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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Larry Edelman Collection - 78 rpm recordings

This large collection (1,358 items) of 78 rpm records is comprised mostly of square dance calling and music, and couples dancing music. It is an extensive assortment of recordings, all of which have… View item
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Larry Edelman calls a Square Dance by Bernie Chalk

Larry Edelman comments: "I believe I first saw it called by Paul Tyler in 1983 and he attributed it to Bernie Chalk. Years later, when Bernie was staying with me on one of his annual trips to the US I… View item
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Larry Edelman 4: Influences on a Dance Series

What are some of the influences that affect a traditional community dance? Larry bases his comments on his research in southwestern Pennsylvania, a region that has been influenced by both southern… View item
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Larry Edelman 3: Grange Hall Dances & Fire Hall Dances

Larry Edelman discusses the difference between two different traditional dance venues, based on his research in small town dances in southwestern Pennsylvania. View item
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Larry Edelman 2: Links in a Chain

Larry Edelman discusses his experiences studying traditional dances in southwestern Pennsylvania; in particular, he ended up studying with caller Jerry Goodwin. Larry began to appreciate how dancers… View item
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Larry Edelman 1: Social Context of Square Dancing

What role does an evening of dancing play in the lives of the people who live in that community? Caller Larry Edelman discusses the social context in which the dancing takes place in traditional dance… View item
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Larry Edelman - square thru variations

Larry Edelman writes, "It’s a drill that I picked up from an issue of SIO, probably from 1959 or so. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t note which issue or year. If it had an author attributed to it, I… View item
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Larry Edelman - roots of early modern square dance

At a 1992 workshop in Denmark, caller and dance historian Larry Edelman explains influences that created the early forms of modern square dance in the years after WW II. Callers drew on figures from… View item
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Larry Edelman - Dances of Jerry Goodwin workshop sampler

Larry Edelman led a workshop session on dances he learned from the calling of Jerry Goodwin, originally from West Virginia but living and calling in western Pennsylvania when Larry studied with him in… View item
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Lancers, 5th figure - Wayside Inn, 1932

This home movie is one of eight reels filmed in the 1930s at the Wayside Inn, Sudbury, MA. (More information about these films is available here.) The Inn at the time was owned by Henry Ford. Ford had… View item
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Lancers, 5th figure

The music for this group of dancers is by Spare Parts, from their compact disc, The Civil War Ballroom. View item