[Callers] Ralph Page weekend

Dear caller friends, Apologies if you've received this already. I'm trying to get the word out to many folks. I'm hoping that some members of this list might be enticed to join us in New Hampshire on January 12-14, 2007, for the 20th annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. Here's the website with details: http://www.neffa.org/rplw.html The two callers most associated with traditional New England dancing are Dudley Laufman and Ralph Page, so it is particularly apt that Dudley's accomplishments are being celebrated this year at the Ralph Page weekend. Ralph preserved the traditional dances of the Monadnock region and shared them with a new audience especially in the post-WWII years, and Dudley extended that audience dramatically in the late 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, "Dudley dancers" from that era were responsible for spreading interest in traditional New England dancing to all parts of the United States, from San Diego to St. Louis to Seattle, from Knoxville and Bloomington to Houston and Lansing. The list goes on and on... years as leader of the Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra, from performances at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival and the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap, from his rigorous schedule of dances throughout New England, from Boston area high society weddings to countless New Hampshire schoolrooms, from his influential recordings to his current busy schedule (250 gigs a year) with Two Fiddles-- for fifty years, Dudley Laufman has been an influential dancing master and musician. Given the number of dance communities that were inspired by Dudley dances, a case can be made that Dudley is the single individual most responsible for the fact that folks in America enjoy dancing contras today. He has been recognized for his contributions in many ways, including the 2001 New Hampshire Governor's Award in the Arts for Folk Heritage and a nomination for the 2006 National Heritage Fellowship. Folks on this trad-dance-callers list certainly have enjoyed his strong opinions, his perspectives, his stories, his dances, and his poems. Now it's time for the dance community to honor him. The Friday night dance at the Ralph Page weekend will feature music of Dudley's Canterbury Orchestra. Saturday's program includes the world premiere of a new documentary about Dudley by David Millstone, and a Retrospective dance session focused on Dudley's long career. Staff callers for the weekend include Tony Parkes and Carol Ormand, with stellar music being provided Friday by the Canterbury Orchestra and on Saturday and Sunday by two bands: The Old Grey Goose, a Maine band with long connections to Dudley, and a trio comprising Bob McQuillen on piano, Laurie Andres on accordion, and Vince O'Donnell on fiddle. The weekend includes opportunities for musical jams, there are calling and music workshops, there's an open mic for callers, and there's plenty of good dancing to be had. Of all the dance weekends I know, this one does more than any other to pay tribute to our rich dancing heritage while also celebrating the lively contemporary dance scene. It's also the only dance event I know of where dancers expect a generous number of duple proper and triple minor dances in the program, and where you can count on dancing Money Musk at least once, as well as numerous other chestnts. Over the years, this dance weekend has attracted a particularly large number of callers, both old hands and relative beginners, who come to share in the dancing and to talk shop. It's a great time, and I hope you can join us. Please spread the word! David Millstone