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<p>(Courtesy DU's Carson Brierly Giffin Dance Library)</p>
Calvin “Cal” Golden calling a square dance.

Square Dance

By Lauralyn Duff
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After a championship season, Cheyenne Mountain's football coach noticed his players were too proud. And so he turned the team to a more inclusive activity: square dancing. With roots that go back centuries, square dancing evolved as pioneers moved west. But by the 1930s, interest in this kinetic, highly choreographed collective effort had fizzled. Lloyd "Pappy" Shaw helped to change that. With his wife, Dorothy, they got the whole school district dancing. In 1939, he published "Cowboy Dances," the "bible" of square dance. The Cheyenne Mountain dancers (a high school troupe with flashy, intricate routines) spread the gospel, and clubs, camps, and conventions popped up across the country. The dance continues, especially every September, when dancers fill the state capitol to celebrate the official state folk dance of Colorado -- square dancing.

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