14 Facts About Square dance

Square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square.

Between 1940 and 1960, modern western square dance evolved from the western style of traditional square dance that had formed in the United States.

In England, Ireland, and Scotland, the term is used less frequently, and many dance events involve dances in square, circle, and line formations.

Where traditional square dance has been revived, it encompasses a wide range of new choreography.

Traditional square dance is frequently presented in alternation with contra dances, particularly in revival groups, or with some form of freestyle couple dancing at surviving local events.

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Irish set dance is a square dance with strong regional associations.

The Square dance involves stepping, often with a flat-foot polka step.

Couple numbering in a square dance set usually begins with the couple nearest the head of the hall .

Square dance movements are known as calls, and some forms of the dance, such as traditional and modern western square dancing, use a caller to direct the dancers through different calls.

In traditional square dancing, the timing of a call is dictated by tradition; in some regional styles, particularly that of New England, the dance movements are closely fitted to the phrases of the music.

Traditional and modern western square dance differ in the number of calls and their levels of standardization.

Traditional square dance uses between ten and thirty calls, depending on the region and the individual caller.

Many traditional square dance calls are similar or identical to contra dance calls, and new dance moves are explained by the caller.

Since the 19th century, much of the square dance repertoire has been derived from jigs and reels from Scotland and Ireland, sometimes in relatively unaltered form, sometimes as played in the old-time music tradition or as adapted by other cultures, such as that of Quebec.