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

Browse Items (1937 total)

Sound

Don Durlacher - Jones Beach

Don Durlacher, son of Ed Durlacher, was a regular summer caller at Jones Beach outside New York City, calling with the Top Hands band that his father had used for many years. At this dance, the… View item
Document

Don Beck - square dance background

This is Don Beck's account of how he got interested in square dancing. View item
Moving Image

Don Beck - patter

Recorded December 1985 at Bay Path Barn, West Boylston, MA. The caller had been one of the founders of Tech Squares at MIT and was that club's first caller, in 1967. Another clip on YouTube, recorded… View item
Document

Don Armstrong interview - 1994, transcription

This interview with Don Armstrong was conducted by Luc Vermeiren and Hilde Dewaelheyns, a member of the AADS board in Belgium, when Don was calling at a folk dance camp in the Czech Republic. This… View item
Sound

Don Armstrong interview - 1994

This interview with Don Armstrong was conducted by Luc Vermeiren and Hilde Dewaelheyns, a member of the AADS board in Belgium, when Don was calling at a folk dance camp in the Czech Republic. An… View item
Moving Image

Don Armstrong - square dance

By this time in his long career, Don Armstrong was mostly calling contra dances. In this example, he keeps dancers moving smoothly with a relaxed cadence to his calls. View item
Sound

Don Armstrong - progressive squares

Don Armstrong calls a tip that moves dancers from one square to another. At the start of the clip, he alerts dances how this will be done and warns them that when they reach the outside of the hall… View item
Still Image

Don Armstrong - early years in Florida

1. Don & Laverne Armstrong2. Don Armstrong portrait3. Don Armstrong's band4. Don Armstrong - Danceland promo5. Don Armstrong - parade floatThis series of photographs shows caller Don Armstrong in… View item
Moving Image

Docey-Doe hoedown #2 - Bill Litchman

Caller Bill Litchman calling a mix of traditional figures. He explained, "I used three or four visiting couple figures and then the Colorado-style Docey-Doe each couple following up as the dance… View item
Moving Image

Docey-Doe hoedown #1 - Bill Litchman

Caller Bill Litchman at a dance workshop in Belgium, May, 1991, first teaching the Colorado docey-doe figure, then using it in a called dance, interspersing it with a series of traditional figures:… View item
Document

Docey-doe / Do Paso agreement

Docey-doe / Do Paso / Do-si-do / Dos a Dosexcerpt from Step by Step Through Modern Square Dance History by Jim Mayo... Others were more receptive to change. Another action that spread, probably from… View item
Sound

Doc Alumbaugh speaking to Al Brundage, 1957

Doc Alumbaugh, based in southern California, was one of the first traveling callers. In 1950, he founded Windsor Records, which became one of the foremost square dance record labels. (In addition to… View item