Square Dancing In The Nineteenth Century

Square dancing is said to have started in Europe with its first dances documenting in the sixteenth century. This style of dance was common and popular throughout the continent of Europe. The idea of square dancing was brought in the United States during the time when Europeans started to move and colonize to the thirteen colonies. The colonists that came from Europe brought along and carried their traditional folk dances with them. These traditional dances eventually spread through the United States of America. The dances brought from Europe were modified as it become more widely-known and popular throughout the states. The formation of traditional Square Dancing requires four couples, which is made up of eight people, for being male, and the other four being female. Each couple which consists of a male and female create a square by standing along four sides. The different square dance moves were based off of
traditional folk movements and other dance components that come from other different countries. As square dancing became more widely known, in 1982, it became the national folk dance of our country, the same time when Ronald Reagan signed the act of Congress.
As the dance spread west, it became especially popular in the western states with its association with the American cowboy in the near 20th century. As said before, square dancing was developed as it spread through the states, one way was when a caller would list out the steps as the music was playing. Then, the square dancer would have to follow the step that was named. This was very complex as the square dancers had to remember an immense number of steps that have its own distinctive call to it. Then during dancing, they would have to pay close attention to the caller as what he was saying as he addressed the dance move that was to be performed.They had to be very precise and perceptive so they would not mess up, and could continue going on with the dance. As the square dancers performed, different steps and movements were called out in different orders to create different dance
interactions. People would usually square dance with friends, family, or others at the square dancing clubs. As the hype for square dancing became more and more popular, music artists from different styles (usually country or pop related styles) were becoming more famous as their music was played at these clubs; helping their careers. At the square dancing clubs, there would be a medium-sized crowd of people that were numbered off into couples, and then squares. The counting usually started by the side of the room where the caller stood, and/or where the musicians played/sang. The first and second couples that were numbered were called the head couples as believed to be the leads. And then the third and forth couples were known as the side couples, the ones who follow the leads. Couples were numbered differently in different clubs or eras. Sometimes the people at the clubs were numbered one, two, three, and four in a clockwise direction, and other times, in a counterclockwise direction. Different places did this traditional folk dance differently, as Scotland, England, the USA, etc had different variations of this type of dance. For example, in the different places, they played different songs, that ranged from different styles and distinct artists. Also, they had a discrete set of numbering and placement in the square dancing clubs. The method of square dancing has been spread across internationally to multiple different cities, places, and countries. However, internationally, most people are familiar with the Modern Western variation of it (as mentioned earlier that square dancing was altered and developed as it grew more popular). Now days, the once greatly favored tradition become less and less popular as we came into the 2000s. Even though our national folk dance is square dancing, it isn't done as often as it used too. Many others started getting into other unique dance styles, and drifted away from Square dancing.