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

Browse Items (501 total)

  • Collection: MWSD
Person

Jack Murtha

Jack Murtha, a caller in his own right, worked closely with Bob Ruff to teach square dance to schoolchildren. This portrait of him was painted by Gene Anthony, who also portrayed the members of the… View item
Document

Square Dance—Houston Style

This article, from Houston History magazine, offers a popular overview of square dance history in that region from the 1940s into the 21st century. The author was , with her husband, president of the… View item
Document

Dancing Among the Stars

In Chapter 6 of his autobiography, Dancing Among the Stars, caller Les Gotcher shares his perspective on what he saw as a series of attacks on him, orchestrated by Lloyd Shaw and assisted by members… View item
Still Image

1988 Calgary Olympics - costume

This is a costume worn by dancers at the gala square dance that formed part of the opening ceremony at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. See the related item for video footage of that dance routine… View item
Moving Image

How Squares Evolved – Tony Parkes

Dance caller and historian Tony Parkes leads a workshop on how square dancing changed from traditional forms to modern squares as found in MWSD clubs. He starts by looking at "swoopies," circular… View item
Document

MWSD Named Dances

In the world of modern western square dance today, most callers create the choreography for each dance. Even singing squares, where there is more repetition of figures, can vary each time through, and… View item
Moving Image

Clark Baker - traditional and modern

In this fifth and final video in this series, Clark Baker looks at two related kinds of dancing and explains the attraction of each: MWSD squares, especially in the Challenge program, on one side, and… View item
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Clark Baker - MWSD & music

Many traditional square dancers look at videos of MWSD and see a lot of stop-and-go rather than continuous motion; this is often termed "puzzle solving set to music." Clark reminds the viewer that in… View item
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Clark Baker - Calls and Concepts

In this third video in the series, Clark explains the difference between square dance "calls" and "concepts" and notes that "concepts are what make Advanced and especially… View item
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Clark Baker - MWSD & Challenge

Clark describes the structure of modern western square dancing as it exists today, outlining the different programs or levels. He then talks about he got involved in MWSD Challenge dancing, explaining… View item
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Clark Baker - Tech Squares

Clark describes the history of Tech Squares, the MWSD group based at MIT in Cambridge, MA. This club takes new dancers through the Mainstream in 8 weeks and on through Plus in 5 additional. A typical… View item
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Tech Squares

This half-hour video looks closely at the Tech Squares modern square club at MIT. Under the leadershp of caller Ted Lizotte and with the assistance of a large group of dedicated assistants and dance… View item