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

Browse Items (357 total)

  • Collection: Northern squares
Moving Image

Trail Of The Lonesome Pine - Rich Sbardella

Called by Rich and Lynn Sbardella at Ralph Sweet's Powder Mill Barn, Hazardville, CT. Dance was hosted by the South Windsor MWSDC. Ralph Sweet, who owns this barn, is in the middle square. The singing… View item
Moving Image

Trail of the Lonesome Pine - Tod Whittemore

Tod Whittemore is the caller; music is provided by Bob McQuillen, piano; Randy Miller, fiddle, and Peter Siegel, mandolin. This was part of a dance workshop on singing squares, recorded on January 15,… View item
Sound

Trail of the Lonesome Pine (clip) - Don Armstrong

Armstrong took the figures from Ralph Page's "Gents and Corners" dance and set them to a popular tune, creating a well-known singing square. We've also included here a clip of Ted Sannella prompting… View item
Moving Image

Two Little Right Hand Stars - Tony Parkes

This dance appeared in Ralph Page's Northern Junket in Volume 1, #2, p. 17. This clip includes Tony's walkthrough of the dance.The dance is attributed to Ralph Page. Tony is using Rod Linnell's… View item
Sound

Two singing squares - Fenton "Jonesy" Jones

1) Solomon LeviFrom his series of Square Dances by Jonesy, this singing square features a simple figure that appears in other traditional dances.2) Darling Nellie GrayFrom the same album. As one… View item
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Two singing squares - Tod Whittemore, 1986

Tod Whittemore provides the instructions and calls the figures at these two singing squares: Maple Sugar Gal and Smoke on the Water. Music is by Allan Block on fiddle and Peter Barnes on piano.… View item
Sound

Two Three Hand Stars (clip) - Frank Kaltman

The tune is Big John McNeil. Frank Kaltman founded the influential magazine American Squares and (with Dan Wolfert) created the Folkraft record label after World War II. View item
Sound

Uptown – Downtown (Golden Slippers) - Ed Durlacher

Classic square dance figure, Uptown Downtown, done as a singing square to Golden Slippers by caller Ed Durlacher; music provided by The Top Hands, directed by Frank Novak. One of the Related Items is… View item
Document

Vermont Country Dance Festival - 1953

Program from a 1953 Vermont dance festival, whose avowqed purpose was "To strengthen Vermont's heritage of square and contra dances and to bring together country dance enthusiasts from every… View item
Still Image

Vermont square dance festival - large groups

These are photographs of school groups participating in the big square dance festivals held in Vermont in the 1950s in Northfield and Montpelier. View item
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Vermont square dancers - 1950s

A series of photographs, mostly from the big square dance gatherings in Northfield and Montpelier, Vermont. View item
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Vermont square dancers, 1950s - children

This collection of photographs from the 1950s shows children dancing, mostly at the large square dance festivals held in Northfield or Montpelier, Vermont. View item