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

Browse Items (1924 total)

Document

Saturday Night Fun with Square Dances

This collection of dances aims to present a typical evening program at Holiday Hill in Ohio. Rather than a series of dances representing a particular region or a collection with challenging square… View item
Document

Your Favorite Calls and Callers

This booklet features 30 callers, the majority of whom are from Texas. Each person is represented by a short biography, a photograph, and an example of a dance associated with them. Texas callers and… View item
Sound

Hotshot Callers - Joe Lewis

In this recording, Joe Lewis highlights the plight of an average square dancer who just wants to go out for an evening of fun. Instead, he's confronted by a hotshot caller using all manner of… View item
Document

Square Dancing Is NOT Out of This World

This is the text of a presentation by Joe Lewis at the 1959 National Square Dance Convention, part of a discussion of the future of square dancing.Lewis points out that the majority of dancers at the… View item
Document

National Square Dance Convention - 1959 Who's Who

This excerpt from the program of the 1959 National Square Dance Convention lists the better-known presenters at the event. As such, it's a useful snapshot of who was respected enough at that time… View item
Still Image

National Square Dance Convention attendance

The National Square Dance Convention has been held annually since 1952, with the exception of 2020 (the Covid year). Attendance rose steadily over the early years as club square dancing became… View item
Still Image

West Newbury, VT - square dance competition

This is a newspaper account (and acccompanying poem) describing the 1941 success of a team from West Newbury, Vermont, in a dance competition. We often think of square dance contests in Texas, but… View item
Moving Image

Cheyenne Mountain School and Dr. Lloyd Shaw

A history of the Cheyenne Mountain School of Colorado Springs through the films of Dr. Lloyd Shaw shot in the 1920's and 1930's and narrated by former Cheyenne Mountain School student and… View item
Moving Image

Seated Square Dance, Janine Smith

Caller Janine Smith (MD) calling a seated (sitting) square dance in a video created during the pandemic lockdown when dancing in person was impossible. Janine got her inspiration for this form of… View item
Document

Life Goes to a Square Dance

Here's the text, in case it's hard to read: Life Goes to a Square Dance Thousands of fans gather to swing their partners in Oklahoma City The objects in the picture at the right look like orchids… View item
Document

Square Dance Revival Due To Shaw’s Dreams in the 1920’s

This newspaper essay by Dorothy Stott Shaw describes, in her usual poetic manner, the rise of square dancing as seen through Lloyd Shaw and his experiences at Cheyenne Mountain School. There are more… View item
Still Image

Floyd Woodhull contract - 1951

This is a 1951 contract for Floyd Woodhull and his band, along with the cover letter he sent to the sponsor.For additional information about Woodhull, follow this link. View item