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

Browse Items (1941 total)

Website

Square Dance History display panels

The panels in this set trace the history of square dancing over some 500 years, going back to early origins in England and France. They were assembled by Dick Severance, an early president of the… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance History Pageant, 1976, part 3-Dorothy Shaw

Recorded at the 25th National Square Dance Convention, Anaheim, CA. This is the third part of the square dance history pageant, which was dedicated to Mrs. Shaw, the widow of Lloyd "Pappy"… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance History Pageant, part 1 - 1976

The 25th annual National Square Dance Convention took place in 1976, the year of the United State Bicentennial Celebration. A historical pageant at the convention features a series of dances… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance History Pageant, part 2 - Cheyenne Mountain Dancers, 1976

The 25th annual National Square Dance Convention took place in 1976, the year of the United State Bicentennial Celebration. A historical pageant at the convention features a series of dances… View item
Still Image

Square Dance in advertisements

These magazine ads, mostly from the late 1940s and early 1950s, illustrate the widespread presence of square dance in American popular culture. Beech-Nut chewing gum Life April 21, 1952beer (beverage… View item
Moving Image

Square Dance in Ava, Missouri

Edna Davis is caller. The dance is Two Little Hobos, a common southern Missouri figure. View item
Document

Square Dance in Haywood County, NC

Detailed look at western North Carolina, a region rich in square dance traditions including that of Sam Queen and the Soco Gap Square Dancers. Jamison starts his article with a look at the turn of the… View item
Website

Square Dance in Japan

(Note: also available is information on the start of square dancing in Germany. Viewers may also be interested in a 2021 audio program featuring MWSD singing calls by Japanese callers, part of Buddy… View item
Document

Square Dance in Japan - organization

This piece by Masaru Wada, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japan Square Dancers Association, presents an overview of modern square dance in that country. View item
Document

Square Dance in Our Schools

Writing in 1952, the author notes that a recent survey shows that square dance is a widely accepted part of school programs. "These certainly are striking figures. But they are not surprising in… View item
Document

Square Dance in Schools

This short article explains the successful square dance program at a small public school in Fairlee, Vermont. (A side note, not mentioned in the article: Ed Durlacher was brought up from New York to… View item
Still Image

Square Dance in Tacoma, 1940–1960

A collection of seven photographs from the collection of the Tacoma (WA) Public Library. It's likely that similar collections of photographs and-- we hope!--old films exist in libraries and historical… View item