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

Browse Items (1933 total)

Sound

Shoot the Owl (clip) - Hollis Johnson

Hollis Johnson (1897–1996) was born in Eastland County, Texas. This dance figure was introduced decades later by Sandy Bradley and appears on her "Potluck & Dance Tonite" album. View item
Document

Old-Time Revival: Traditional Appalachian Square Dancing Slowly Refinds its Footing in Knoxville

Reprinted by permission of Metro Pulse and Holly Haworth, © 2013 This well-written and lengthy article (available as a PDF through the link above or in an archived version of the original website… View item
Document

Square Dancing Is Fun, But--Teach An Easy One First! (1940 article)

Article from 1940 promoting the virtues of square dancing and pointing out the necessity of teaching simple dances first. The author suggests: "The art of imitation must be used in teaching… View item
Document

Square High-Lights  (Ohio)

View item
Document

Fiddle and Squares (WI)

View item
Still Image

Square Acres - square dance barn

This set of photos documents the construction of Howard Hogue's large square dance barn in E. Bridgewater, MA. It was one of the first and certainly the most active of the commercial square dance… View item
Document

Origin of Appalachian Square Dance

By ":Appalachian square dance," the author is referring to big circle or big set dances, not specifically to four-couple squares. Thurston rejects the notion that Appalachian squares did not… 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
Website

Ontario Traditional Music Library - Dance

Ian Bell's collection of recordings and written music, all pertaining to traditional Canadian dance and song.In Bell's words: Since the late 1970s I have been seeking out, learning, performing and… View item
Document

Texas Square Dance Contests

These are a series of newspaper clippings made by J. Olcutt Sanders, documenting Texas square dance competitions. (Unfortunately, most of them are undated.) We assume that these are from Fort Worth;… View item
Website

Kentucky Square Dances

An early (1928) collection of figures collected "from callers in Kentucky who are familiar with the old square dances as they are danced in the Kentucky Mountains and elsewhere in the state."This is… View item
Sound

MacNamara's Band - Irene Hewitt

Irene Hewitt was an Australia caller, here doing a well-known singing square. View item