About the Square Dance History Project
Square dancing has been an integral part of American social life for centuries. Traditional square dance was vital for generations of Americans, especially in rural communities; in the post-World War II era, modern square dance similarly enjoyed participants numbering in the millions.
Despite its popularity, the history of square dance has not been well documented. Scores of books explain specific figures and calls, but there are few current sources that offer a detailed discussion of the development of this form of American social dance. We hope this site helps to fill that need.
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Cape Breton Caller Interviews
Jørn Borggreen is author ofRight to the Helm, a detailed study of Cape Breton square sets as observed in 14 communities. The book, now in its 4th edition, provides documentation of the figures for… View itemSound
Cumberland Square Dance - Frank Kaltman
Editor's note: We have classified this as Northern / New England but in reality the dance is a traditional English square.Tony Parkes comments: The dance is Cumberland Square. The caller is Frank… View itemDocument
Bill McAdoo - notes on the recordings
These are Bob Dalsemer's notes about the Bill McAdoo field recordings in the Related Item. In addition to transcriptions of McAdoo's calls, Dalsemer notes variations in the dances, describes… View itemSound
Bill McAdoo – Independence, PA – 1979
These are recordings of caller Bill McAdoo at the Independence, PA dance in 1979. Bob Dalsemer writes, "Most are from 4/21/1979 and a few from 9/8/1979. I always thought Bill was one of the best of… View itemWebsite
Ed Thrall and the Story of His Most Contentious Hall
Thrall Hall in East Windsor is a lot of things. By most accounts, it's a fascinating example of vernacular or folk architecture, a 70' x 100' facility with a floor resting on tires that could be… View itemDocument
Three Styles of Squares - 1951
This 1951 article describes a large and successful square dance festival in Chicago. View itemWebsite
Caller Hesse Reese - live recording, 1985
Caller, musician, and collector Larry Edelman describes this as "a 2.5 hour audio file that I recorded of Hesse Reese, an auctioneer and square dance caller at an evening square dance on October 11,… View itemDocument
Revival of American Square and Country Dancing - 1949
This article documents the change on American dance floors in Michigan state in the late 1940s, where, in the author's words, "croonersare replaced bycallers." She cites the work of Grace Ryan in… View itemDocument
Jack Arehart's calling booklet
Esther and Jack Arehart were the proprietors of Arehart's 1000 Acres, a "Ranch Resort" (aka Dude Ranch) in the Adirondacks region of northern New York state. The resort ("famous… View itemStill Image
Vermont square dancers, 1950s - children
This collection of photographs from the 1950s shows children dancing, mostly at the large square dance festivals held in Northfield or Montpelier, Vermont. View itemDocument
Lloyd Shaw Christmas Letter
Lloyd and Dorothy Shaw sent out a post-Christmas letter to members of their "Square Dance Fellowship," participants in the summer institutes and others whom they met. The poetic language… View itemDocument