Swamp Country Dance
Creator: H.H. "Dee" Harris (1958)
This is a first-person account of attending a country dance in Georgia in the mid-1950s. The author describes the big circle formation in detail:
"A single dance would go like this; The orchestra would give a fanfare, the couples would quickly assemble on the floor in one big circle with the Caller at the head of the circle, his back to the orchestra. When all were on the floor in position the Caller would quickly walk around the circle pointing to each couple in turn saying "You go” and to the next "You stay” thus you knew if you were a visiting couple or a home couple."
Collection: Southern Appalachian
Subjects: Southern / Appalachian / Big sets
Tags: big circle, big set, H.H. Harris
Subjects: Southern / Appalachian / Big sets
Tags: big circle, big set, H.H. Harris
Item Relations
| This Item | is related to | Item: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Old Time Square Dancing on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Elizabeth Burchenal 3 - big set demo |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Carcassonne big set, #1 |
Citation
H.H. "Dee" Harris, “Swamp Country Dance,” Square Dance History Project, accessed February 23, 2025, https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/1489.
Dublin Core
Title
Swamp Country Dance
Description
This is a first-person account of attending a country dance in Georgia in the mid-1950s. The author describes the big circle formation in detail:
"A single dance would go like this; The orchestra would give a fanfare, the couples would quickly assemble on the floor in one big circle with the Caller at the head of the circle, his back to the orchestra. When all were on the floor in position the Caller would quickly walk around the circle pointing to each couple in turn saying "You go” and to the next "You stay” thus you knew if you were a visiting couple or a home couple."
"A single dance would go like this; The orchestra would give a fanfare, the couples would quickly assemble on the floor in one big circle with the Caller at the head of the circle, his back to the orchestra. When all were on the floor in position the Caller would quickly walk around the circle pointing to each couple in turn saying "You go” and to the next "You stay” thus you knew if you were a visiting couple or a home couple."
Creator
Source
American Squares, January 1958
Date Created
1958