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

Browse Items (1941 total)

Website

Scottish Country Dance - 4 couple squares

Most Scottish country dances are done as four-couple longways sets. There are, however, dances in square sets, and this Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary provides a brief overview of the formation. View item
Still Image

Ed Durlacher - Central Park, photos

Photographs documenting Ed Durlacher's series of dances in Central Park, New York City. These date from August, 1946. View item
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Carcassonne big set, #1

This is an excellent example of traditional southern Appalachian big set square dance, recorded by John Ramsay in Carcassonne, Kentucky, September 19, 1991. ("Big set" is the name given by outsiders;… View item
Moving Image

Carcassonne big set, #2

This is another example of traditional southern Appalachian big set square dance, recorded by John Ramsay in Carcassonne, Kentucky, September 19, 1991. With relatively few examples on our site of… View item
Moving Image

Nils Fredland - Birdie in the Cage and Seven Hands Round

Birdie in the Cage is a traditional square dance figure and a common one; a search for "birdie" on this SDHP website will bring up more than half a dozen other examples. In this version, each of the… View item
Document

Three Southwest SD records

Here is a website dedicated to Southern Colorado vinyl recordings, including several square dance: For He's a Jolly Good Fellow (Al Horn and Elmer Swartwood's Prairie Hornets)Sunshine Lollipops and… View item
Document

UCLA Leadership Conference - 1964

Photograph of participants in 1964 square dance leadership conference organized by Bob Osgood at UCLA, along with a roster of participants. Jim Mayo describes this event in his 2003 book, Step By Step… View item
Still Image

Central City dancers, 1967 & 1968

The first picture is a 1968 publicity photo taken of the square dancers, used by the Central City Opera Association to send to local newspapers:back row: Sharon _?_, Gary Schaub, Larry Wylie, caller,… View item
Document

Osa Mathews - portrait and bio

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Still Image

John Newton - Turkey Mountain Window Smashers

Photographs, band logo and other ephemera related to John Newton's bandThe first photograph shows the big family version of the Turkey Mountain Window Smashers, about 1989. Members are, L to R, John… View item
Document

Square Dance camp brochures

Lloyd Shaw's summer school in Colorado Springs started in 1941, then resumed in the years after World War II. This item includes a small collection of brochures illustrating various dance camps… View item
Document

Barn Owls square dance club

Items connected with one mid-1950s square dance club: • Program for 3rd anniversary dance, 1954, including club roster • Invitation to 5th anniversary party • invitation for regular dance •… View item