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

Browse Items (185 total)

  • Subject is exactly "Modern square dance - general"
Moving Image

1976 NSDC - highlights

The National Square Dance Convention in 1976, the US Bicentennial year, was the largest in the history of that event. The convention took place in Anaheim, California, and included a historical… View item
Document

5 Steps to Better Dancing

The "5 Steps" of the title can be taken literally; this tiny handout, illustrated with stick figures, is all about how to move on the dance floor: 1. Keep both feet on the floor,… View item
Website

50 Years of Square Dancing in Germany

The first square dance was held in Bremen on July 16, 1949, called by Paul Hartman and attended by five squares, mostly American servicemen and their guests. The event was a success and Hartman began… View item
Document

A Brief History of "Hash"

This is a chapter from Instant Hash that appeared in American Squares magazine. Litman and Holden define hash as "a mixture of figures which come one after another so quickly that often there is no… View item
Moving Image

A Past To Remember - NSDC 1976

This half-hour video documents the 1976 National Square Dance Convention, held in Anaheim, CA. It was the largest NSDC in history, coming at the time of the Bicentennial. It included an elaborate… View item
Document

A Square Dance Pioneer: Jimmy Clossin

This summary of an interview with Jimmy Clossin by Miriam Gray appeared in 1960. More than 50 years later, it is impressive the ways in which he anticipated the challenges facing the square dance… View item
Document

ABC's of Square Dancing

This informal guide to square dancing is aimed at beginners, an easy-to-ready pamphlet that a caller could distribute to dancers in a class. It strikes a friendly tone: --- So you wanta'… View item
Document

Allemande Alphabet

Allan Brozek, Oxford, CT: "Charles Crabbe Thomas, from Woodbury, NJ, was the publisher of American Squares during the magazine's early years. Most likely, some of these alphabet calls were made up by… View item
Document

Allemande Alphabet

This look at the "allemande alphabet" is by Dick Pasvolsky, writing in The American Dance Circle, quarterly publication of the Lloyd Shaw Foundation. A concise listing of the figures can be found… View item
Document

American Square Dancing - 1976 NSDC historical pageant

This is the program, prepared by Cal Campbell, that accompanied the square dance historical pageant at the 1976 National Square Dance Convention in Anaheim, CA. See the next item in the SDHP… View item
Moving Image

Andy Allemao - Hexagon Squares

The video shows Andy Allemao calling and explaining Hexagon Squares at the California State Square Dance Convention. April 8-10, 2011 in Balboa Park, San Diego. If you've never seen this you will… View item
Moving Image

Another Square Dance Caller - Jim Mayo

Jim Mayo calling a dance created by Marshall Flippo and released on Chaparral 710. Recorded Memorial Day weekend, 1993, by Tim Stanger at the Papoose Pond square dance weekend, N. Waterford, Maine. View item