David Millstone is a dance caller, historian, and film maker (see Films below) from New Hampshire. His latest project is A Hand for the Band, a map and timeline of dance bands in the US, with info about each band and sounds samples.
Here are a few of the history talks that he presented:
Contra Dance in Modern Times: 75 years of change in post-WWII America
Flurry Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY February 14, 2021
David Millstone: Country Dance in Modern Times: Squares, ECD and Contras in Post-WWII America
presented by the Mt Airy PA Thursday Night contra 1/14/21
Description
video is also also on Facebook
350 Years of Country Dance with David Millstone
presented by New Mexico FolkMADS 3/10/21
David Millstone: Contra Chestnuts: A New Look at Old Dances
Handout (PDF)
presented by New Mexico FolkMADS 2 May 2021
CRACKING CHESTNUTS: David Smukler and David Millstone
Presented at virtual Ralph Page Weekend 1/7/21
Square Dance History With David Millstone (3 sessions)
Description
Presented by CDSS Feb 2022
Newbie Callers 2022-03-19: David Millstone on the Square Dance History Project
A Hand for the Band: How David Millstone Put Country Dance on the Map
Interview on NH Public Radio (audio) Dec 18 2023
Tony Parkes (1949-2024) was a musician, contra & square dance caller, and author based in the Boston area. He recently published Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century.
Tony Parkes: Diversity in Square Dancing
Presented by the Mt Airy PA Thursday Night contra Jan 2021
Tony Parkes: Squaring the Line
Presented at virtual Ralph Page Weekend Jan 16 2022
Newbie Callers 2021-01-30: Tony Parkes on diversity in square dancing
Newbie Callers 2020-12-19: Tony Parkes on Contra
Tony Parkes - Complete History of Square Dancing, Abridged
Presented as part of Folk Arts Center of New England's "Some other Folks Arts" series 9/9/21. $5 to watch (anytime) on Vimeo.
Phil Jamison is a musician, square dance caller, and author based in North Carolina. He recently published Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics.
Phil Jamison: Recognizing African American Contributions to Southern Appalachian Music and Dance
Description
Presented by CDSS (Common Time) Jan 2022
Phil Jamison: Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics
Presented by the Mt Airy PA Thursday Night contra 8/27/20
Alex Cumming is a traditional singer, accordionist, pianist and dance caller hailing from Somerset, England, now living in Brattleboro VT, USA. He performs songs and tunes from around the United Kingdom and America with a great depth of knowledge of the tradition.
Alex Cumming: Inspirational Women: the Researchers Who Worked with Cecil Sharp (Mary Neal, Maud Karpeles, and Olive Dame Campbell).
Presented as part of Folk Arts Center of New England's "Some other Folks Arts" series 5/23/24. $5 to watch (anytime) on Vimeo.
Alex Cumming: The Songcatcher: Olive Dame Campbell
Presented as part of Folk Arts Center of New England's "Some other Folks Arts" series 9/30/21. $5 to watch (anytime) on Vimeo.
Alex Cumming: The Songs and Stories of Olive Dame Campbell
Presented to John C. Campbell Folk School November 2022 as part of 2022 Music & Folklore Mentorship Program, with mentees Cate Clifford, Ash Devine, and Ray Fifer.
Alex Cumming - Appalachian Traditions (primarily about Olive Dame Campbell)
presented to John C. Campbell Folk School 4/22/21
Steve Zakon-Anderson - History of Contra Dancing
Presented to Amos Fortune Forum 8/19/22
Richard Powers - The Early History of Set Dance Prompting
Presented as part of Folk Arts Center of New England's "Some other Folks Arts" series 5/14/22. $5 to watch (anytime) on Vimeo.
See Richard's website for additional essays, including The Early History of Quadrille Prompting.
Kwackfest Stories - A collection of stories about Bob McQuillen shared at Kwakfest, a festival in honor of what would have been his 100th birthday. July 1, 2023 in Peterborough, NH. Recorded by Ray Sebold.
hosted by Julie Vallimont, explores contra dance music—its history, present, and potential future, through in-depth conversations with contra musicians.
ran from Mar 2020 until Apr 2022
Plus a couple of video sessions:
Conversations with callers across the continent, hosted by Mary Wesley (VT)
from Feb 2022; continuing monthly (more or less)
Music & interviews with contra dance musicians, hosted by Chrissy Fowler (Belfast ME; broadcast on WBFY)
from Feb 2025
1 hour chat with leading artists, teachers, and experts from the English Country Dance community (and a few contra & square callers & musicians..)
presented on Zoom & Facebook by the Historical Tea & Dance Society (Pasadena CA)
starting off weekly in March 2020, then monthly until Dec 2022
All of the chats can be viewed here (well-organized) or on YouTube.
The Zoom chats and other information are available in the Dropbox folder for 5 Things downloads
Recordings of the after-talk discussions are available by special request.
1750-2015 Traditional Dance Music of the Monadnock Region of NH
#1 Intro & Bob McQuillen
#2 Ralph Sweet
#3 Dudley Laufman
#4 Bill Spence
#5 Andy Spence
#6 general comments
Posted at the Square Dance History Project
The Sannella Stores - Reminiscences about Ted Sannella (1928-1995) from dancers, musicians, and callers.
