Square and Round Dance Federation
of Nova Scotia
History Overview
History of Square and Round Dancing
This article goes back to dance in Primitive Societies and traces the path of dancing forward though the May Games of the Middle Ages including Morris Dancers, Church Choral Dancing, the GErman Allemande, English Longways Dancing, French Contredanse, the Austrian Landler that developed into the Waltz, the Bohemian Polka, the Varsouvienne from Poland, and the French Quadrille.
We cross the ocean and continue in North America with the melding of these dances as settlers spread across the New World. It discusses the influence of Henry Ford and Lloyd Shaw in the development of Modern Square Dancing and the many new Round dance rhythms of the 20th century. Finally it traces the changes brought by modern technology after World War II and the explosion of new round dance rhythms.
This article discusses the development of modern square and round dancing in Nova Scotia.
Until its demise, the Federation Newsletter Between Tips regularly reported recent dance events and included tributes to dancers, leaders and clubs. It also had occasional historical articles about Nova Scotia dancing or dancers. Here is a quick index with links to the longer articles. BACK
This is a quick summary of all known square and round dance clubs that have danced in Nova Scotia. They are sorted by region. BACK
Nova Scotia Provincial Festivals
Provincial Festivals have been held in Nova Scotia during the summer of odd numbered years since 1983.
| Year | Region | Location
| 1983 | South Shore | Shelburne
| 1985 | Cape Breton | Sydney
| 1987 | Central | Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax
| 1989 | Valley | Acadia University, Wolfville
| 1991 | Fundy | Glengarry Best Western, Truro
| 1993 | Highland | Saint Francis Xavier University, Antigonish
| 1995 | South Shore | Bridgewater
| 1997 | Cape Breton | Sydney
| 1999 | Central | Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax
| 2001 | Valley | Old Orchard Inn
| 2003 | Fundy | Glengarry Best Western, Truro
| 2005 | South Shore | Burridge Community College, Yarmouth
| 2007 | Central | Cole Harbour Place
| 2009 | Valley | Old Orchard Inn
| 2011 | Valley | Old Orchard Inn
| 2013 | Highland | NSCC Pictou Campus
| 2015 | Valley | Old Orchard Inn
| 2017 | Fundy | Glengarry Best Western, Truro
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Canadian National Conventions have been held during the summer of even numbered years since 1978. Halifax welcomed dancers from across Canada and around the world during the summers of 1982, 1994 and 2010. BACK
| 1978 Edmonton, Alberta | |
| 1980 Ottawa, Ontario | 2000 Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 1982 Halifax, Nova Scotia | 2002 Saint John, New Brunswick |
| 1984 Winnipeg, Manitoba | 2004 Calgary, Alberta |
| 1986 Calgary, Alberta | 2006 Montreal, Quebec |
| 1988 Hamilton, Ontario | 2008 London, Ontario |
| 1990 Vancouver, British Columbia | 2010 Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| 1992 Winnipeg, Manitoba | 2012 No convention |
| 1994 Halifax, Nova Scotia | 2014 Ottawa, Ontario |
| 1996 Edmonton, Alberta | 2016 Regina, Saskachewan |
| 1998 Ottawa, Ontario | 2018 London, Ontario |