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

Browse Items (1933 total)

Website

Floyd Woodhull

Website from upstate New York detailing life and musical career of Floyd (Woody) Woodhull, square dance caller, accordion player and band leader. Also includes a discography. View item
Still Image

Les Gotcher - photo

Gotcher was a recipient of the Milestone award from CALLERLAB, with this biographical information. View item
Sound

Wheel and Deal (clip) - Les Gotcher

excerpt from a live recording in the early 1960s View item
Document

Les Gotcher - Square Dancin'

Published in 1950, the book contains directions to 100 dances, as well as photographs illustrating basic moves for beginners. Among those are Do-Ci-Do, Docey, Do-Sa-Do, and Do-Paso. (see the Contents… View item
Sound

Do Paso What (clip) - Les Gotcher

sample of Les Gotcher's calling style, in this case building a dance from a break sequence Black Mountain 128 View item
Sound

Star the Ring (clip) - Ralph Page

Recorded by the Ralph Page Trio, to the tune of Girl I Left Behind Me (Disc 364) View item
Sound

Lady Round Two, Gent Cut Through (clip) - Arkie Woodchopper

Arkansas "Arkie" Woodchopper was the stage name and persona adopted by Luther Ossenbrink. He was a star of the WLS National Barn Dance show, and he recorded more than three dozen sides between 1929… View item
Sound

Chase that Rabbit - Roy Rogers

Born in 1911 in Cincinnati, Leonard Sly started calling square dances when he was 12 years old. He moved with his family to California in 1930, traveled extensively as a musician, worked for a year as… View item
Website

Viola "Mom" Ruth - Peek a Boo Waltz Quadrille

"Now you waltz down the center and there you divide Lady to the right, gent the other side Honor your partner and then make a trade Swing on the corner to a waltz promenade" Digitized from a live… View item
Website

Square Dances Without Calls

Square Dances Without Calls is a channel on the Internet Archive devoted to older recordings that were made for square dancing. The collection pays particular attention to records from the Southwest.… View item
Website

Schroeder's Playboys

Schroeder's Playboys - An Appreciationby Tony Parkes, August 2012If I could be transported back to the 1950s and had my choice of any one square dance band to hear and/or dance to live, it might well… View item
Website

Duke Miller website

Duke Miller was a square dance caller (and a wrestling coach) in Gloversville, NY, and later became a popular caller for summertime dances in the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire. His… View item