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

Browse Items (69 total)

  • Collection: Historical squares
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Beseda Quadrille, part I

František Bonuš, a noted dance pedagogue from Prague, led a quadrille workshop in Berea, Kentucky in 1987. The video of the entire workshop is lengthy and has been edited and divided into nine parts.… View item
Website

Kitty Keller - Social Dance History

This is a series of six edited videos, selections from a 90-minute interview with social dance historian Kate Van Winkle Keller. She is a specialist in dances of the 18th century, and here she trace… View item
Document

Hoodoo Religion and American Dance Traditions: Rethinking the Ring Shout

Article by Katrina Hazzard-Donald looks at the relationship between African-American churches and traditional dance. As the article's summary puts it: "When one considers the history of American dance… View item
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Independence Lancers

The Lancers is a five-part Quadrille that made its way from 19th century ballrooms to 1985 in southwestern Pennsylvania at the Independence Grange Hall, Independence Township, Washington County,… View item
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Las Cuadrillas: Five-Part Suite

The interpretation and choreography of the five part Las Cuadrillas is by Dr. Lorenzo A. Trujillo based on the teaching of Marie Oralia Duran Trujillo, Damian Archuleta, with additional notes by Helen… View item
Document

Quadrille and Cotillion - history

Part of a history of English country dancing in America, this segment looks at the quadrille and the cotillion. Caution: The author is mistaken when he asserts, "The French had imported the… View item
Website

Cotillon website

These detailed website pages are created by Moira Goff, a self-described "baroque dance specialist." They document her research into various dances of the period with a special look at thecotillon,… View item
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Paine's First Set of Quadrilles, 1815

Paine's First Set of Quadrilles 1815 Nederlands Historisch Dans-en Theaterensemble, artistic director Maria Angad Gaur Performance: Jane Austen Bal, The Netherlands 2006 Part 2,3,4,5 and 6 only danced… View item
Website

Peter Beemer manuscript - Idaho

This is a collection of mid-19th century dance tunes from a remote Idaho location; as such, it is a useful record of the music being used for dances of the period. This website also contains… View item
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Cotillon

French dancing masters in the early 18th century created a dance for two couples called the cotillon. This morphed into the cotillion and later became the quadrille. The opening minutes of this… View item
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Quadrille Club, Les Lanciers or Duval's 2nd Set, Quadrilles No. 1, 2 &3

This video was intended as an introduction to Regency quadrille dancing for new members of Quadrille Club thus at one point in the first quadrille the ladies make a circle in the centre of the set… View item
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Les Lanciers or Duval's 2nd Set. No.4 & 5

Intended as an introduction to Regency quadrilles for new members of Quadrille Club, the steps used in the Grand Chain have been simplified by leaving out the `Ballotes' called for in the origional… View item