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

Browse Items (1924 total)

Still Image

Square Dance in the American West
Display 3

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Still Image

Square Dance in the American West
Display 2

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Still Image

Square Dance in the American West
Display 1

These are photographs of display cases and other scenes from the Carson Brierly Giffin Dance Library at the University of Denver, the special exhibition related to Square Dance in the American West,… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance in the American West
Documentary film

Each year, Special Collections at the University of Denver library mounts a special exhibit to showcase some portion of their materials. In 2018, square dance was the focus, drawing on the… View item
Document

Mental Image Overview

This is the handout prepared by Don Beck and distributed to participants at the workshop shown in the preceding video. View item
Moving Image

Mental Image calling - Don Beck

Don Beck started calling more than 50 years ago. In this two-hour video, he provides an introduction to the Mental Image method of square dance choreographic management, a way for the caller to keep… View item
Sound

Three Texas squares - Herb Greggerson

These are three examples from Texas caller Herb Greggerson. 1) In Do-Si-Do Fun, hecalls a square that relies heavily on the western docey-do: partner left hand turn, corner right hand, repeated.… 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
Document

Advancing in Dancing  – Mary and Fred Collette

This is a lengthy syllabus describing some 400 dances, along with occasional commentary. It appears to represent a program presented by the Collettes, Ralph Page, and Don Armstrong at a Dixie Folk… View item
Document

Mary Jo (Bradford) Brearley - interview

Teenager Mary Jo (Bradford) Brearley and her younger brother John were the first teems to attend Lloyd Shaw's summer institute in Colorado. Her mother, also Mary Jo, was a physical education… View item
Moving Image

Fenton "Jonesy" Jones calling square dance

Fenton "Jonesy" Jones made numerous appearances as a square dance caller in Hollywood movies. This is one example; if a viewer can identify the source, we'll update that information in this site and… View item
Moving Image

1976 NSDC - highlights

The National Square Dance Convention in 1976, the US Bicentennial year, was the largest in the history of that event. The convention took place in Anaheim, California, and included a historical… View item