The rich story of North American square dance finally has a home in the digital age. Square dancing has been an integral part of American social life for centuries. Traditional square dance was vital for generations of Americans, especially in rural communities; in the post-World War II era, modern square dance similarly enjoyed participants numbering in the millions. Despite its popularity, the history of square dance has not been well documented. Scores of books explain specific figures and calls, but there is no current source that offers a detailed discussion of the development of this form of American social dance. We hope this site helps to fill that need.

Dozens of Colorado square dancers gathered at the state capitol building in Denver Wednesday afternoon. They danced in the rotunda to celebrate the 20th year square dancing has been Colorado’s official state folk dance.

The dancers did their thing for about an hour, entertaining tourists who were visiting the capitol building. Organizers said everyone can participate in square dancing, as long as they can walk and tell their right from their left. To learn more about square dancing in the area, visit the Colorado State Square Dance Association’s website.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 at 7:42 pm

Introduced by House Bill No. 1058, the square dance was adopted by the Colorado General Assembly as the official state folk dance of Colorado on March 16, 1992. Modern western square dance clubs across the country have collaborated to have the Square Dance declared the state folk dance in all fifty states. They have also been active in efforts to make the Square Dance the national folk dance.

Do you know when, where, and how the square dance started?

What was dancing like long ago?

If you wanted or needed to know, how could you find out? Would you take the word of a modern day expert? What if you could go back in time and ask the people who were there? Would you like to experience those early days for yourself? There is a way…

This website is a collection of historical items concerning the American square dance. It is part of a larger project to understand the development of this form of dancing. The sources include novels, poems, songs, magazines, newspapers, etc., in short anything and everything that can shed light on this subject.