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

Browse Items (1924 total)

Person

Herbie Gaudreau

Massachusetts caller and choreographer Herbie Gaudreau is perhaps better known in today's contra dance world than in the modern square dance world. Gaudreau created a contra dance that he named the… 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
Document

Meet the Docey-Doe Family - 1949

Square dancers in the late 1940s and 1950s encountered a variety of similar-sounding terms meaning very different figures. The do-si-do / docey-doe / dos-a-dos / do-paso confusion produced several… View item
Document

Old Time Dance Calls (1919)

It's interesting that two of the early manuals describing square dancing-- not formal quadrilles-- come from Iowa, this one and the 1925 booklet by Dunlavy and Boyd (see Related Item).We'll let Tony… View item
Still Image

Bill Castner - Fiesta de la Cuadrilla

Flyer from the Fiesta de la Cuadrilla featuring California caller Bill Castner View item
Sound

Patter Call at Hoedown Hall - Bill Castner

This is a short clip of Bill Castner, a caller from California, calling at the Fiesta de la Cuadrilla at Hoedown Hall, September 29 & 30, 1961 View item
Sound

Basin Street Blues - Bill Castner

This is a short clip of Bill Castner, a caller from California, calling at the Fiesta de la Cuadrilla at Hoedown Hall, Mantua, New Jersey, September 29 & 30, 1961.Castner was inducted in the… View item
Moving Image

Bob Dalsemer – Contra and square dance writer and caller

Bob Dalsemer is an internationally-known square dance and contra dance caller and writer. Bob called dances for more than five decades in 33 states, Canada, the Czech Republic, Britain, Belgium,… View item
Document

Song of the HIGH-LEVEL Dancer - poem

The push for "high level dancing" appeared in the 1950s as square dancing took off. Some dancers wanted ever-more-challenging programs and they were often reluctant to dance with less-skilled dancers.… View item
Document

High Level Dancing – One Man's Opinion

Technical Note: If this item does not display, click on the download arrow at the top of the screen to get a copy on your computer.In the mid-1950s, twenty years before the formation of CALLERLAB,… View item
Website

Seated Square Dance Resources

Massachusetts caller Fred Wersan has compiled a comprehensive list of square dance figures adapted for seated dancers.On his website Fred says, " I learned about sitting square dances from Rick Hill… 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