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

Browse Items (1941 total)

Sound

Gib Gilbert - Colorado caller

We're fortunate to have these live recordings from a 1979 dance called by Gib Gilbert with Yankee Ingenuity. In his introduction to the Boston area crowd, Tony Parkes comments, "All I'm going to say… View item
Sound

Forward 6, Fall Back 8

Colorado caller Gib Gilbert calls a traditional western square dance for a New England audience. Caller Bill Litchman comments, "He took his calling style directly from his father and Marvin Shilling.… View item
Moving Image

Newfoundland Square Dance - Fogo Island

Traditional Newfoundland square dancing in the early 1990's. Tunes played on the accordion are: Off She Goes, Mussels in the Corner, and Rode up in a Dory. The dances are performed by many of the… View item
Sound

Lady Round the Lady - George Wade

Played by George Wade and his Cornhuskers. The tune is Lord Saltoun's Reel. You'll note that the introduction to Wade dance recordings is longer than many others. View item
Sound

Darling Nellie Gray (clip) - George Wade

Notice the tempo of this version! View item
Document

Square Dancing in the Park

Short article describing the start of Ed Durlacher's program of teaching square dancing in Riverside Park in New York City. The Additional File ("Youth and the Squares") will provide a… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance - Ary, KY - 1963 (4 cpl square)

see previous item A search for "Grapevine Twist" in this project's digital collection will return references, audio clips, and video clips showing that figure, including Elizabeth Burchenal's silent… View item
Moving Image

Square dance - Ary, KY - 1963 (big set)

The caller is Corbett Grigsby, with music provided by fiddler Marion Sumner and guitarists Martin Young and Roscoe Holcomb. Grigsby introduces the figure as "around behind, lady in the lead."This… View item
Moving Image

Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane - George Hodgson

The song was written by William Shakespeare Hays in 1875, and George Hodgson is the caller for the singing square, recorded January 16, 2004, at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, Durham, NH. The… View item
Document

George Greene - Lloyd Shaw letters

This is correspondence between St. Louis dance organizer George Greene and Lloyd Shaw, setting up a 1952 visit by Shaw to the area. Note that Shaw indicates (p. 3) that he will come for expenses and… View item
Document

Clayton Eighters - guidelines

Toward the start of the square dance boom in the St. Louis area, there were three clubs that sponsored Lloyd Shaw's visit: The Lancers, Boots and Belles, and The Promenaders. However, at the same… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance - George Balanchine ballet

This video documents the marriage of square dance with ballet. According to the George Balachine Trust's website: "InSquare Dance, Balanchine joined the traditions of American folk dance with… View item