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

Browse Items (1935 total)

Sound

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry - Herbie Gaudreau

Classic singing square, here in a live recording (1960s?) with caller Herbie Gaudreau. Today's contra callers probably know Gaudreau better than do contemporary square dance callers; his Becket Reel… View item
Still Image

Vermont square dance festival - large groups

These are photographs of school groups participating in the big square dance festivals held in Vermont in the 1950s in Northfield and Montpelier. View item
Moving Image

Contra Corners Canon

The dance was composed by Pittsburgh caller and choreographer Ron Buchanan. In this video, it's being called by Lisa Greenleaf. View item
Moving Image

Big Circle square dance - Glenn Bannerman

Glenn Bannerman, caller, leads a big circle at MerleFest, 2014 View item
Document

Brussels World's Fair - 1958

This article describes the square dance presence at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels. View item
Website

CALLERLAB audiotapes

CALLERLAB is making available audiotapes that were recorded at their Convention educational sessions. These recordings include a valuable collection of information and educational material. Over the… View item
Moving Image

Evolution of Square Dance, 1940–1960

At the 2008 National Square Dance Convention, Colorado dancer, caller and historian Calvin Campbell presented a program on twenty important years in the change from traditional to modern square dance.… View item
Document

Vermont Country Dance Festival - 1953

Program from a 1953 Vermont dance festival, whose avowqed purpose was "To strengthen Vermont's heritage of square and contra dances and to bring together country dance enthusiasts from every… 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
Document

A Square Dance Pioneer: Jimmy Clossin

This summary of an interview with Jimmy Clossin by Miriam Gray appeared in 1960. More than 50 years later, it is impressive the ways in which he anticipated the challenges facing the square dance… View item
Document

Square Dancing Standard and Experimental Guidelines

A flood of new calls in the early 1970s led a group called Square Dance Systems to publish a catalogue of calls, an attempt to bring order to an increasingly-complex universe of new figures. Square… View item
Document

New Call Problems in the Mid 1970s

This is an excerpt from the book Step by Step Through Modern Square Dance History by Jim Mayo. It describes the situation that had been created by a flood of new calls in the mid 1970’s. Related… View item