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

Browse Items (1930 total)

Document

Kentuckiana Squares and Rounds

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Moving Image

Dick Leger - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You

Dick Leger was known as "The Man with the Guitar." This clip shows him having fun with the dancers: "I can't believe I'm doing this!" Recorded at the York Contra… View item
Moving Image

Annen Polka Quadrille

The caller is Bill Johnston, Skippack, PA, who created the dance in November, 1984. Bill wrote, "This quadrille especially written for the music "The Annen Polka" by Johann Strauss and recorded by… View item
Moving Image

Sashay Over and Back - Bob Howell

Bob Howell, caller. This clip is from his "Joy of Dancing" video, produced by the Kentucky Dance Foundation, c/o Folk Dancer Record Center, 6290 Olin Road, Brandenburg, Kentucky 40108, and… View item
Moving Image

Kentucky Running Set - demonstration

This short piece gives an idea of the speed of the so-called "running set." Two couples illustrate the southern Appalachian dosido, a series of four hand turns-- partner left, opposite… View item
Moving Image

Kentucky Running Set

Stew Shacklette provides a brief introduction, followed by instruction in several components of the dance (1:03), and concluding with all the figures danced (3:10). Excerpted from "The Kentucky… View item
Moving Image

Dick Leger - Grand Tour

Recorded at the York Contra Holiday weekend, York, PA, 1996, part of a three-tape series issued by Kentucky Dance Foundation, c/o Folk Dancer Record Center, 6290 Olin Road, Brandenburg, Kentucky… View item
Moving Image

Dick Leger - G-String

Recorded at the York Contra Holiday weekend, York, PA, 1996, part of a three-tape series issued by Kentucky Dance Foundation, c/o Folk Dancer Record Center, 6290 Olin Road, Brandenburg, Kentucky… View item
Moving Image

Paddock Parade - Don Armstrong

Recorded at the York Contra Holiday, November, 1996; Don Armstrong, caller. His instructions for the dance can be found here. (If that website is unavailable, they are also reprinted below.) From a… View item
Document

Camp Becket - child's view of square dance camp

Camp Becket in western Massachusetts was the regular venue for square dance camps. Caller Herbie Gaudreau, who named many of his dances for locations in his dance universe, created the Becket Reel.… View item
Document

Old Time Dance Calls (1919)

It's interesting that two of the early manuals describing square dancing-- not formal quadrilles-- come from Iowa, this one and the 1925 booklet by Dunlavy and Boyd (see Related Item).We'll let Tony… View item
Sound

La Grande Chaine

This recording comes from La Famille Beaudoin / The Beaudoin Family, a 1976 album on the Philo label. It features the fiddling of Louis Beaudoin with calls by Fred Beaudoin. It illustrates the… View item