November 29 is National Square Dance Day

By | November 29, 2023

National Square Dancing Day is celebrated on November 29 every year in the United States to honor the square dance form of folk dancing.

This enjoyable, healthful, and simple kind of dancing with a lengthy history deserves its festival, and it has roots in traditional English, Irish, and Scottish folk dance.

To grasp the significance of Square Dance Day, you must first learn about the square dance! This is a form of dance in which eight persons are divided into four different partners.

Each pair is arranged in a square, with one couple on each side of the square, facing the center.

National Square Dancing Day has no documented origins or history. The origins of square dancing can be traced back to 17th century England.

Square dance arrived in North America with the European settlers and was later refined and perfected over time. Western American square dance is the most well-known style of square dance in the world, and it is the official dance of 19 American states.

Square dancing is frequently accompanied by upbeat music played on guitars, bagpipes, fiddles, and accordions.

The Square dances form patterns of circles, lines, and squares, with couples taking turns in each role (female/female, male/male, or male/female).

This so-called caller, who is also a dancer, is frequently seen on stage with the band. Square dancing is most commonly linked with a romanticized vision of the Old West, with cowboys pursuing Southern belles at saloon dances to commemorate various occasions.

The dance is accompanied by upbeat music played on guitars, fiddles, accordions, and bagpipes.

The dances usually take the form of lines, circles, and, as the name implies, squares, with couples – male/female, female/female, or male/male – taking turns in each role.

The dancers in most American types of square dance are guided through the square dance choreography to the rhythm of the music.

Square dancing, which had faded throughout the World Wars, enjoyed a comeback in New York City during the American folk music revival in the 1950s.