Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A 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. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dances, traditional dances, folk dances, barn dances, ceilidh dances, contra dances, Playford dances, etc.
A traditional square dance in Concord, Massachusetts. Traditional square dance is a generic American term for any style of American square dance other than modern Western.The term can mean (1) any of the American regional styles (broadly, Northeastern, Southeastern, and Western) that existed before around 1950, when modern Western style began to develop out of a blend of those regional styles ...
The dance was introduced in France around 1760: originally it was a form of cotillion in which only two couples were used, but two more couples were eventually added to form the sides of a square. The couples in each corner of the square took turns, in performing the dance, where one couple danced, and the other couples rested.
In square dancing, and in particular modern western square dance, when a promenade is called it is understood to be a "couples' promenade" involving all four couples.The couples assume a promenade position, each turn to the right as a unit, and walk counterclockwise around the ring.
Square dancing is a family-friendly activity, with no alcohol or smoking allowed at some venues. Others are hosted in bars, catering to the young adult crowds.
The term is a corruption of the original French term dos-à-dos for the dance move, which means "back to back", as opposed to "vis-à-vis" which means "face to face". [2]Do-si-do is the most common spelling in modern English dictionaries [3] and is the spelling used in contra dance, sometimes without hyphens. [4]
Ford had a solution: square dancing. He saw jazz and its related dancing styles as a force for moral decay, and sought to cure it by bringing back traditional folk dances. In doing so, Ford ...
The square functions as a "dance team" for the duration of a square dance tip, a group of dances usually separated from the next tip by a pause during which the dancers regroup into new squares. A square dance tip is usually composed of a combination of patter calls and singing calls, the two types of square dance calls.