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

Browse Items (1930 total)

Still Image

Round Dance Positions 2

Round dancing, a form of couple dancing in which a cuer calls out the figures, is frequently a part of modern square dance clubs. In some locations, instead of round dances being incorporated into an… View item
Document

Round Dances

Olcutt Sanders was a Texas dance historian. He writes, "The round dances that are included quite generally on square dance programs these days originated in Europe in the late Eighteenth and… View item
Document

Round Dances, 1949

Round dances, or dances for couples rather than for groups of couples who interact with each other, have been a part of traditional country dance for ages. In the modern square dance movement, they… View item
Document

Round Robin correspondence

Long before the internet, a group of a dozen or so square dance callers around the country exchanged ideas through a series of Round Robin letters. (Note: the Square Dance History Project would dearly… View item
Moving Image

Route, The - Tony Parkes

Tony Parkes, caller. This clip includes a walkthrough. Recorded at Dare To Be Square, Brasstown, NC, November 19, 2011. Musicians for this session were Steve Hickman and Jim Morrison, fiddles; Claudio… View item
Moving Image

Royal Lancers Quadrille

A "Royal Lancers," according to the notes of the historical pageant presented at the eighth National Square Dance Convention (Denver, 1959), is "any square dance that is doubled -… View item
Moving Image

Royal Scotch Quadrilles - 5th figure

Comments from Susan de Guardiola: The Royal Scotch Quadrilles were written by London dancing master Thomas Wilson in response to the (in his opinion, undeserved) success of The Caledonian Quadrilles,… View item
Moving Image

Royal Square

This demonstration number is for eight couples forming a tandem square, one inside the other. The choreography was created by Kira Heartsong for Calico and Boots. The High Country Squares club… View item
Website

Rufus Guinchard: The life and music of Newfoundland's late legendary fiddle player

This is a 30-minute film made in 1990 that celebrates the life and music of Newfoundland fiddler Rufus Guinchard. The film is available online, and is well worth watching. Like Medicine Fiddle, the… View item
Sound

Running Set - Jim Wilkerson home recording

This is a home recording made by caller Jim Wilkerson. We think WIlkerson was from Ohio, so this particular cut is an interesting example of how dance styles migrate. We typically think of a running… View item
Document

Rural Leaders' Guide for Square and Group Dances, 1951

From the forward: "This circular is designed to assist rural leaders in teaching square and group dancing and in conducting organized recreational dancing activities." After several pages of… View item
Document

Rural Square Dances in East Tennessee: A Personal Account of Visits to Four Communities

This article appeared (1981) in the scholarly journal published by Country Dance and Song Society. The author describes four East Tennessee square dance communities, including discussion of typical… View item