Square Dancing
| Contents |
| Welcome |
| Square Dance Links |
Welcome
To return to the previous page, press the BACK BUTTON on your browser. This page can also be gotten to via the TinyURL link of http://tinyurl.com/cj85yv.
The background music (which may take longer to load if you're on a dial-up connection), is used by permission of Tom Dillander of the Western Square Dancing website. It's an excerpt from the public domain recording of the square dance patter record on the TNT-307 label. The original file, in MP3 format, was TOO LARGE in WAV format, so I had to edit it a bit, with the Audacity freeware sound file editor for Windows.
Square Dancing is a worldwide activity...that I've seen enjoyed by people as young as 3, to those over 80 years old. The term square dancing refers to the fractional, geometric formations done...and it has nothing to do with lifestyle...on or off the dance floor.
With the caller calling at a good pace, usually with unrehearsed figures (extemperaneous calling)...you don't have time to let your mind wander. As one caller put it...''if you don't know the definition...you don't know the call''.
Also, the consumption of alcoholic beverages BEFORE or DURING a square dance is STRICTLY PROHIBITED, and that is A HARD AND FAST RULE, WORLDWIDE. Many clubs have the authority to order violators to leave the premises. Square Dancing is a HOLSUM activity...with PARTICIPANTS OF ALL AGES...and it is the DUTY of EVERY DANCER to see that it REMAINS that way.
Since I live in Arkansas, I dance with clubs that are part of the Arkansas State Square Dance Federation (ASSDF), the main square and round dance organization in the state. For a look at the history of the ASSDF...including a poem I wrote about square dancing, a tribute to one of the great Arkansas square dance callers, a list of past ASSDF officers...as well as past host cities for the National Square Dance Convention, click here.
For a look at the history and heritage of modern American Square Dancing, click here. If you download the entire history in the PDF file, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file.
No matter where it takes place in the world, all the calls are done in ENGLISH...and to dancers from other countries, that is the ONLY English that they know. There are numerous square dance festivals each year, in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere.
The two most notable festivals each year are the National Square Dance Convention, held in a different United States city the Wednesday through the last Saturday of June each year (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see upcoming convention links)...and the Single Square Dancers USA Dance-A-Rama, held in a different United States city the Thursday through the Sunday before Labor Day (the first Monday in September).
Square Dance Links
There are many square and round dance links for your enjoyment on the Internet. I've included some of the most popular ones below, last updated Aug. 11, 2010.
If you note any bad links, or if you have one you'd like added, please contact me via this link.
Besides square dancing, there is also round dancing (similar to ballroom dancing), line dancing, contra dancing, clogging, and even wheelchair/handicapable dancing. The most popular, and easiest to learn move is called a ''yellowrock''...which is basically a ''friendly hug''.
Total Visitors to this website and its pages since Oct. 1, 1997: