Browse Items (1926 total)

Farmhouse Fiddlers: Music & Dance Traditional in the Rural Midwest

This is an excerpt from a detailed and loving look at what the author terms "house-party music." His focus is Wisconsin, and he based the book on interviews with nearly 100 musicians and dancers.… View item

Timing - a vital issue

This is a collection of six articles on the subject of timing, specifically the timing of the caller in delivering a series of figures for modern square dancers. The topic was a contentious one among… View item

Tout Le Monde en Place

After several pages to set the context, the author gives the calls in French and describes basic figures, including a lengthy description of the Quebecois swing. Hill is an orchestra leader who… View item

Square Dance in Haywood County, NC

Detailed look at western North Carolina, a region rich in square dance traditions including that of Sam Queen and the Soco Gap Square Dancers. Jamison starts his article with a look at the turn of the… View item

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

Western Square Dances at Fox Creek, Colorado (ca. 1880-1930)

Article based on conversations with Bessie Stafford from the San Luis Valley, western Colorado. "In these early days, the dances were held outside on the hard dirt, the music being supplied by… View item

A Look at Square Dancing in Colorado

"Square dancing evolved a western version probably sometime in the late 1800s when the pioneers moved to settle the states west of the Mississippi. It was a square dance form that was much… View item

Origin of Appalachian Square Dance

By ":Appalachian square dance," the author is referring to big circle or big set dances, not specifically to four-couple squares. Thurston rejects the notion that Appalachian squares did not… View item

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

Folk & Square in Manitoba and Ontario

Broad look at dance traditions in both provinces. As the article's title suggests, square dancing is discussed as are folk dances from different countries. The Ontario portion of the article… View item

Adirondack Square Dancing

The author describes her experiences traditional square dancing in the Adirondacks from 1918 to 1965, when she began modern squares. This story appeared in the final edition of Ralph Page's Northern… View item