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

Browse Items (1864 total)

Document

How Do They Swing?

A brief look at styles of swinging, c. 1954 View item
Document

The Dos-a-Dos

The author looks starts by examining the pronunciation and different spellings of this figure. He then explores variations, all of which involve a handhold: Southern Highland or Mountaineer… View item
Sound

Convention Time in Texas

Tis recording, S.I.O.-DAL 1954, was released by Sets in Order to celebrate the 3rd annual National Square Dance Convention, held in Dallas, TX, April 8–10, 1954. Set to the tune of Roundup Time in… View item
Still Image

Silver Spurs publicity poster

The poster is from a 1962 performance of the Silver Spurs (Spokane, WA) in Victoria, British Columbia. It illustrates the many varieties of dance presented by the youth group, dances that are still… View item
Website

Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Association

The Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Association was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1954 by a group of callers interested in preserving, and promoting the traditional Canadian style of square… View item
Document

Four dances from Gaspé

This is a detailed description in French of the four dances documented in the Grand Chain - Grande Chaîne video. It was created by Hélène Gaulin, the caller in the video. View item
Website

Grand Chain - Grande Chaîne

Note: The link will take you to the home page featuring a documentary by Guy Bouchard about "Traditional music and dances from the tip of the Gaspé peninsula." Interested viewers can stream the… View item
Document

Les Gotcher's Text Book for Square Dance Callers

One of the leading callers in promoting the use of sight calling, Les Gotcher went his own way as modern square dance developed. Frequently described as "The Hash Master," Gotcher went his own way in… View item
Document

Round Robin correspondence

Long before the internet, a group of a dozen or so square dance callers around the country exchanged ideas through a series of Round Robin letters. (Note: the Square Dance History Project would dearly… View item
Document

Cape Breton Dance Halls

This undergraduate thesis looks at the dance halls of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Traditional music and dance plays an important role in the life of the communities there, and the dance halls function… View item
Document

Ballroom & the Barn: Dr. Lloyd Shaw, Dean Edwards & the Western Square Dance Revival in Colorado Springs

This article presents a look at square dancing in Colorado Springs from the perspective of Dean Edwards; it appears that the author adopted his views about Lloyd Shaw and to some extent misrepresented… View item
Still Image

Les Gotcher - photo and autograph

Unlike the other photos of Gotcher (see Related Items), this one captures the high energy of his calling. View item