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

Browse Items (1940 total)

Website

"Barn Dances with Calls"

Article published in The Old-Time Herald (Volume 7, Number 8) discussing what can be learned from a careful study of old dance records. Includes a discography. View item
Website

Amish Barn Dance

Article from Pennsylvania Folklife (winter 1962-63) describing how a traditional community with no electricity hosts events with large crowds: "The most disturbing technical problem that faces the… View item
Sound

Docey-Doe Hoedown - Lloyd Shaw

A YouTube site that plays Lloyd Shaw calling from his Cowboy Dances album View item
Website

Calendar - Traditional and Old-Time Square Dances

This calendar is a subsection of a detailed and well-maintained website that lists dances around the country. View item
Document

Allemande Alphabet

Allan Brozek, Oxford, CT: "Charles Crabbe Thomas, from Woodbury, NJ, was the publisher of American Squares during the magazine's early years. Most likely, some of these alphabet calls were made up by… View item
Website

"Play Me Something Quick and Devilish"

Bob Holt (1930–2004) was a respected Missouri dance fiddler, a 1999 recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship. He is featured on several videotapes of Ozark style dancing in this website's… View item
Website

Set Running - Cecil Sharp in America

The name "running set" comes to us from the work of the great English song collector Cecil Sharp, founder of the English Folk Dance Society and, in 1915, what became Country Dance and Song Society.… View item
Moving Image

Set Running - Berea Country Dancers

In a voiceover at the start of the clip, the group's director, John Ramsay, speaks about the history of the dance and share some of his philosophy about dance bringing people together.Other "set… View item
Moving Image

Vic Ceder - MWSD patter tip with all dance programs

Called by Vic Ceder at the Fall Berkshires C4 Weekend in Lenox, MA on Oct. 22, 2011. A group of volunteer dancers returned from their lunch early to dance a special tip in which each sequence was from… View item
Moving Image

Challenge Square Dancing - C4

This half-hour video was shot at the Fall Berkshires C4 Weekend in Lenox, MA on October 22, 2011. It contains dance sequences and interviews with avid C4 dancers who describe the more complicated… View item
Website

Stan Winchester - C4 Singing Squares

Stan Winchester was a MWSD dancer who created a large body of singing squares for the C4 community. These dancers sometimes share a series of recorded audiotapes with prerecorded calls, and Winchester… View item
Still Image

Lake of the Ozarks (photo)

Photograph of the square dance team, caller, and musicians. Click here to see a video clip of this exciting dance group in action, performing on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. View item