Square Dancing on the Eastern Short of Maryland
This is a detailed description of square dancing in the mid-1940s in the area around Salisbury, Maryland, located on the Eastern Shore, in particular dances that took place at Fruitland, four miles south of Salisbury . The author looks at many aspects of the dancing and provides a close look at the figures.
He writes, "There are two outstanding characteristics of the Eastern Shore which are apparently reflected in the square dancing of this region. The first is the low, drawling speech which is carried over into the “sing-song” quality of the square dance calls, and secondly, the leisurely tempo of living of these people is emphasized in the fiddler's slow downbeat giving the dancers time to rest between measures or insert extra dance steps as they wish. The dancing of this part of Maryland can be summed up as being rural with a Southern flavor, as one might expect of a section so close to the Virginia border. The unique style and originality of several of the figures can be attributed to the relative geographical isolation of the Del-mar-va peninsula
on which Salisbury is located."
The Related Items take you to similar detailed studies of other dance communities.
Tags: Behre, Delmarva, Eastern Short, Maryland
Item Relations
| This Item | is related to | Item: Square Dancing at Maryland Line |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Rural Square Dances in East Tennessee: A Personal Account of Visits to Four Communities |
| This Item | is related to | Item: West Virginia Square Dances by Robert G. Dalsemer |
| This Item | is related to | Item: "Dancing to the Music: Domestic Square Dances and Community in Southcentral Kentucky (1880-1940)" |
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Description
He writes, "There are two outstanding characteristics of the Eastern Shore which are apparently reflected in the square dancing of this region. The first is the low, drawling speech which is carried over into the “sing-song” quality of the square dance calls, and secondly, the leisurely tempo of living of these people is emphasized in the fiddler's slow downbeat giving the dancers time to rest between measures or insert extra dance steps as they wish. The dancing of this part of Maryland can be summed up as being rural with a Southern flavor, as one might expect of a section so close to the Virginia border. The unique style and originality of several of the figures can be attributed to the relative geographical isolation of the Del-mar-va peninsula
on which Salisbury is located."
The Related Items take you to similar detailed studies of other dance communities.