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

Browse Items (1925 total)

Sound

Cut Off Six - Tiny Clark

Recorded in the early 1940s; music by Mr. and Mrs. Siller. Compare the calls for this dance with others in the collection doing the same figures. The liner notes to his album on Asch Records 344… View item
Document

D. B. Hendrix correspondence

A Selection from the Papers of David B. Hendrix, Smoky Mountain Square Dance Callerby Bob DalsemerIn 1999 the John C. Campbell Folk School received a donation of several boxes of papers from the… View item
Sound

Daisy Alamo patter - Robby Robertson

This is a live recording of Robby Robertson teaching a "Daisy Alamo" combination of a Daisy Chain and an Alamo Style progression, followed by calling a dance with those figures. (The dance itself… View item
Moving Image

Dance - Scotsville Fire Hall, Cape Breton

Documentation of a dance in Scotsville, a small community in Inverness County, Cape Breton. The second half of the video is from a different venue, and includes music and step dancing. View item
Still Image

Dance magazine publishers - photos

This photograph appeared in the October, 1950, issue of Sets in Order. It shows a gathering of prominent dance leaders at the folk dance camp at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA; each man… View item
Document

Dance to the Music and Listen to the Calls: The Square Dances and Calling of Jerry Goodwin

Larry Edelman produced this video in 1987 while studying square dance calling with Jerry Goodwin. The apprenticeship was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the… View item
Still Image

Dancers at Frank Fortune dance

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Still Image

Dancers at Pappy Shaw's summer school - 1947

These photos show dancers at Shaw's summer class in August of 1947. In addition to squares, photos illustrate round dances, including the Varsouviana. (This last photo includes musicians: piano,… View item
Document

Dancing Feet of Ontario

Article looking at square dance traditions in Ontario; includes anecdotes from several locations and a lengthy letter describing dances in Fergus, Ontario. View item
Moving Image

Dancing in Westport Point, MA

This video documents a gathering of summer and year-round residents of Westport Point, MA. The community has hosted a summer dance series since the 1930s, originally led by Lyle Ring and then, in… View item
Document

Dancing with Style - Lloyd Shaw

Lloyd Shaw's Cheyenne Mountain Dancers took the country by storm on their many cross-country trips; their stylish dancing, and Shaw's ideas on the subject, influenced subsequent generations of… View item
Moving Image

Dancing's Dilemma - Dancing Around Denver

Dianne Gum hosted a public access show in Denver for some 15 years. In this hour-long program, recorded in 1996, she is joined by veteran caller Cal Campbell to discuss challenges facing modern square… View item