The Square Dance History Project contains a wealth of information.
The Bob Brundage Interviews at the Square Dance Foundation of New England website contain over a hundred audio interviews (and transcriptions), mostly modern square dance callers, but there is a section listing the traditional/contra callers.
1997 Interview with David Kaynor. Recorded by Ray Sebold.
Contra Dance:
Film by David Millstone 2001. Seminal dance musician and tunesmith Bob McQuillen (1923-2014) discusses his life and lengthy musical career. With Mac as the focus, the film examines continuity and change in New England dancing.
Film by David Millstone 2007. Musician and caller Dudley Laufman (1930-) was the charismatic figure at the center of a dance revival in the 1970s that created today's vibrant contra scene. The film weaves comments by more than 20 callers, musicians, and dancers with rare footage to create a definitive portrait of the man and his legacy.
Film by Doug Plummer 2022. Take Hands tells a small town story of how music and dance can unite people across cultural divides. The film follows Stacy Rose and the South Coast Folk Society as they organize a week-long celebration of traditional American music and contra dancing in rural Coos Bay, Oregon. Stacy wants everyone at the dance, no matter their skills or their politics. She wants a dance week that will bring people together and perhaps change a town.
Film info and resource info about contra and square dancing at https://takehandsfilm.com/. Other films by Doug Plummer (including a number of short films about contra and square dancing in the Pacific Northwest), plus Q&A etc about Take Hands, are available at https://vimeo.com/dougplummer.
Film by Harrison Keely 2024
English Country Dance:
Film by Daniel (Danny) Walkowitz, Stephanie Smith, and Charles (Charlie) Weber; filmed from 1999 through 2006; completed 2018; released 2025. City Folk, an informative exploration of the history of English country dancing and Pinewoods Camp, combines rare historical footage, interviews with past and current dancers and dance leaders, and a compelling narrative to trace the long history of ECD from its beginnings to its revival and flourishing in the present time. Reading the accompanying PDF before or while watching the film is useful in understanding the structure and background of the film. The film draws on the book, City Folk, by Daniel Walkowitz (NYU Press 2010).
Clogging:
Film by Mike Seeger 1987, featuring flatfoot, buck, hoedown, and rural tap dancing, the styles of solo Southern dancing which are a companion to traditional old-time music and on which modern clog dancing is based.
Film by M. Chad Smith & Leanne Smith 2016. Acquaints viewers with Robert Dotson (1923-2015) and the Walking Step, a percussive dance step the Green Grass Cloggers deciphered from Robert’s flatfooting style of dancing in 1978 and helped spread far beyond Robert’s home community of Sugar Grove, NC. Teaching the Walking Step has proved to be an effective way for the NC-based Green Grass Cloggers and other clogging teams to introduce new dancers to flatfooting and clogging at festivals and workshops in several states and countries.
Film from the BFI National Archives 1959. Clog dancing in Porthmadog Wales.
Miscellaneous:
Film by Mark Greenberg 1985. The film traces the development of traditional country music in Vermont from unaccompanied ballads through Franco- and Anglo-American fiddling to radio cowboy bands and contemporary square dancing through the words and music of a dozen Vermont musicians, historic photos, and location videography.
Film by John Bishop & Nick Hawes 1983. Presents seven of the finest traditional musicians as they play in their homes and at dances and contests. The companion film New England Dance (trailer on YouTube) is available from CDSS on DVD (with New England Fiddles and several bonus features).
Film by Larry Edelman 2018. In the 1970s, the Highwoods Stringband’s unique blend of musical brilliance, exuberance, sparkling wit, and eclectic repertoire introduced tens of thousands of delighted listeners to traditional old-time music
Film by Larry Edelman 2023. An intimate look into the remarkable bond of identical twins Greg and Jere Canote. Sharing their genetically-matched musical mastery and joyful spirit, they spread happiness and optimism to all they meet. The film shares their journey from infancy to festival favorites as they take their place in the rich tradition of singing brother duets.
Film by Larry Edelman (1987). Recorded at the Prosperity Fire Hall in western Pennsylvania, features Jerry Goodwin calling with the Mountain Express (Chuck Monticello, fiddle; Joe Frye, guitar; Bob Hill, piano; and Dodie Goodwin, bass).
Film by Guy Bouchard 2022. Traditional music and dances from Douglastown, at the tip of the Gaspé peninsula. Available for purchase or rent from vimeo, in French or English.
Film by Harrison Keely 2024
Morris Dancing:
Film by Joshua Hamilton 2019
BBC documentary (2019) chronicling journalist Sam Macer's experience with a Manchester Morris side, examining the tensions between gender equality and tradition, and the nature of masculinity within the dance.
Shorts about the west coast traditional square dance scene:
8 minute short posted by The Bluegrass Situation.
Doug Plummer 2009. Filmed at the Portland Old Time Gathering 2009.
Doug Plummer 2011? part of Northwest Stories, project of Northwest Folklore.
Oregon Art Beat (Oregon PBS) 2003. Posted by the Square Dance History Project. Interviews with Bill Martin (1947-2012) and other Portland area callers and musicians.