Dancing Back the Clock

Privately Published / College Offset Press, 1952. Paperback. Good. 0x0x0. Privately Published / College Offset Press [Published Date: 1952]. Paper covers, 57 pp. No other printings listed. In good condition. Yellow illustrated paper covers have light bumping and creasing to edges and light overall scuffing, aging and soiling. Original Seller (the "Hayloft" Square Dance Hall) address stamp on front cover, title page and last page. Otherwise pages are lightly aged but unmarked. Not Ex-library. No remainder marks. Instructions for 94 round-type dances of different rhythms with suggested records. The book was compiled and edited by Charles Crabbe Thomas, with many of the descriptions provided by Bill Botham. Thomas, an attorney from Woodbury, NJ, was a square dance enthusiast who began publishing the American Squares newsletter in 1945. The newsletter steadily grew in format and content over the following seven years under Thomas' editorship. In 1952 Thomas and his wife opened Hoedown Hall which was the largest venue for live folk music and square dancing in South Jersey at the time. Charley Thomas is also credited as being the first square dance caller to appear on a regular TV program on WPTZ in 1947 and had his own radio program on WCAM He has authored several books and records for Continental, Remington, Playtime, Pontiac, and Guyden record labels. [From Introduction] Strange as it may seem at first thought, dances are not done to tunes. They are arranged for tempo and rhythm. It follows that several tunes can be used for the same dance if their tempo and rhythm are proper. Conversely, if the tempo and rhythm required by different dances are the same, both dances can be done to the same tune. Danceland has taken advantage of this fact to produce records that can be used for quite a number of dances. This book covers twenty-seven records, fifty-four sides. We have included ninety-four dances several of which can be done to more than one of the tunes while some dances cover up to three sides of the records. So many books have come out giving dances but leaving the dancer up in the air as to where to get the records. These dances are all keyed to records of the Danceland series. If you do not have the music available, you can secure these records either from your local dealer or thru American Squares, 121-82 Delaware Street, Woodbury, New Jersey. Most of these dance descriptions were written in England. There are slight variations from American descriptions. In designating the Tempo, the English count by measures, or bars, rather than by the metronome beats. We counted a recommended schottische at a metronome of 120 which they gave as Tempo 30.