Dear dance musician friends,
November 18, 2020, marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Ted Sannella. Ted shaped our
lives as dancers and callers, and we remember him vividly. Before more time goes by and
memories fade, we'd like to use this occasion to collect stories and tributes from
others who knew Ted.
Ted published some 170 dances, including contras, squares, triplets, and mixers in various
configurations. After the death of Ralph Page, Ted was widely considered the “Dean of New
England Callers.” He left behind a vast collection of dance materials, which were donated
along with his personal papers to the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music and Dance
at the University of New Hampshire to form the Ted Sannella Collection.
Please send your stories to SannellaStories(a)gmail.com
<mailto:SannellaStories@gmail.com>; we'll collect them and will arrange for them
to be shared more widely. This may happen through a print or web publication of some kind,
or—once the COVID-19 pandemic has abated enough that we can dance safely—in dance camp or
festival settings. We could even arrange a special Ted Talk!
We will also make sure that all contributions are passed along to the Ted Sannella
Collection at UNH and shared with members of Ted's family.
David Millstone and David Smukler