Square Dances and Fiddle Tunes of New England
Most of the dances in the collection are contras, with six squares:
The author goes to some length in the introduction to explain her use of "square dance" in the title:
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In introducing these country dances under the common or garden name of "square dances", we recognize that general usage is forcing the acceptance of the name of only one kind of country dance to designate the entire group. The term, Country Dance, has been persistently avoided (except by the meticulous) since it connotes to the average person a musty, stilted, and unattractive form of recreation indulged in and suited for those who gather in selected groups like "summer residents" who must be taught what their grandfathers knew as a matter of course.The term, Barn Dance, though in good repute throughout the coastal and central areas of the Northeast is fast being supplanted by the name, Square Dance, because to one and all it seems to carry in its very sound the joy and lively pleasure which characterize the tunes and steps of this kind of dancing. Therefore, although we admit the term Country Dance, as correct classification for this collection, we concede the title, Square Dance, to those who keep alive the tradition, the dancers themselves. In all the years of wrestling with the stern realities of his life, the country dances have been the one consistent instance wherein the Yankee has shown complete abandonment to pleasure. Today he "sashays" along the same path of joy that his grandfather knew.
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Subjects: Northern / New England
Tags: Eloise Hubbard Linscott, New England
Citation
Dublin Core
Title
Subject
Description
Most of the dances in the collection are contras, with six squares:
The author goes to some length in the introduction to explain her use of "square dance" in the title:
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In introducing these country dances under the common or garden name of "square dances", we recognize that general usage is forcing the acceptance of the name of only one kind of country dance to designate the entire group. The term, Country Dance, has been persistently avoided (except by the meticulous) since it connotes to the average person a musty, stilted, and unattractive form of recreation indulged in and suited for those who gather in selected groups like "summer residents" who must be taught what their grandfathers knew as a matter of course.The term, Barn Dance, though in good repute throughout the coastal and central areas of the Northeast is fast being supplanted by the name, Square Dance, because to one and all it seems to carry in its very sound the joy and lively pleasure which characterize the tunes and steps of this kind of dancing. Therefore, although we admit the term Country Dance, as correct classification for this collection, we concede the title, Square Dance, to those who keep alive the tradition, the dancers themselves. In all the years of wrestling with the stern realities of his life, the country dances have been the one consistent instance wherein the Yankee has shown complete abandonment to pleasure. Today he "sashays" along the same path of joy that his grandfather knew.
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