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

Browse Items (1930 total)

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Big Circle Dance from Carcassonne, KY - Phil Jamison

Phil Jamison led a workshop session on square dances from the southern Appalachians, focusing on dances from different communities in that region. In this video, Phil introduces the big set formation… View item
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Big circle dance - Manny Wiener & American Square Dance Group

Caller Manny Wiener leads a big circle dance—here introduced as a Kentucky running set—with members of Margot Mayo's American Square Dance Group. This is a portion of a half hour radio… View item
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Big Can of Worms (Instructions) - Grid Square - Bob Isaacs

Bob Isaacs teaches his grid square at the Dance Flurry, Saratoga Springs, NY. See accompanying video for the actual dancing. View item
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Big Can of Worms - Grid Square - Bob Isaacs

Bob Isaacs is calling a dance he wrote, with music provided by the Clayfoot Strutters:Pete Sutherland - fiddleMark Roberts - banjoLee Blackwell and Ben Davis - guitarsHarry Aceto - bassJeremiah McLane… View item
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Bible Grove Square Dancers, Bethel, Missouri, 1989

Dancers from Bible Grove in Scotland County, MO at the Bethel Fiddle Convention, Bethel, MO. June 1989. Fiddling by Chirps Smith and Charlie Walden. Others in the band are Forrest Rose on bass, Dennis… View item
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Beulah Samec - patter

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Between Those Ladies (clip) - Ray Smith

This 1953 clip features Texas caller Raymond Smith introducing the seeds of modern Western square dance style at Camp Becket in Massachusetts. He's calling "Between Those Ladies" by… View item
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Betsy Gotta - patter

Betsey Gotta callng a MWSD Mainstream Patter call to the tune of Hernando's Hideaway. View item
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Best Things in Life Are Free - Jim Mayo

This song was used by Jim Mayo for his first recording which was on Mac Gregor Records (#2055) in 1963. The figure used here was created for this group of dancers to show how MWSD singing calls are… View item
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Best Things in Life Are Free - Jerry Helt

From the "Jerry Helt's Dance Party" video (KDF-003). This is a video and audio cassette for non-dancers, people of all ages, square dancers, school groups, square dance callers, and collectors,… View item
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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
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Beseda quadrille

These are two videos demonstrating the Czech Beseda quadrille from mid-19th century, here performed by a group that rehearsed with noted Czech dance leader Jitka Bonušova. The date of composition for… View item