Check out this article about state symbols (and mostly about the state “folk dance” thing): Masters of the dance

Some sample quotes:

But something intriguing turns up when you research this subject. More than half the states have designated a state dance or folk dance, and it is the same one, the square dance. That appears to negate the whole principle involved, which is to elevate the locally distinctive above the homogeneity of modern American life.

and

These designations arose from a political campaign waged by what are known as club or western square dancers. Their recreation has none of the free-form jollity that characterises the folk tradition. The dancing is tightly choreographed, the dress code strict, and the organisation highly structured. There are something like 100 moves but, according to an article by Julie Mangin at tackytreasures.com, it requires at least 60 hours of lessons to learn even two-thirds of them. Folklorists say the whole thing dates back only to the 1920s. According to Mangin, “it is big business rather than folk dancing”

and

Now most of these laws do not specify the actual type of square dancing, but it is clear from the official pictures – showing elaborately petticoated women with elegantly tailored partners – what is meant. Clearly, western square dancing is a legitimate and respectable leisure activity. Eminently respectable indeed: it seems to be peopled mainly by white, heterosexual couples tending towards the elderly and conservative.

and

In other words, it may not be wholly unfair to see their long-standing campaign as another conspiracy by a handful of rightwing Republicans, with the complacent acquiescence of their supposed political opponents and the American public, to take over the universe. There’s no escape.