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

Browse Items (1930 total)

Document

Aqua Barn

Article describing Seattle's Aqua Barn, a floating dance hall. The hall was created by Jack Riley, whose obituary can be found here. Riley also released records on the Aqua lable; the Internet Archive… View item
Document

Appalachian Squares

This document comes from the Dixie Folk Institute, 1951, and presents a concise description for many common figures that can be used in a big set. View item
Website

Appalachian Square Dance Callers Making the Scene More Welcoming

This radio story (and transcription) originally aired November 26, 2023 as a part of Inside Appalachia by West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The story highlights one group of callers and musicians in… View item
Document

Appalachian Circle

A brief look at southern Appalachian circle dances. The author points out how unfamiliar four-couple squares would be to a dance from that region:---A native of the Appalachian Circle country which… View item
Moving Image

Appalachian Big Set - Berea- 1993

The Berea Festival Dancers, with caller Teresa Lowder, perform an Appalachian Big Set demonstration at the 1993 Mountain Folk Festival, Berea, Kentucky. The group is introduced by their director, John… View item
Moving Image

Another Square Dance Caller - Jim Mayo

Jim Mayo calling a dance created by Marshall Flippo and released on Chaparral 710. Recorded Memorial Day weekend, 1993, by Tim Stanger at the Papoose Pond square dance weekend, N. Waterford, Maine. View item
Sound

Annie Lurie (clip) - David Park Williams

The dance figure here is the familiar Head Two Men Cross Over, changing to the name tune, and a different meter,for the promenade and break. From the CD set "Mostly Quadrilles,"… View item
Moving Image

Annen Polka Quadrille

The caller is Bill Johnston, Skippack, PA, who created the dance in November, 1984. Bill wrote, "This quadrille especially written for the music "The Annen Polka" by Johann Strauss and recorded by… View item
Moving Image

Andy Allemao - Hexagon Squares

The video shows Andy Allemao calling and explaining Hexagon Squares at the California State Square Dance Convention. April 8-10, 2011 in Balboa Park, San Diego. If you've never seen this you will… View item
Website

And They Danced - Cape Breton dance

This documentary (47 minutes) is a rich portrait of stepdancing and square dance traditions in Cape Breton Island, particularly in Inverness County. View item
Document

An Old-Time Dance, Missouri, 1929

An account from a 1929 newspaper of what the author deemed "what was probably a duplication of the real, old-time hill country dance." Interestingly, the words "square dance"… View item
Website

An Invitation To Dance: A History of Social Dance in America

This online exhibit on the history of social dance in America draws on documents in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society to offer a multi-faceted portrait of the changing nature of… View item