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Square dancing began its transition from the traditional, visiting
couple type of dancing into all-four-couple-working kind of dancing in the late 1940's and early
1950's. One of the first to use this type of dance pattern was Ed Gilmore who travelled
widely and conducted some of the earliest training programs for callers. Callers discovered they
could move everyone at the same time and create more interest.
Meanwhile, the development of the electronic amplifier aided the
transition, since it permitted the caller to manage large crowds. It was no longer necessary to
shout, use a megaphone, or have a caller in each square. The improved public address equipment
allowed the caller to be heard well enough so that the dance routine could be invented as it was
called. No longer was the dancer expected to know the dance pattern that went with a particular
tune as was common in traditional dancing. Square dance records, particularly, the small, easy to
manage 45 RPM discs, eliminated the need for live music, with all its attendant problems and
allowed much greater musical variety and flexibility. The modern square dance activity owes much to
the record companies who put out first, the 10" and 12" records that ran a 78 RPM and
then an abundant supply of good music for square dancing on the much more easily handled 45 RPM
7" records. Some of the pioneering labels have been around since the 1950's. These include
Sets In Order, MacGregor and Blue Star. Dozens of other labels have been added
since then and without all of them modern square dancing could not have spread throughout the world
as it has.
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Modern Square Dancing - 1990's
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Audio Clip (486 kb) |
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