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

Browse Items (1925 total)

Document

Cape Breton Dance Halls

This undergraduate thesis looks at the dance halls of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Traditional music and dance plays an important role in the life of the communities there, and the dance halls function… View item
Document

American Country Dancing on Colorado's West Slope

The article is based on oral history collected in 1979, though no footnotes or direct quotations are included. Instead, it is a generalized summary of the author's findings. "Depending on… View item
Document

"How We Do It In Our Town" - Emmette Wallace

This is a series of articles comparing how basic figures are taught and danced in different parts of the country. The first segment appeared in October, 1949, in American Squares, and the series… View item
Document

Square Dance Clubs, Texas Style

This is a detailed description of the organizational plan of the Sally Goodin square dance club of Houston, Texas, which followed a common Texas model at the time: "Most of the square dancing… View item
Document

What's New in SD? (1955)

This 1955 article takes a brief look at some figures that were considered new at the time. Among them: Pass Through, Allemande Thar, Dopaso, Box the Gnat, Rollaway, and Throw in the Clutch. View item
Moving Image

Mike Callahan - MWSD Fairport High School Square Dance Competition

Caller Mike Callahan has been teaching square dancing in the Rochester, NY area for many years. Mike reports that he usually does a two day session for this school teaching the students how to square… View item
Moving Image

Mike Callahan - MWSD Fairport High School Square Dance Competition

Caller Mike Callahan has been teaching square dancing in the Rochester, NY area for many years. Mike reports that he usually does a two day session for this school teaching the students how to square… View item
Sound

Forming squares - Eric Clamons

Eric Clamons was a square dance caller in Minnesota in the 1940s and 1950s. A chance conversation with his son in 2013 revealed that Eric had taped numerous recordings of square dances from the early… View item
Sound

Arkansas Traveler - Eric Clamons

Second in a series of three clips of Minnesota caller Eric Clamons. There are other examples of Arkansas Traveler on this website for comparison. View item
Sound

Comin' Round the Mountain - Eric Clamons

Third of three clips from Minnesota caller Eric Clamons, this one a traditional singing square. View item
Website

The Slave Roots of Square Dancing

This is an easily-read summary of a scholarly article by Phil Jamison on the African-American roots of southern Appalachian dance and, in particular, the pivotal role played by African-American… View item
Document

"So They Gave Up Football"

These two articles were written by Erna Egender, a member of the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers for that group's first trip east, in 1939. The title relates to a ful-page layout created by the Associated… View item