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

Browse Items (1926 total)

Sound

Trinidad Twister - Marvin Shilling

This recording by Colorado caller Marvin Shilling—the Trinidad of the title refers to the Colorado location rather than the Caribbean island—was recorded in 1953; it appeared on the Western Jubilee… View item
Sound

Hurry Hurry Hurry - Marvin Shilling, live, 1953

Jim Mayo: I believe this is the figure used by Doc Alumbaugh in the original Windsor Records recording. The method of setting up lines of four is unusual today. At the time this recording was made in… View item
Document

Advancing in Dancing  – Mary and Fred Collette

This is a lengthy syllabus describing some 400 dances, along with occasional commentary. It appears to represent a program presented by the Collettes, Ralph Page, and Don Armstrong at a Dixie Folk… View item
Document

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
Document

Reminiscences of Lloyd Shaw - Mary Jo Bradford

Mary Jo Bradford was a physical education teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when she encountered Lloyd Shaw and the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers in 1946. That summer, she traveled to Colorado Springs to study… View item
Document

Mary Jo (Bradford) Brearley - interview

Teenager Mary Jo (Bradford) Brearley and her younger brother John were the first teems to attend Lloyd Shaw's summer institute in Colorado. Her mother, also Mary Jo, was a physical education… View item
Document

Square Dance in Japan - organization

This piece by Masaru Wada, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japan Square Dancers Association, presents an overview of modern square dance in that country. View item
Sound

Wakamono Tachi - Masaru Wada

Excerpt from recording by caller Masaru Wada, with calls in English but with additional lyrics in Japanese View item
Moving Image

Eriskay Quadrilles - Scottish square

Performed to Allan MacDonald on the pipes. Ceolas Summer School, Eriskay Ceilidh, Scotland. Notice the aerial figure created by the two side couples at 5:45! View item
Website

Square Dance Videos - MWSD

Caller Matt McGovern <matt@mattmcgovern.net> has started a YouTube channel devoted to modern square dancing, including his own videos and those contributed by others. This collection offers a… View item
Document

Square-Dance Figures from Northern New York State, 1931

Maud Karpeles was a close associate of Cecil Sharp, the English folksong collector and founder of the English Folk Dance Society. While in Appalachia in 1917, Sharp and Karpeles had their first… View item
Sound

Max Forsyth - Bat the Breeze patter, 1966

View item