Kindle Wakes - English square dance scene
This is an excerpt from a 1952 British drama film, attesting to the popularity of square dancing in England at that time. Here, a large group of dancers follow the calls while the orchestra plays Turkey in the Straw.
Princes Elizabeth (soon to become Queen Elizabeth) was photographed while square dancing on a trip to Canada in 1951 and the English fell in love with this form of dance. The English Folk Dance Society in the post-WWII era was already making a shift away from emphasizing the Playford dances of the 17th century, instead encouraging clubs and callers to feature the lively village dances of England as well as American squares. Elizabeth's experience only accentuated that transition. The large crowd seen here in the movie mirrors the large crowds that were flocking to square dance events in the US at the time, as seen in the enormous 1950 Santa Monica square dance.
Square dancing in England was also boosted by the arrival of California caller Mildred Buhler, who moved there in the early 1950s and became the "original patron" of the British Association of American Square Dancing Clubs, which formed in 1953.
Tags: England
Item Relations
| This Item | is related to | Item: Reach for the Stars - British callers |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Santa Monica 1950 - World's Largest Square Dance |
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This is an excerpt from a 1952 British drama film, attesting to the popularity of square dancing in England at that time. Here, a large group of dancers follow the calls while the orchestra plays Turkey in the Straw.
Princes Elizabeth (soon to become Queen Elizabeth) was photographed while square dancing on a trip to Canada in 1951 and the English fell in love with this form of dance. The English Folk Dance Society in the post-WWII era was already making a shift away from emphasizing the Playford dances of the 17th century, instead encouraging clubs and callers to feature the lively village dances of England as well as American squares. Elizabeth's experience only accentuated that transition. The large crowd seen here in the movie mirrors the large crowds that were flocking to square dance events in the US at the time, as seen in the enormous 1950 Santa Monica square dance.
Square dancing in England was also boosted by the arrival of California caller Mildred Buhler, who moved there in the early 1950s and became the "original patron" of the British Association of American Square Dancing Clubs, which formed in 1953.