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

Browse Items (341 total)

  • Collection: Northern squares
Document

Ted Sannella - 1992 interview transcription

This lightly edited transcription of the interview appeared in the AADS News, February 1993, Vol.. 3 #1, p. 2-7 View item
Sound

Ted Sannella - 1992 interview

This interview was conducted by Hilde Dewaelheyns with Ted when he was on staff at the AADS [Anglo-American Dance Shop] Autumn Dance Weekend, held at the youth hostel in Ronse, Belgium. In it, Ted… View item
Document

Ralph Page – Swing Your Partners

This short essay by Ralph Page (1939) is interesting for several reasons. First, he's writing for a publication of the New Hampshire Planning and Development Commission, and Page cites the economic… View item
Website

Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Association

The Canadian Olde Tyme Square Dance Association was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1954 by a group of callers interested in preserving, and promoting the traditional Canadian style of square… View item
Document

Four dances from Gaspé

This is a detailed description in French of the four dances documented in the Grand Chain - Grande Chaîne video. It was created by Hélène Gaulin, the caller in the video. View item
Website

Grand Chain - Grande Chaîne

Note: The link will take you to the home page featuring a documentary by Guy Bouchard about "Traditional music and dances from the tip of the Gaspé peninsula." Interested viewers can stream the… View item
Document

Cape Breton Dance Halls

This undergraduate thesis looks at the dance halls of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Traditional music and dance plays an important role in the life of the communities there, and the dance halls function… View item
Document

Pop Sweet

George R. "Pop" Sweet was a traditional fiddler and dance caller from Austerlitz, NY, and the neighboring towns of the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. In the early 1930s, he was engaged in a… View item
Still Image

Huntington's Pavilion, E. Thetford, VT

We often think of the boom years of square dancing taking place starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but there is a long history of halls for square dancing before then. This is a series of… View item
Sound

Four Leaf Clover - Larry Edelman

The dance is called by Larry Edelman, appearing at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. He credits this to Ed Gilmore. View item
Website

Hilton and Stella Kelly - interview, with tunes

This is a two-part lengthy interview conducted and recorded by Bob Nisbet with Hilton and Stella Kelly. First Parthttps://youtu.be/jZdsYz2TspMSecond parthttps://youtu.be/4Cud_VlbyLI View item
Moving Image

Hilton and Stella Kelly - Square Dance Tunes and Calls

Hilton Kelly, of Fleischmanns, New York, was a Catskills fiddler and square dance caller. He started playing in 1932, at age 5, and started calling in 1937. By the time he was 15, he had a regular… View item