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

Browse Items (1926 total)

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Nellie Bly - George Hodgson

Veteran dance caller George Hodgson leads the classic singing square in this 2004 appearance at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. Dancers at that event over the years became familiar with George's… View item
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Nellie Bly - Ralph Sweet

Recorded at the February 2, 2004, at the Guiding Star Grange, Greenfield, MA, on the occasion of recording "Shindig in the Barn," an album of singing squares. Musicians are the Ralph Sweet All-Stars:… View item
Sound

Nellie Bly (clip) - Charlie Bardwell

Charlie Bardwell, caller, with Bardy's Orchestra, recorded in Putney, Vermont in the late 1970s by Steve Green. This website contains several other examples of this popular singing square. View item
Document

New Call Problems in the Mid 1970s

This is an excerpt from the book Step by Step Through Modern Square Dance History by Jim Mayo. It describes the situation that had been created by a flood of new calls in the mid 1970’s. Related… View item
Document

New England Contras from a Western Caller's Point of View

This is the third in a series by Jack McKay, California square dance caller. Written in 1952, it's an attempt to look at the challenges of calling New England contras compared to Western squares,… View item
Website

New England Fiddles

Caller William Chaisson calls the changes and Joe Cormier's fiddle leads the band in two quadrilles recorded at the French American Victory Club in Waltham, MA. The link takes you to a… View item
Document

New England Quadrilles and How To Call Them

This self-published booklet is a look at how to call traditional style New England dances. An accomplished dance caller himself, Dalsemer explains the basic structure of New England style dances,… View item
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New England Squares workshop sampler

This is a sampler of the dances presented by Tony Parkes in his workshop on New England Squares, November 19, 2011. Each dance is presented in more detail, including many with walkthroughs, in other… View item
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New River Train

Nils Fredland calls a singing square set to this well-known bluegrass song. The dance comes from the repertoire of Keith Blackmon, a square dance caller in the Twin Tiers region of southwest New York… View item
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New Zealand Square Dance Convention, 1977

Television news story about modern square dance weekend in Christchurch, New Zealand, featuring Chicago caller Dave Taylor. View item
Document

New-Fangled Dance Craze Hits Hollywood Bars Hard

Sherman Sanders was an actor who played a square dance caller in Hollywood movies starting in the early 1940s. His credits include Bowery Buckaroos, The Devil And Daniel Webster, Lure Of The… View item