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

Browse Items (218 total)

  • Subject is exactly "Transitional/Western 1950s"
Moving Image

Box the Gnat - Bill Litchman

Bill Litchman calls at the Dare To Be Square weekend held November 18-20, 2011, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. Musicians are Steve Hickman and Claudio Buchwald, fiddles; Jim… View item
Website

"Square Dance in the 1950s Rural West: An Oral History"

Interviews with two older dancers in the author's family. One describes dancing in Garden Valley, Idaho, including stories of all-night dancing in the middle of the road in mid-winter, a literal… View item
Still Image

"Square Dancing" film publicity

These are two items used to promote the Square Dancing film created by Bob Osgood and his Sets in Order team. The first is a full-page announcement that appeared in Sets in Order, June 1952; the other… View item
Website

Arizona Square Dance - 1954

This item contains images of Phoenix college students square dancing outside of the Arizona Star at Western Saddle Club on October 28, 1954 in Phoenix, Arizona. The link takes you to the nine photos… View item
Document

Advancing in Dancing  – Mary and Fred Collette

This is a lengthy syllabus describing some 400 dances, along with occasional commentary. It appears to represent a program presented by the Collettes, Ralph Page, and Don Armstrong at a Dixie Folk… View item
Document

American Squares Summer School, 1

American Squares magazine sponsored a series of summer dance camps for eager square dancers. Faculty included Jimmy Clossin, Ralph Piper, Charley Thomas, Fred and Mary Collette, and Luke… View item
Document

American Squares Summer School, 2

More material from the American Squares summer camps: • A report on the 1950 camps • A roster of participants from the 1950 Minnesota camp • Diploma awarded to a camper View item
Website

Balance & Swing (TX)

This magazine was edited and published in Dallas by Swede Soderberg and Jim White. (Dallas hosted the National Square Dance Convention in 1954; see the exhibit on this site for detailed information… View item
Document

Dancing Among the Stars

In Chapter 6 of his autobiography, Dancing Among the Stars, caller Les Gotcher shares his perspective on what he saw as a series of attacks on him, orchestrated by Lloyd Shaw and assisted by members… View item
Website

Sets in Order yearbooks

Bob Osgood published in 1954 a Five Year Book that printed every dance that had been published in Sets in Order in the first five years. In 1956 he issued the first Yearbook that included everything… View item
Still Image

Some Practical Considerations

This short essay was part of Square and Round Dance, Calls and Explanations, a bookled created by MacGregor Records and distributed along with some of the albums of square dance recordings. We've been… View item
Document

Square Dance Workbooks 1, 2, and 3 - Don Armstrong

These are three books of square dance calls published by Don Armstrong, starting in 1956. As such, they give a good sense of the repertoire at that time. View item