I am pretty sure it is not in Nelson. I don't see any Tolmans and they were always in Nelson. Could this have been in Dublin, NH? Nicholas S. Howe and Joe Ryan are the fiddlers. Joe always had what he called a "fiddler's sneer" when he fiddled. He enjoyed fiddling even if it did make him sneer. There are people in this video who danced for the first time in May 1966, so this is then or later. Doug Cox looks older than he did in 1964.
this is great,you could say it is dancing anarchy.Wonderful seeing people doing their own thing in what is supposed to be sequence dancing.Oh the joy of trying to do something you haven't a clue about,more please.
As a sometime caller and dancer of (mainly) English dances this is a joy to see. Mistakes and all. No recriminations when someone goes wrong. As it should be. Interesting to see some people trying to step the dance.
Music truly drives along..great pulse. Thankyou for this!
This is where I learned to contra dance, about 6 years later, when Pete Colby was playing banjo and Bob McQuillan was playing piano; we used to drive up from Boston to every dance. A great thing about Dudley was that he allowed "sit-ins" - you could bring an instrument and play along to practice and learn the tunes, as long as you didn't mess up the music. As to the fiddler - sure looks like Jerry Weene to me - he still does all my fiddle repairs.
I love contra dancing! There's quite an active group in our part of Tennessee. I had never heard of it where I grew up in South Carolina, but I think my Scottish-Irish roots pulled me toward it when I moved here. These are great videos, thank you so much for posting.
Ayuh, this is the real deal (why does the title call it "Vermont" dancing if it was shot in NH?). Folks of all ages and in all manner of dress, everyone (except, apparently, the fiddler) having a wonderful time. I love watching dancers and would rather play for a dance than get on the floor. Long live the contra!
I do this kind of dance every week... but I have never seen a caller that played an instrument simultaneously, let alone two! Phenomenal. If you like this, it's called Contra Dancing, and they probably have a group in your town.
@leopants And thank you for your comment. I made this movie when I was 22-year-old and a camera weighed 49 pounds and I managed to dance with it. I still love the film myself. And the dance caller became one of the greatest Contra dance callers in America.
What fun to see the range of dancing skills -- from those who are translating calls to their feet to those who just move naturally to the music. Mistakes, yes, but smiles all around. Then there is the whole line which decided to dance Petronella instead of what Dudley was calling. Great film of Americana.
Hi David, Great job on the filming! I just got an email from my father after I sent this link to him. Turns out, the piano player is my mom, Cyndi Dunbr-Randall. Also Doug Cox is on fiddle, not Jerry Weene. It was great to see this, thanks so much!
This looks like Nelson NH. The caller is my father, Dudley Laufman. I can see Jerry Weene, fiddle, Nicholas S. Howe, fiddle, Sylvia Miscoe, accordion, I think that it may be Kay Gilbert on piano.
@alohawaidi - Thank you for commenting. It is nice to make your acquaintance. I was a very young man when I filmed your father on that evening and I do love the movie I made. It is real, and simple, and has wonderful music, and is well edited considering I was just 23 years old when I did it and the camera weighed 49 pounds.
@dbadagna It looks like the Nelson Town Hall in Nelson, NH. It's been many years since I was inside and them memory is a bit foggy. As far as I know they still hold these dances up there.
hi im wonna find one song its american folk...i think they call it long time ago its like some remix...that song sing some girl like tehno or house...and the guy sings contry or somfn...please can u help if u cud...
Oh, man, the guy at 5:29 to 5:46, dancing a bit too enthusiastically bashing into bystanders- then his wife (?) comes up alongside him and tells him off. What a slice of life...
The real kicker: there's a very good chance that same small New England town does the same thing you're seeing in this film 45 years later. In fact, I grew up in New Hampshire, and I think I can actually recognize a couple of people in that, who are still playing and dancing in this style today.
1965. A very early documentary. I was 21 years old. I was making a documentary, my first. I worked hard to get permission to go down to the mountains of North Carolina as I loved mountain music and heard it on Long Island as a boy.
I love that music, what is the name of the caller?
Waldemar Hoff
Poland
vaaldemarhoff 4 months ago
quite good to know the culture at that time~love from China
angher2010 6 months ago
WOW! nostalgia by the bucket load, what a pity things have to change and we all get old.
Good clean fun and no need to go to the gym!
I guess some of the dancers will still be around, some look like we did in the 60s, great days.
THEGGITtheELDER 6 months ago
As a long-time contra dancer, I loved this. :) The caller was a bit quick, but I guess he wasn't what I'm used to. LOVE this. :)
PaluaWahine 6 months ago
From Nancy (the girl frozen in the last scene):
I am pretty sure it is not in Nelson. I don't see any Tolmans and they were always in Nelson. Could this have been in Dublin, NH? Nicholas S. Howe and Joe Ryan are the fiddlers. Joe always had what he called a "fiddler's sneer" when he fiddled. He enjoyed fiddling even if it did make him sneer. There are people in this video who danced for the first time in May 1966, so this is then or later. Doug Cox looks older than he did in 1964.
simonsonjh 6 months ago
Cool Video !
riverstrat 7 months ago
This isnt nelson. Im not sure where it is but its not nelson. Looks like a good dance though.
