This book is not just another collection of
square dance figures. It is a new type of dance book altogether.
Since the discovery of rural dance traditions
by urban Americans at the beginning of this century, publications
on this topic have polarized towards two viewpoints. The first
typically presents "everything you need to know about square
dancing" and gives little or no information on the sources
or history of the dances presented, while the second presents
the dances of a particular community, often full of local color,
but with little awareness of the way these dances relate to larger
regional forms.
Neither approach recognizes the diversity of
American traditional dance, nor the larger social context within
which these dances have evolved. Indeed, dance traditions have
always developed as a direct response to the needs of a particular
social group.
West Virginia Square Dances describes regular dance events in five communities.
Details such as program format, type of audience and price and
method of admission are considered alongside the traditions of
figure calling, musical performance and the dance figures themselves.
The history of each dance event is discussed as is the on-going
process of evolution. Best of all, the dances are described exactly
as the author found them, without generalization or "improvements."
Bob Dalsemer is in a unique position to write
such a book. As a dance caller and teacher with many years experience,
Bob understands a great deal about the mechanics of dancing and
of a dance as a social event. Bob has also attended a greater
variety of traditional dances than anyone I know, especially in
the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states. His analysis of these
particular West Virginia communities reflects both his broad knowledge
of regional dance customs and his concern with the details that
make each community of dancers special.
This is a book that has much lasting value and solid scholarship as well as immediate applica-bility. I hope it will be read by folklorists, dancers, dance leaders and, most of all, by West Virginians who are interested in reading about the way they or their neighbors spend their Saturday nights.
James E. Morrison