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

Browse Items (1924 total)

Sound

Yucaipa Roll Away - Carroll White

The dance was created by Ed Gilmore, who ran a hardware store in Yucaipa, CA, when he started his calling career. The dance was published in 1950 in Square Dancing: The Newer and Advanced Dances, by… View item
Document

Youth in Square Dancing

This is a thorough look at how to involve younger dancers in square dancing, prepared by Sets in Order and published in the 1960s. The handbook opens with an essay by Ralph and Zora Piper on… View item
Sound

Your Home Town - Fenton "Jonesy" Jones

A rare live recording of Jonesy calling, this time a singing square. View item
Document

Your Favorite Calls and Callers

This booklet features 30 callers, the majority of whom are from Texas. Each person is represented by a short biography, a photograph, and an example of a dance associated with them. Texas callers and… View item
Still Image

Young African Americans Square Dancing - 1952

This photo shows a square dance at the Hallie Q. Brown Center, St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1952. View item
Sound

Yellow Rose of Texas - Dad Brundage

Dad Brundage was the father of Al and Bob Brundage, each of whom became well-known modern square dance callers. In his autobiography, This Is My Square Dancing Life, Bob Brundage writes, "Then when I… View item
Moving Image

Yee Haw! A Curious Stroll Down Square Dancing’s Memory Lane

A quirky and informative movie of how square dancing has been portrayed in historical, non-theatrical motion pictures aggregated from The Internet Archive. The collection illustrates some of the ways… View item
Moving Image

Wrong Way Thar - Bob Dalsemer

Bob Dalsemer calls this figure, which he adapted from Milly Riley's self-published book Western Square Dancing based on Dorothy Shaw's syllabi of the Lloyd Shaw Dance Fellowship, 1955-1970. The… 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