Lloyd Shaw

Lloyd Shaw (1890-1958), also known as Dr. Lloyd "Pappy" Shaw, was an educator, and is generally credited with bringing about the broad revival of square dancing in America. He was superintendent/principal/teacher/coach for Cheyenne Mountain Schools, Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1916-1951, and taught folk dancing.

Related Topics:
1890 - 1958 - Educator - Square dancing - Colorado Springs - Colorado - 1916 - 1951 - Folk dancing

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He was born in Denver, Colorado, but the family moved to Southern California when he was two years of age. His father was in the real estate business. The family returned to Denver when Shaw was nine years old, and then to Colorado Springs two years later. He graduated from Colorado College in 1913 and married poet, Dorothy Stott Shaw. They had two children? a daughter, Doli, and a son, David,

Related Topics:
Denver - Colorado College

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He started teaching biology and sophomore English at Colorado Springs High School, and then became superintendant of the Broadmoor District's Cheyenne Mountain School on the outskirts of Colorado Springs.

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During his time teaching folk dance he noticed that all the square dancing callers were getting old, and there was no new generation to take over. He also noticed a lack of continuity in the activity in different parts of the country. Shaw came up with a solution that many believe kept the activity from dying out.

Related Topics:
Folk dance - Square dancing callers

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Shaw traveled the country, and compiled definitions for calls from different callers all over the country. He made a universal list, and tried it out on the students he taught. He formed the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers, a high-school exhibition team, which toured the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, appearing in more than 50 major cities.

Related Topics:
1930s - 1940s

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In 1949 the American Academy of Physical Education cited "the Lloyd Shaw Folk Dance Program, as a noteworthy contribution to physical education."

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He also wrote books and articles, and conducted week-long summer classes for teachers and callers into the 1950s.

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The lists were later adopted by callers all across the country. This led to the creation of Callerlab and later the American Callers Association.

Related Topics:
Callerlab - American Callers Association

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Shaw died of a stroke in 1958. The Lloyd Shaw Foundation was created in 1964 to preserve and promote his approach to square dancing.

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