A Short History of Square Dancing
The square
dance is an American institution. It began in New England when the first
settlers and the immigrant groups that followed, brought with them their various
national dances, which we now call folk dances, but which were the popular
dances of the day in the countries of their origin - the schottische, the
quadrille, the jigs and reels and the minuet, to name a few. After a week of
toil in building new homes and carving homes out of virgin forest, the settlers
would gather in the community center on Saturday evening and enjoy dancing their
old-world favorites. As the communities grew and people of different backgrounds
intermingled, so did their dances. As the repertoire increased, it became
increasingly difficult for the average person to remember the various
movements.
In almost any group, however, there would be at least one
extrovert, the hail-fellow-well-met, the life-of-the-party type, with a knack
for remembering the dance figures. With typical Yankee ingenuity, the settlers
let this person cue or prompt them in case they happened to forget what came
next. In due course, the prompter (or figure caller, as he became known)
acquired a repertoire of various colorful sayings or patter that he could
intersperse with the cues. Quite often he would learn the dances of other
communities and he would teach them to the group. Some of these men were quite
ingenious and developed dances and routines of their own, including dances for
groups of four couples. This is the manner in which square dancing and its
director (or caller) developed.
As the population spread southward and
westward, so did the dances. Lacking the organized recreation of today, the
hardworking pioneers felt a need for an activity that would provide recreation
as well as social contact with neighbors. Square dancing filled this need. The
only requirements were a wooden floor, music and a caller. A barn, somebody's
living room, the town hall or, in later years, the grange hall provided the
place. A caller was not always a basic requirement. If one was around, fine; if
not, they did dances that they remembered or that someone in the group could
prompt. As far as music was concerned, there was always someone on hand who
could play a guitar, a fiddle or an accordion.
However, as the population
became more urban it also became more cosmopolitan. Booming trade brought to our
shores new fashions, new music, and new dances from other continents. The new
dances became fashionable, and square dancing was displaced in our mushrooming
cities. It survived only in isolated areas, in each of which an individual style
peculiar to that region developed. In time, differences among these regional
dances became so pronounced that a square dancer from one area often would not
be able to dance in another. Square dancing seemed slated for oblivion
In the
early 1930's, Henry Ford became interested in the revival of square dancing as a
part of his early New England restoration project. His efforts captured the
interest of other individuals who then modernized the activity so that it would
appeal to contemporary America while retaining its basic flavor. Square dancing
groups began to form hither and yon. By 1948, square dancing had reached the
level of a fad and there was some concern that interest would be short-lived.
Such fears proved baseless. The people who had rediscovered this activity were
determined to retain it, to perpetuate it and to share it with others. In the
process of revival, the hillbilly band with its whiny fiddle was replaced by
modern combos, which provided uniform performance through the medium, of
high-fidelity recordings; the nasal-voiced, almost unintelligible caller was
replaced with an articulate professional assisted by a public address system.
The barn, the pitchfork, the bale of hay and the little brown jug disappeared
from the scene and square dancing moved into the urban centers. Name tags, worn
by all dancers, put everyone on a first-name basis and thereby created instant
informality and good fellowship.
Square dancing had regained its old
appeal in a modern setting and it spread over the nation. It is estimated that
today this wholesome recreation is enjoyed by millions of Americans and by
countless others around the world. Wherever Americans have gone overseas -
England, Germany, Australia, Japan, etc, they have introduced square dancing and
it has been received enthusiastically.
Any activity of this scope is an
inviting target of commercialism, but square dancing is a cooperative activity
involving the dancers themselves and their leaders have vigilantly guarded
against the invasion of commercialism.
Far from being pale and static,
modern western-style square dancing is vibrant and growing. New ideas and
figures are introduced each year, insuring that square dancing will not become
boring and get into the rut of sameness. As interesting and enjoyable as square
dancing is, it is not difficult. This activity can be enjoyed alike by the young
and old, the handicapped and the able-bodied. All that is necessary is a
thorough familiarity with a number of basic figures or movements, which are
called in various combinations on the dance floor. Knowledge of and practice in
these basic movements are best obtained through instruction is given in a series
of weekly sessions which, for lack of a more descriptive term, are called
beginners classes.
Having learned to square dance, new hobbyists find
themselves in a brand new, heretofore unknown world. They are now among the
millions of dancers active in the United States and internationally and because
of standardized figures, they can dance throughout the United States and other
countries.......................
This article was found in the archives
of MACA (Mid Atlantic Challenge Association).