We'd like to present a short history of national folk dance directories. We're aware of the many local and regional folk dance directories such as the Southwest Folkdance Directory and Dancing: A Guide to the Capital Area which now exist and have existed in the past. We're also aware of national directories such as the CDSS Groups Directory (Contra and English), the National Square Dance Directory (Western Square) and Where to Dance (Israeli) which are dedicated to one or two types of folk dance. This pages is devoted exclusively to the handful of directories which have attempted to be truly national in scope and cover all types of folk dance.
We have tried to be as accurate as possible in relating the following history. However, if any facts are incorrect or missing, please accept our apologies in advance and visit our Feedback Page to submit the correct information so we can amend what follows.
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This page covers the following topics:
Folk Dance Directory, which was created, compiled and edited by Raymond La Barbers and published from 1971 to 1978, was the first widely circulated national folk dance directory in the United States. Our goal was to enable folk dancers everywhere to find folk dance classes, sessions, special events, products and services throughout the United States and Canada. To bring this about, about 20,000 copies of each edition were printed and sent to folk dance clubs and special events nationally for free distribution to the folk dancing public.
The first edition covered New York City. After publication, we proposed the creation of a national folk dance directory in the form of a "federation" of ten regional directories. As our part, we expanded our coverage to include all of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and published our directory as Region 3 of the proposed ten regions. When it became clear that the other nine directories were not going to be done, we again expanded our coverage, this time to include all of the United States and Canada.
The 1978 edition, with 32 pages and over 1,000 listings, was our last issue. We stopped publication because it simply became prohibitively expensive to prepare, print and mail 20,000 copies of the directory to all the folk dance clubs in the country. Even though we charged $10.00 per listing to be in the directory, we were forced to operate at a loss and go into debt. Moreover, the directory only went to those already hooked on folk dancing; we never found an inexpensive way to get copies into the hands of people who might like to folk dance if they had the opportunity to find out about it.
The People's Folk Dance Directory was created, compiled and edited by John Steele. The first edition was published in 1977, the second covered 1978-1979, the third in 1982 and the fourth and final in 1989. Like Folk Dance Directory, it's goal was to cover recreational folk dance classes, sessions and special events throughout the United States and Canada.
There were three major differences in approach. We believed our directory should be funded by the individuals and groups listed, have a very large and widespread circulation and be free of charge to all users. John believed the listings should all be free, be funded by those using it and have a circulation limited to those willing to purchase copies. Both approaches have their good and bad points but, since both directories are gone, who's to say which approach was better.
The Folk Dance Phone Book and Group Directory is compiled and edited by Ron Houston (who conceived and created it) and published by the Society of Folk Dance Historians, 2100 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX 78705, (512) 478-9676, sofdh@juno.com. The first edition was published in 1993 and a new, up-dated edition has been released every year thereafter.
As its name implies, it's intended to be a folk dance telephone book. Although the emphasis is on international folk dance, practitioners of contra, square English, Israeli and all other types of folk dance are welcome to participate. Indeed, it resembles a small local phone book and even has sections with white, yellow and blue pages. The white pages provide a comprehensive alphabetical list of individuals and groups that's a virtual who's who of folk dance. The yellow pages have lists of teachers, groups, musicians, vendors, and teachers arranged by specialty. The blue pages feature state by state (and province by province) listings of folk dance clubs in the United States and Canada. There's even a set of eight pink pages which offer some fascinating demographic information about folk dancing as it exists today in the United States. There are well over 5,000 listings and the free listing form (available upon request) takes just a few minutes to fill out.
What do we think of this directory? We feel this directory's well conceived, well laid out and well executed. The listings are easy to use and well researched. A folk dance telephone directory such as this fills a need no other publication does and is certainly very useful in locating people we've lost track of. No one interested in folk dance should be without a copy and we're definitely looking forward to future editions.
You can purchase a copy directly from Ron Houston for $14.00 . It's money well spent!
The International Folk Dance Directory is published by the International Folk Culture Center, 411 SW 24 St, San Antonio, TX 78207-4689, (210) 436-8888, ifolkcultu@aol.com. The first edition was created, compiled and edited jointly by David Henry and the International Folk Culture Center in 1995 as the successor to The People's Folk Dance Directory. In 1998, after David left to publish his own directory, the center published its second edition in 1998.
What do we think of this directory? Well, we can't say. We've never seen a copy of it and, until we receive one, we're unable to make any comments.
The FolkThings Directory is compiled and edited by David Henry (who conceived and created it) and published by FolkThings, P.O. Box 13070, San Antonio, TX 78213-0070, (210) 530-0694, folkthings@msn.com. The first edition was published in 1997 and the second of 110 pages in 1998. Its goal is to cover folk dance, folk music, folklore, ethnographic museums, performing groups, folklore festivals . . . in short, folk things throughout the world. With it, you can learn about folk festivals in France and Fiji, folklife museums in Mexico and Mozambique, performing groups in Ghana and Greece, folk newsletters in Norway and New Hampshire and folk dance classes and sessions everywhere.
What do we think of the directory? In terms of design, layout, content, scope and execution, it rates an A+. Its very professional design and layout, well chosen fonts and carefully thought-out organization make it very attractive and a joy to use. Its obviously well-researched content and truly international scope make it a good bet you'll find about almost any folk thing you're seeking. Its exceptional execution is something any publisher can be proud of. In short, it's something no one interested in folk dancing and folk things should be without. We're certainly looking forward to future editions.
You can purchase a copy directly from David Henry for $20.00 . It's money well spent!
Going full circle, we return to Folk Dance Directory, now reborn as an on-line Internet publication.
The Internet, something very few people were aware of in the early 1990's, has completely changed many things, including the face of publishing. Our goals, which are the same now as in the 70's, could not be realized then but. thanks to the Internet, are now possible to achieve.
In the 70's, the high preparation, printing and postage costs compelled us to employ a cumbersome system of almost 150 symbols and abbreviations to squeeze 15 to 20 lines of information down into just two lines. Without this system, our 32-page directory would have needed over 250 pages. Unfortunately, while this made it possible to print and distribute 20,000 of each directory free of charge, it also made using the directory difficult. In addition, information continually went out of date and, by the time a new edition came out, most of the currect directory was obsolete. Finally, almost no copies got to people who might try out folk dancing and get to like it if only they knew it existed.
The Internet has changed all this. Listings involving ten or 15 lines of text cost no more than those involving 2 lines. A group's information need never go out of date because any changes they report to us will appear within on the web within a few days. Finally, with millions and millions of people having access to the Internet, the number of non-folkdancers who can visit this site and, perhaps be intrigued enough to try folk dancing, is staggering.
If you'd like to see how Folk Dance Directory evolved from its beginning in January 1, 1999 to the present, please click on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine for Folk Dance Association.
In February 1999, it came to our attention that there may have been a national folk dance directory which was published even earlier than Folk Dance Directory. We were told this was National Directory of Square & Folk Dance Callers, Teachers & Leaders which was created, compiled and edited by Rod Lafarge. We'd appreciate hearing from anyone who can give us information about this directory and its creator. Even though none of the national directories discussed above were inspired in any way by Mr Lafarge's directory, we nevertheless feel everyone should know about him and his directory.
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