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

Browse Items (1925 total)

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Interview with Saundra Bryant

Short interview with Saundra Bryant, African-American square dance caller from Chicago."At one point, there were 25 or 30 African-American square-dance callers. Now there are probably 12 or 14 of us… View item
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Tech Squares

This half-hour video looks closely at the Tech Squares modern square club at MIT. Under the leadershp of caller Ted Lizotte and with the assistance of a large group of dedicated assistants and dance… View item
Document

"Southern Appalachian"- overview of structure

The author describes the overall structure of a southern Appalachian big circle dance: an opening sequence, the second phase with two-couple figures, and the closing sequence that involves all the… View item
Document

Let's Stop Hashing Our Squares

This essay, written more than 60 years ago, speaks to the longstanding tension between those who like predictable dance figures and those who seek continual variety. The author admits "that I am just… View item
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Sandy Bradley 3 - Why'd you stop?

Sandy Bradley was a dynamic and exciting guitar player and caller who gave many northern dancers in the 1970s and early 1980s their first taste of fast-moving traditional western squares. She stopped… View item
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Sandy Bradley 2 - Keeping it fun

"The thing that I thought was crippling people's attitude toward dance was rules. 'You have to do THIS, you have to swing like that, you have to get it right!'" It… View item
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Sandy Bradley 1 - Getting started

Sandy Bradley interviewed by Bob Dalsemer. After a brief discussion of the fun of watching the room come together in a dance, Sandy discusses how she got started as a musician and then a square… View item
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Roseanna McCoy - square dance scene

The square dance scene from the movie, with caller Sherman Sanders View item
Document

Cowpuncher's Square Dance Call - response

Folklorist Sam Hinton has some fun with the poem. If it is to be taken literally as an example of a dance call, Hinton calculates that the cowboys are dancing at a speed greater than 20 miles per… View item
Document

The History of Square-Dancing - S. Foster Damon

The History of Square Dancing, published by S. Foster Damon in 1957, is one of the few books that presents a broad picture of the subject. The book was a reprint of his 1952 article published in the… View item
Document

American Square Dancing in Three Sections of Maryland and the District of Columbia - 1943

This is a Master's thesis based upon observation at three locations in Maryland:1. Salisbury and vicinity, particularly Public Landing, on the Eastern Shore2. Oakland and vicinity, particularly… View item
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Square Dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma – 1939/40

A series of color slides taken by Russell Lee at an Oklahoma dance in 1939 or 1940. More information about the first one can be found here. A larger sample of the photographs is available here at the… View item