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

Browse Items (1938 total)

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
Document

Doc Alumbaugh - styling

Alumbaugh's "Styling Suggestion for Square Dancing" is a systematic approach to what he sees as the five components: • Poise • Bearing • Rhythm • Timing • Local Mannerisms The… View item
Sound

Do-Si-Do and Face the Sides (variation) - Ted Sannella

This clip is part of a series of eight square dances called by Ted Sannella at the Chesapeake Spring Dance Weekend, sponsored by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. (Ted called another four or… View item
Moving Image

Do-si-do and Face the Sides - Tony Parkes

Recorded at the Greenfield, MA, Grange Hall on June 27, 2010. The event was sponsored by Country Dance and Song Society to celebrate the publication of "On the Beat with Ralph Sweet."… View item
Moving Image

Do-Si-Do and Face the Sides - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes is the caller in this excerpt of a Ted Sannella composition, "Do-Si-Do and Face the Sides." The dance, at the Kingston, New Hampshire town hall on the evening of November 18,… View item
Moving Image

Do-si-do and Face the Sides - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes calls Ted Sannella's square dance, Do-si-do and Face the Sides, at the Dare To Be Square weekend held November 18-20, 2011, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. The tune is… View item
Sound

Do-Si-Do and Face the Sides - Ted Sannella

Ted Sannella calls his dance, Do-Si-Do and Face the Sides, in a live recording from c. 1958. In Balance and Swing, Ted explains, "I wrote this dance in February, 1953 for a dance exhibition at the… View item
Document

Do Squares Come from Quadrilles?

This item starts with a 1957 article by Rod LaFarge that takes a strong stand: "the assumption that our present day square dance is derived from the formal quadrille is completely false."… View item
Sound

Do Paso What (clip) - Les Gotcher

sample of Les Gotcher's calling style, in this case building a dance from a break sequence Black Mountain 128 View item
Document

Dixie Folk syllabus - 1951

This is the square dance portion of the syllabus from the Dixie Folk and Square Dance Institute held in Georgia in 1951. New Hampshire caller Ralph Page presented a selection of typical New England… View item
Moving Image

Divide the Ring - Phil Jamison

Phil Jamison calls at the Dare To Be Square weekend held November 18-20, 2011, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. The basic "Divide the Ring" sequence has the leading couple… View item
Moving Image

Divide the Ring - Jerry Goodwin

In this version of the traditional Cut Off Six / Divide the Ring figure, the active couple turns the others as they stand in a line. Larry Edleman demonstrates this in more detail on the related… View item