英文原文来自Wikipedia. 请各位对我的中文翻译提出宝贵意见。

A square dance is a dance for four couples (eight dancers) arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances were first documented in 17th century England but were also quite common in France and throughout Europe. They came to North America with the European settlers and have undergone considerable development there. In some countries and regions, through preservation and repetition, square dances have attained the status of a folk dance.

四方舞是四对(八个舞者)排列成正方形, 每对各占据一面, 面向中央。四方舞最早记载是在17世纪的英格兰并很快普及至法国和整个欧洲。欧洲定居者把这个舞蹈带到北美并有了巨大的发展。在一些国家和地区,保留和保持了四方舞并使之拥有了民间舞蹈的地位。

The Western American square dance may be the most widely known form worldwide except dances from China and India, possibly due to its association in the 20th century with the romanticized image of the American cowboy. Square dancing is, therefore, strongly associated with the United States of America. Nineteen US states have designated it as their official state dance.

除了中国的舞蹈和印度的舞蹈，西部美国四方舞也许是最为大家称道的全世界范围的舞蹈。大概是因为它在20世纪与美国牛仔的传奇形象相融会的缘故。美国已有19个州认定这种舞蹈为本州的官方舞蹈。