steps" of the title can be taken literally; this tiny handout, illustrated with stick figures, is all about how to move on the dance floor: 1. Keep both feet on the floor,… View item

Square Dance Video collections

There are thousands of videos on sites such as YouTube that show modern square dancing. Several individuals have done their own collecting, presenting many videos on one location. Andy Abeles is based… View item