A 1949 article in LIFE magazine titled “LIFE goes to a square dance” gloried in the appeal of the popular country pastime. It talked about the exuberance of the evening and the poetry to be found in the calls of the dance leaders, with lines such as, “Form a right eight hands across, turn right back and don’t get lost.”
That last call was for a maneuver called the eight-handed star, one of many that experienced dancers knew well. “There are innumerable variations on a single pattern based on a square of four men and four women,” LIFE wrote. (While the dance variations may have seemed innumerable, this website puts the total at 68).
In any case, it’s a bunch, and the spectacle of it all was enough to inspire LIFE photographer MIchael Rougier to take to the rafters at a square dance in Oklahoma City to capture the pattens from an aerial view. From that angle, the movements of the square dance are revealed to be a human kaleidoscope that is constantly shifting.
Rougier also took plenty of pictures from ground level, with a focus on the fabulous fashions of the female dancers, whose twirling skirts created their own visual display. Square dance clothing is indeed a world unto itself.
However brilliant it all looked through Rougier’s camera, the dances seems to have been a great night of family-friendly fun. “On the night of the big dance at Oklahoma City, the concessionaires sold tons of ice cream, gallons of soda pop, but only three bottles of beer,” LIFE’s story concluded.
It’s why square dancing carries on today, with this calendar forming a burgeoning database for people who still want to become a part of patterns like these.
John Steele Batson called a square dance in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
John Steele Batson called a square dance in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Square dancers in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Square dancers in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Square dancers in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Square dancers in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A child performed at a square dance in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Square dancers in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A square dance attendee in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A couple demonstrated the pigeon wing as they danced to “Cotton-eye Joe” in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The “eight hands across-form a star” formation at a square dance in Oklahoma City, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
An overhead view of “Ring up four in the middle of the floor” at an Oklahoma City square dance, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
An overhead view of “Circle eight and spread out wide, slide around the old cowhide” at an Oklahoma City square dance, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
An overhead view of “swing your partner like swinging in a gate,” at an Oklahoma City square dance, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
An overhead view of “balance four in line” at an Oklahoma City square dance, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Couples dancing to “Cotton-eye Joe” at an Oklahoma City square dance, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Overhead view of an Oklahoma City square dance, 1948.
Michael Rougier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
