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

Browse Items (1926 total)

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Jim Mayo - CALLERLAB history

In a presentation from a CALLERLAB History / Heritage / Tradition session in 2005, Jim Mayo recounts some of the events that led up to the founding of that organization in 1974. He discusses how… View item
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The Beginnings of Modern Square Dancing - Jim Mayo

Article by Jim Mayo looking at the transition from traditional to modern square dancing, a short version of the ideas presented at length in his book. View item
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Jim Mayo - "Little Black Book"

This is caller Jim Mayo's book of dances, dating from the 1950s and into the 1960s. It's a good example of a serious caller's repertoire during this period.For comparison with another well-known New… View item
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Class Notes - Jim Mayo, 1963

Unlike traditional square dance, modern SD is based on a series of classes that teach the basic figures. As the activity has increased its vocabulary of figures, the number of suggested classes has… View item
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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
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Ralph Page - 1980 Milestone Award

Photograph taken at the event and text of the presentation made by Jim Mayo to Ralph Page. Page was no fan of modern square dancing; indeed many of his editorials in Northern Junket argued against… View item
Website

Round Dance history - the early years

Round dancing refers to choreographed couple dances, prompted by a cuer and found as part of most regular programs of modern square dancing, interspersed with the patter calls and singing squares.… View item
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Modern Square Dance History - Jim Mayo

This summary of developments and trends in modern square dance was written by Jim Mayo. This illustrated version appeared inBehind the Mic, a square dance journal from Australia. View item
Moving Image

Show Me the Way To Go Home - Jim Mayo, Joe Casey, Johnny Wedge

The callers are Jim Mayo, Joe Casey, and Johnny Wedge; videotaped October 27, 2010, at East Hill Farm, Troy, NH View item
Sound

Wreck of the Old '97 - Jim Munyon

Jim Munyon was a popular caller in southern California in the early 1950s. Indeed, he was one of the callers at the famous (and enormous) 1950 square dance in Santa Monica with Lloyd Shaw as the MC.… View item
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John Brown's Body (clip) - Jim Vickers-Willis

Live recording of the popular Australian caller who spearheaded a huge surge of interest there in American square dance in the 1950s. See additional newsreel footage and references on this website. View item
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I Wanna Say Hello - Jim Vickers-Willis

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