Square dance

Lore & Background

The origins of square dances can be traced back to steps and figures used in traditional folk dances and social dances from many countries. One of the earliest influences may have been the Morris dance, an English dance for six men involving a line formation and energetic steps. This dance is closely related to another ancestor of square dancing, English country dance, which included a variety of dances for groups of couples arranged in circles, lines, or squares. Three of the dances, such as 'Dull Sir John', specifically use the term square dance in the phrase, 'A Square Dance for eight thus'. In the early 1800s, English country dances merged with French dances to form the quadrille, a dance for four couples in a square. These dances further evolved in America, where they arrived with European settlers. After the American Revolution, the quadrille became especially popular. Quadrilles were originally danced from memorized steps and sequences, but as African American slaves played music for the dances, they began calling out the steps. This practice became common by the early 1900s and gave rise to the modern caller. Traditional western square dancing was promoted beginning in the 1930s by Lloyd Shaw, who solicited definitions from callers across the country in order to preserve that dance form and make it available to other teachers. The American folk music revival in New York City in the 1950s was rooted in the resurgent interest in square dancing and folk dancing there in the 1940s, which gave musicians such as Pete Seeger popular exposure. Starting in the 1970s, many U.S. states adopted square dance as their state dance, the result of a campaign by square dancers to make it the national dance. The main North American types of square dances include traditional square dance and modern western square dance, which is widely known and danced worldwide. Other main types popular in England, Ireland, and Scotland include Playford dances, regional folk dances, ceili, Irish set dances, and Scottish country dances.

Reader's Guide

Square dancing holds significance as a social and folk dance tradition that has spread worldwide, with strong ties to the United States where 31 states have designated it as their official state dance. Its legacy includes the development of the modern caller, which originated when African American slaves began calling out steps for quadrilles. The dance form has been preserved and standardized through efforts such as Lloyd Shaw's promotion in the 1930s and the later work of Callerlab, the International Association of Square Dance Callers, which since the 1970s has promoted and standardized modern western square dance. This modern form is taught in around 30 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, China, Japan, and Russia. Because of this standardization, anyone with proper training can dance modern western square dancing in many countries around the world. Square dances are considered folk dances in many countries and regions, and the term has also become associated with barn dances, where many different formations of dance are used. The dance continues to be practiced through square dance clubs, bands, and individuals, with attire varying by type from specific dress codes to no requirements.

Did You Know?

• The modern caller arose when African American slaves began calling out steps for quadrilles, a practice that became common by the early 1900s.
• Industrialist Henry Ford popularized modern western square dance, believing that Jews invented jazz as a plot to corrupt society and that this plot could be counteracted by returning America to traditional dances.
• Since the 1970s, modern western square dance has been promoted and standardized by Callerlab, the International Association of Square Dance Callers.