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

Browse Items (1929 total)

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Bob Dalsemer – Contra and square dance writer and caller

Bob Dalsemer is an internationally-known square dance and contra dance caller and writer. Bob called dances for more than five decades in 33 states, Canada, the Czech Republic, Britain, Belgium,… View item
Document

Song of the HIGH-LEVEL Dancer - poem

The push for "high level dancing" appeared in the 1950s as square dancing took off. Some dancers wanted ever-more-challenging programs and they were often reluctant to dance with less-skilled dancers.… View item
Document

High Level Dancing – One Man's Opinion

Technical Note: If this item does not display, click on the download arrow at the top of the screen to get a copy on your computer.In the mid-1950s, twenty years before the formation of CALLERLAB,… View item
Website

Seated Square Dance Resources

Massachusetts caller Fred Wersan has compiled a comprehensive list of square dance figures adapted for seated dancers.On his website Fred says, " I learned about sitting square dances from Rick Hill… View item
Website

Appalachian Square Dance Callers Making the Scene More Welcoming

This radio story (and transcription) originally aired November 26, 2023 as a part of Inside Appalachia by West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The story highlights one group of callers and musicians in… View item
Document

Saturday Night Fun with Square Dances

This collection of dances aims to present a typical evening program at Holiday Hill in Ohio. Rather than a series of dances representing a particular region or a collection with challenging square… View item
Document

Your Favorite Calls and Callers

This booklet features 30 callers, the majority of whom are from Texas. Each person is represented by a short biography, a photograph, and an example of a dance associated with them. Texas callers and… View item
Sound

Hotshot Callers - Joe Lewis

In this recording, Joe Lewis highlights the plight of an average square dancer who just wants to go out for an evening of fun. Instead, he's confronted by a hotshot caller using all manner of… View item
Document

Square Dancing Is NOT Out of This World

This is the text of a presentation by Joe Lewis at the 1959 National Square Dance Convention, part of a discussion of the future of square dancing.Lewis points out that the majority of dancers at the… View item
Document

National Square Dance Convention - 1959 Who's Who

This excerpt from the program of the 1959 National Square Dance Convention lists the better-known presenters at the event. As such, it's a useful snapshot of who was respected enough at that time… View item
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National Square Dance Convention attendance

The National Square Dance Convention has been held annually since 1952, with the exception of 2020 (the Covid year). Attendance rose steadily over the early years as club square dancing became… View item
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West Newbury, VT - square dance competition

This is a newspaper account (and acccompanying poem) describing the 1941 success of a team from West Newbury, Vermont, in a dance competition. We often think of square dance contests in Texas, but… View item