New Hampshire Dance Stories and History

Here are some stories and pictures of the Monadnock and New Hampshire folk music and dance scene. I expect to continue to expand on this bit of our dance history. Contributions for this section, are always appreciated.

• How Square Dance Calling Got Invented: Dudley Laufman explains it all.
• How Contra Dancing Was Invented: Dudley Laufman explains the rest of it.
• Old Chestnuts: David Millstone looks into why they are called "Old Chestnuts."
• Fiddler's Rock: Fiddler's Rock, in Amherst, NH was named after a fiddler returned from a celebration - and probably a dance - many years ago.
• The Bahn Dance: Dudley Laufman describes a Bahn dance and how it differs from a contra dance.
• Petronella: Dudley Laufman writes about dancing the Petronella in Nelson, NH
• The Balance: Dudley investigates different styles of the balance. Although the balance is not as celebrated a step now, in years past some dancers could dance down an entire line, and never do the balance the same way twice.
• Glenn Pease: Old-Time Barn Dance Caller: This story, by Arthur Pease, tells of his father, Glenn Pease's, life as a well known and respected dance caller and farmer in Orford, NH in the 1940's and 50's.
• The 1950 NH Folk Festival: Arthur Pease included a copy of the program for the 1950 New Hampshire Folk Festival, now available here.
• Perils of Prosperity: Dudley Laufman explains why some dances have low attendance now.
• Francestown, New Hampshire, a poem by Keith Spiro that describes the Francestown dance in a way that all who have danced there will recognize.
• Nelson Dances in the 1950's. Dudley writes about the old-time Nelson dances that he and Renn Tolman reproduced on October 13th, 2001.

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