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

Browse Items (13 total)

  • Tags: history
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How Squares Evolved – Tony Parkes

Dance caller and historian Tony Parkes leads a workshop on how square dancing changed from traditional forms to modern squares as found in MWSD clubs. He starts by looking at "swoopies," circular… View item
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Square Dance - panel discussion

The consultants for the Square Dance History Project look at different aspects of square dance history. Participants include David Millstone, Tony Parkes, Phil Jamison, Bob Dalsemer, Jim Mayo, Larry… View item
Website

Square Dance History display panels

The panels in this set trace the history of square dancing over some 500 years, going back to early origins in England and France. They were assembled by Dick Severance, an early president of the… View item
Document

"Social Dancing in America" - Rod LaFarge

This lengthy history of social dance was written by Rod LaFarge and appeared over three years in American Squares magazine. LaFarge begins with a short look at English country dance, moves to dancing… View item
Website

An Invitation To Dance: A History of Social Dance in America

This online exhibit on the history of social dance in America draws on documents in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society to offer a multi-faceted portrait of the changing nature of… View item
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Frontier Dances - Bob Cook

A native of Colorado, Bob Cook's dancing experiences go back to the time when he was a seventh grader at the Cheyenne Mountain School. He was a member of the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers from 1939 to… View item
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History of Square Dancing - Ralph Page

Between 1972 and 1974, Ralph Page wrote a series of essays entitled A History of Square Dancing. For ease in downloading, we have collected them into "chapters" that group together similar topics.… View item
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The History of Square-Dancing - S. Foster Damon

The History of Square Dancing, published by S. Foster Damon in 1957, is one of the few books that presents a broad picture of the subject. The book was a reprint of his 1952 article published in the… 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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MWSD - The First Ten Years

This article by Jim Mayo looks at the first ten years of what is usually called Modern Western Square Dancing. Jim traces the development of the activity in detail, citing specific callers and their… View item
Website

Heiner Fischle's website

Heiner Fischle is a German caller, choreographer, and organizer. He has compiled a detailed website including some material of general interest. View item
Website

Square Dance Resources - CDSS website

A rich, detailed, extensive collection of resources assembled by caller Nils Fredland and hosted on the website of Country Dance and Song Society. In some ways, the website mirrors this site in… View item