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

Browse Items (1924 total)

Moving Image

Maryland Line Square Dance Sampler - Bob Dalsemer

Bob Dalsemer leads a workshop on "Dances of Maryland Line," a small town in northern Maryland that he visited often in the 1970s. Attentive viewers will note the distinctive style of… View item
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The Buzzards' Glory Barn Dance 1928–1966

In the early 1970s, Bob Dalsemer heard about a dance series in Albanstown, northern Baltimore County, Maryland; the dances were no longer being held so he interviewed two sources to create this… View item
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The Independence (PA) Lancers

For moving images of the dance, click here and hereThis is Bob Dalsemer's account of discovering an old dance form maintained in a rural Pennsylvania community:"On two occasions in 1979, I had the… View item
Document

Old Time Square Dancing on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

Author Bob Dalsemer discovers a long tradition of the "big circle" square dance on this island off the North Carolina coast, far from the Appalachian Mountains where it is usually… View item
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Forward Six and Back - Bob Dalsemer

Bob Dalsemer calls a traditional square dance -- Right Hand High, Left Hand Low-- with music provided by Notorious (Larry Unger and Eden MacAdam Somer) and Old New England (Bob McQuillen, Jane… View item
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Going Down South - Bob Dalsemer

Bob Dalsemer calls this singing square, with music provided by Notorious (Eden MacAdam Somer on fiddle, Larry Unger on guitar). Recorded January 18, 2013, at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend,… View item
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Just Because - Bob Dalsemer

Caller Bob Dalsemer and "Just Because," recorded 1990 in Oerbygaard, Denmark. This clip includes some of the walkthrough, with the dance itself starting at 00:58. The recording to which he… View item
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Lazy H - Bob Dalsemer

Bob Dalsemer calls a condensed version of Ed Gilmore's "Lazy H" figure. View item
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Bill McAdoo - notes on the recordings

These are Bob Dalsemer's notes about the Bill McAdoo field recordings in the Related Item. In addition to transcriptions of McAdoo's calls, Dalsemer notes variations in the dances, describes… View item
Document

New England Quadrilles and How To Call Them

This self-published booklet is a look at how to call traditional style New England dances. An accomplished dance caller himself, Dalsemer explains the basic structure of New England style dances,… View item
Sound

Take a Little Peek

Bob Dalsemer is the caller, with music provided by the McLain Family Band, recorded live at the 1986 Christmas Country Dance School, Berea, Kentucky. After the first couple dances the figure with… View item
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Tin Lizzie Quadrille - Bob Dalsemer

The dance was written by Jerry Helt and recorded on MacGregor Records #816-A. Jerry writes, “It was inspired by the late Henry Ford who inspired so many of us with his ‘Tin Lizzie’!… View item