Editing Modern Western square dance (section)

=== Traditional western square dance ===
Square dance originates from [[Country dance|country dances]] practiced in Great Britain and Ireland dating as far back as the 17th century. Several of the dances included in the 1651 book [[The Dancing Master]] by John Playford are square dances. These dance styles were brought to the United States by European colonists in the 19th century. The distinctive call format of square dance was invented by black slaves, and when combined with European styles, evolved into [[traditional square dance]], most popular in New England and the Appalachians. When people from these regions began settling the West, these evolved into the [[cowboy dance]], a direct predecessor to modern western square dance.