Square dance

In most American forms of square dance, the dancers are prompted or cued through a sequence of steps by a caller to the beat (and, in some traditions, the phrasing) of music.

In other variations, dancers have no caller and instead memorize and perform a specific routine and sequence of steps.

Square dance music varies widely, with some forms using traditional tunes and others employing more modern types.

Attire varies by type, with some forms possessing a specific dress code and others having no requirements.

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

Traditional square dance structure varies by region,[4] but it usually consists of a limited number of calls occurring in a set order.

Industrialist Henry Ford popularized the form, believing that Jews invented jazz as a plot to corrupt society and that this plot could be counteracted by returning America to dances and musical styles that he saw as traditional and white.

This modern form of square dancing 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, Australia, China, Japan, and Russia.

Within Europe, the majority of square dance clubs are in Germany and the United Kingdom.

All teach the Callerlab syllabus, but there are slight style and call title variations throughout the world.

These dances include a range of moves, from smooth, gentle steps to more energetic leaps.

Examples include the German Bekedorfer, French Carré de Campagne, Mie Katoen from the Low Countries, and Eastern European Jewish Sher or Sherele.

Variations include double squares, with two couples on each side, like the Danish Sonderborger Doppelkadril or the Dutch Vleegerd.

Couple numbering in a square dance set usually begins with the couple nearest the head of the hall (the side of the room containing the musicians and caller, or, in the pre-caller era, the royal presence or other hosts or important guests).

In modern western square dancing, many calls have been given formally specified durations, based partly on direct observation of how long it takes an average dancer to execute them.

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.

In modern western square dance, the participants learn and become proficient in a particular defined set of calls known as a program.

[27] Traditional and modern western square dancing have a number of calls in common, but there are usually small differences in the way they are performed.

In many communities, including Scotland and Ireland, and also continental Europe, the dancers know the complete dance and there is no 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.

This sort of music is played on acoustic instruments, such as the fiddle, banjo, guitar, and double bass; certain instruments, including the piano, accordion, concertina, and hammered dulcimer, are popular in specific regions.

In some communities where square dancing has survived, the prevailing form of music has become popular songs from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, played on instruments such as saxophones, drums, and electric guitars.

The music is usually played from recordings, and the tempo is more uniform than in traditional square dancing, ranging from 120-128 beats per minute.

English dances may be done to traditional tunes, though there is experimentation with many different musical styles, especially at cèilidhs.

In North America, traditional square dances are organized by bands, callers, or small groups of dancers.

[28] In the United States, larger modern western square dance events sometimes request a strict western-style dress code, which originated in the late 1950s and early 1960s and is known as traditional square dance attire, although it was not traditional before that time.

A few modern western callers incorporate older dances from various traditions, such as New England or Appalachian, into their programs.