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

Browse Items (99 total)

  • Subject is exactly "Modern Western 1960 - 1974"
Still Image

Radio spots music

This is a record with music of the right length for producing radio spots. See the related item for three examples. View item
Sound

Square Dance Radio Spots

These are three radio ads that promote "modern American square dance." Each features a different well-known caller at the time: Don Armstrong Arnie Kronenberger Al Brundage They were created… View item
Sound

Classic Dances of 1960

This recording comes from the 2001 CALLERLAB convention. (The audio recording is alsoavailable online here.)Jim Mayo, the CALLERLAB President at that time, was the MC, and he explains the start of the… View item
Document

Progressive Squares - introduction

This article from the Experimental Lab of Sets in Order magazine documents the introduction of progressive squares by Ed Gilmore. The article explains that he "developed an unusual collection of calls… View item
Document

Classic Squares of 1960 - CALLERLAB demonstration

This is the handout of a workshop held at CALLERLAB's 2001 convention. The goal was to illustrate square dancing in 1960, a time when modern square dancing was branching off in new directions. This… View item
Website

Square Dance Callers’ Association of Northern California

This website offers a brief history of the SDCANC, including a list of past presidents, a selection of older photographs, and information about the founding of the group in 1949. View item
Still Image

Double Tea-Cup Chain

The photograph of eight couples dancing a double star as part of the double teacup chain figures is from the March, 1953, issue of Bow & Swing, "The Magazine of Square Dancing in Florida." View item
Sound

Fundamentals of Square Dancing

Bob Ruff and Jack Murtha collaborated on a detailed program of teaching square dancing using a series of recordings. The clips in this item are taken from their Instructional Series, Levels 1-3, plus… View item
Document

Square Dancing Standard and Experimental Guidelines

A flood of new calls in the early 1970s led a group called Square Dance Systems to publish a catalogue of calls, an attempt to bring order to an increasingly-complex universe of new figures. Square… View item
Document

New Call Problems in the Mid 1970s

This is an excerpt from the book Step by Step Through Modern Square Dance History by Jim Mayo. It describes the situation that had been created by a flood of new calls in the mid 1970’s. Related… View item
Sound

Pussy Cat -Red Bates - 1973

The 1973 singing call, Pussy Cat, Windsor Records #4173, was recorded by Bruce Johnson; it is one that became a Red Bates trademark. The figure was difficult in a unique way. The challenge was the… View item
Sound

Red Bates, 1973 Patter

Our 1973 clip is from a dance at the Longmeadow, MA, square dance club a short distance from where Red lived at that time. He starts with a Scoot Back and Circulate combination and in the second half… View item