-
Southern Appalachian squares 6b - Shoo-Fly Swing
This figure can come at the end of a big circle dance. It is related to The Boulanger, the only country dance mentioned by name by Jane Austen. The tune played here is Fire on the Mountain.
-
Southern Appalachian squares 0 - sampler
Phil Jamison led a workshop session on square dances from the southern Appalachians. This samples provides excerpts of the dances Phil Jamison presented in his Southern Appalachia workshop. You will be able to find teaching and longer clip for each one shown here in related videos on this site.
-
Southern Appalachian squares Southern 1b - Carcassonne big set
Carcassonne, Kentucky, still hosts a regular traditional dance series, and these figures are typical of big circle dances there. The tune is Molly Put the Kettle On.
-
Southern Appalachian squares 2 - Glenville
There is a flourishing square dance tradition in Glenville, WV, and Phil encouraged dancers to experience their big dance festival held in June of each year. The tune is Billy Wilson.
-
Southern Appalachian squares 3 - Mt. Airy Big Set
In this big set dance from the Mt. Airy, NC, region, instead of everyone doing the same figures as the caller dictates, each couple finds another pair and runs the sequence at their own pace, then moves on to another. The tune is Puncheon Floor.
-
Southern Appalachian squares 4 - Thread the Needle
This uses a common figure but in a six-couple variation that involves more dancers moving at one time. The tune is Susannah Gal, also known as Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss. The clip starts with some history (going back to Alabama in the 1850s) and a walkthrough.
-
Southern Appalachian squares 5 - The Shuffle (mixer)
This simple mixer is a common dance from the area around Mt. Airy, NC, and Galax, VA. The tune is June Apple.
-
Southern Appalachian squares 6a - Shoo-Fly Swing
This is a demonstration of the figure that is one ending figure of a big set. It starts slowly, but gradually all the dancers are pulled into the action. See accompanying video for the actual dance sequence and for more information on the history of the figure.
-
New England Squares 6b - Darling Nellie Grey
This clip shows two versions of the dance, the traditional version called by Ralph Page as his usual ending dance and a variation by Maine caller Rod Linnell called "Atomic Nellie Grey." A separate video in this series shows the walkthrough.
-
New England Squares 6a - Darling Nellie Grey walkthrough
Ralph Page's usual ending dance was Darling Nellie Grey; here, Tony Parkes teaches that traditional dance as well as a variation by Rod Linnell called "Atomic Nellie Grey;" Tony commented, "Back when 'atomic' was a good thing." This is the walkthrough; see separate video for samples of theactual dance.