Contra dance is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th century. Sometimes described as New England folk dance or Appalachian folk dance, contra dances can be found around the world, but are most common in the United States, Canada, and other Anglophone countries.
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. These dances appear in over 100 different formations, of which the Square and the Longways Set are by far the most popular formations.
Gay square dance is square dance as it is generally danced in the Gay and Lesbian community. The first gay and lesbian square dance clubs formed in the mid-to-late 1970s in the USA. There are currently about eighty gay square dance clubs worldwide.
Modern western square dance is one of two American types of square dancing, along with traditional square dance. As a dance form, modern western square dance grew out of traditional square dance in the American West. The term western square dance, for some, is synonymous with "cowboy dance" or traditional western square dance. Therefore, this article uses the term "modern western square dance" to describe the contemporary non-historical dance which grew out of the traditional dance. Modern western square dance was the official dance of the United States from 1982 to 1993.
Square dance clubs are the primary form for organization within the recreational activity of square dancing, and more specifically modern western square dance. This article's focus is the modern western square dance club, and it is understood in the context of this article that when the terms "square dance club" or "square dance" are used it refers to the form of square dance called "modern western square dance".
The International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs is an international umbrella organization for gay square dance. The association includes over eighty clubs. Most clubs are in the United States and Canada, with one club in Japan. There are no longer any active clubs in Britain, Denmark, or Australia.
The New England Folk Festival is an annual weekend festival of traditional dance and music. It takes place in the Boston, Massachusetts region each spring. It is conducted by the New England Folk Festival Association. Both the festival and the association are colloquially known by the abbreviation NEFFA. NEFFA is a participatory festival; attendees are encouraged to participate in dancing, singing, musical jam sessions, and other activities. It is run by volunteers and all the performers are volunteers as well.
The American Canoe Association (ACA) is the oldest and largest paddle sports organization in the United States, promoting canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. The ACA sponsors more than seven hundred events each year, along with safety education, instructor certification, waterway conservation and public information campaigns. There are more than four thousand ACA certified canoe and kayak instructors. More than two hundred local paddling clubs and fifty thousand individuals are members. The Association publishes the bi-monthly Paddler Magazine.
Do-si-do is a dance move in squaredancing where two partner, standing next to each other and both facing opposite directions, clasp arms together and go in a circle.
The American Camp Association (ACA), formerly known as the American Camping Association, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves the United States. It is an association for camp owners, camp professionals and others interested in summer camps and similar camp programs.
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 that existed before around 1950, when modern Western style began to develop out of a blend of those regional styles, or (2) any style that has survived, or been revived, since around 1950. The term Traditional Square Dance is also used in England to refer to dances collected from villages in the first half of the 20th century.
The American Counseling Association (ACA) is a membership organization representing licensed professional counselors (LPCs), counseling students, and other counseling professionals in the United States. It is the world's largest association exclusively representing professional counselors.
Ted Sannella was a professional square dance, contra dance and international folk dance caller and choreographer who was active in the region surrounding Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. He was a seminal figure in the contra dance folk revival in the United States in the mid to late 20th century.
The international Plus, Advanced & Challenge Square Dance Convention, also known as iPAC is an international square dance event that has been taking place every two years in Barmstedt, Germany, since 1993. It is usually held in the middle of July, at the first weekend of the school holidays in the German Bundesland of Schleswig-Holstein. Square dance events begin a few days before the official beginning of the Convention with the C1 and Plus programs – the so-called "Trail-End" dances. The convention offers all square dance programs from Plus to C4.
Bob Dalsemer is a square and contra dance writer and caller. He has called dances for more than 40 years and in more than 33 states, plus internationally in Canada, the Czech Republic, Britain, Belgium, Denmark and Russia. He wrote the book West Virginia Square Dances and Folk Dance Fun for Schools and Families. He has also compiled the cassette/book compilations Smoke On the Water: Square Dance Classics and When The Work's All Done: A Square Dance Party For Beginners and Old Hands.
The National Square Dance Campers Association (NSDCA) is a non-profit organization, with well over 100 chapters spanning the continental United States and Canada.
The American Chess Association (ACA) was a chess organization founded in New York City in 1857. The organization organized the first major chess tournament, the First American Chess Congress, in the United States on October 6, 1857. On November 11, 1857, Paul Morphy, who had defeated Louis Paulsen in the tournament, was presented with a silver service at the prize giving by Colonel Charles D. Mead, President of the ACA. On behalf of Paul Morphy, the American Chess Association offered a $5,000 challenge to any player in Europe to contest a match with the recently crowned ACA champion.
CALLERLAB is the international association of square dance callers, and is the largest square dance association in the United States. CALLERLAB provides guidance and education, certifying caller coaches, maintaining standardized lists of calls and definitions, and generally promoting the square dance activity. After some initial work started in 1971, it was officially established in 1974 by several members of the Square Dance Hall of Fame. Callerlab makes it so people can dance anywhere in the world with uniform dance calls.
The Automobile Club of America (ACA) was the first automobile club formed in America in 1899. The club was dissolved in 1932 following the Great Depression and declining membership.