6thfifer 8 months ago
this is great,you could say it is dancing anarchy.Wonderful seeing people doing their own thing in what is supposed to be sequence dancing.Oh the joy of trying to do something you haven't a clue about,more please.
arseparts1 8 months ago
I love this! I love the music, the dancing, the camaraderie!
jmontgomery7577 8 months ago
As a sometime caller and dancer of (mainly) English dances this is a joy to see. Mistakes and all. No recriminations when someone goes wrong. As it should be. Interesting to see some people trying to step the dance.
Music truly drives along..great pulse. Thankyou for this!
tubemagpie 8 months ago 2
This is where I learned to contra dance, about 6 years later, when Pete Colby was playing banjo and Bob McQuillan was playing piano; we used to drive up from Boston to every dance. A great thing about Dudley was that he allowed "sit-ins" - you could bring an instrument and play along to practice and learn the tunes, as long as you didn't mess up the music. As to the fiddler - sure looks like Jerry Weene to me - he still does all my fiddle repairs.
dondivideo 9 months ago
Wow That was really good to see,
gilly8532 9 months ago in playlist MUSIC VIDS
I love contra dancing! There's quite an active group in our part of Tennessee. I had never heard of it where I grew up in South Carolina, but I think my Scottish-Irish roots pulled me toward it when I moved here. These are great videos, thank you so much for posting.
allegriajoy 10 months ago
We have these dances in England where they are called Barn Dances. In Scotland they would be called a 'ceilidh' (pronounced Kaley).
TheAnn2shoes 11 months ago
Ayuh, this is the real deal (why does the title call it "Vermont" dancing if it was shot in NH?). Folks of all ages and in all manner of dress, everyone (except, apparently, the fiddler) having a wonderful time. I love watching dancers and would rather play for a dance than get on the floor. Long live the contra!
uptonsavoie 1 year ago
@uptonsavoie I wouldn't worry about the fiddler. He may just be one of those taciturn types who doesn't show his enjoyment in his face.
jmontgomery7577 8 months ago
I do this kind of dance every week... but I have never seen a caller that played an instrument simultaneously, let alone two! Phenomenal. If you like this, it's called Contra Dancing, and they probably have a group in your town.
elphish12 1 year ago
awesome
captboostacious 1 year ago
Thanks for posting this.
PartnershipDancing 1 year ago
This is great - So good that its been preserved and shared!!
Patriot1862 1 year ago
Thanks Mr. Hoffman - this is truly amazing to see.
Leo Francis
Melbourne, Australia
leopants 1 year ago 2
@leopants And thank you for your comment. I made this movie when I was 22-year-old and a camera weighed 49 pounds and I managed to dance with it. I still love the film myself. And the dance caller became one of the greatest Contra dance callers in America.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
allinaday 1 year ago
wow!
ruudverploegen 1 year ago
This is great stuff. Thank you for posting this. Now, I want to see my friends in Kentucky start posting vintage videos of dance and music.
linjyewang 1 year ago
What fun to see the range of dancing skills -- from those who are translating calls to their feet to those who just move naturally to the music. Mistakes, yes, but smiles all around. Then there is the whole line which decided to dance Petronella instead of what Dudley was calling. Great film of Americana.
mtnhermit1 1 year ago
Thanks so much for this great view of Dudley and friends.
kardboardkid 1 year ago
Hi David, Great job on the filming! I just got an email from my father after I sent this link to him. Turns out, the piano player is my mom, Cyndi Dunbr-Randall. Also Doug Cox is on fiddle, not Jerry Weene. It was great to see this, thanks so much!
alohawaidi 1 year ago
This looks like Nelson NH. The caller is my father, Dudley Laufman. I can see Jerry Weene, fiddle, Nicholas S. Howe, fiddle, Sylvia Miscoe, accordion, I think that it may be Kay Gilbert on piano.
alohawaidi 1 year ago 7
@alohawaidi - Thank you for commenting. It is nice to make your acquaintance. I was a very young man when I filmed your father on that evening and I do love the movie I made. It is real, and simple, and has wonderful music, and is well edited considering I was just 23 years old when I did it and the camera weighed 49 pounds.
David Hoffman -- filmmaker
allinaday 1 year ago 3
This film does not seem to be listed in the master list of films on your website--you should add it.
dbadagna 1 year ago
So nice to see this! It's interesting to see a contra dance done to a jig, which one never hears in Appalachia where reels rule. What year was this?
dbadagna 1 year ago 3
@dbadagna - It was 1964.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
allinaday 1 year ago
Thanks, was it in Vermont or New Hampshire and do you remember the name of the town?
dbadagna 1 year ago
@dbadagna It looks like the Nelson Town Hall in Nelson, NH. It's been many years since I was inside and them memory is a bit foggy. As far as I know they still hold these dances up there.
Canopus68 1 year ago
hi im wonna find one song its american folk...i think they call it long time ago its like some remix...that song sing some girl like tehno or house...and the guy sings contry or somfn...please can u help if u cud...
44wonnabekill44 1 year ago
haha i reside in massachusetts. strange to see it so clear
ringo12223 2 years ago
David Hoffman - You are brilliant! This is an incredible piece of real life shots.
Nihonshu75 2 years ago
Thank you so much for your compliment. Real-life and simple storytelling is my forte.
David Hoffman -- filmmaker
allinaday 2 years ago
The caller is, of course, Dudley Laufman. Still calling after all these years.
dp01772 2 years ago
Oh, man, the guy at 5:29 to 5:46, dancing a bit too enthusiastically bashing into bystanders- then his wife (?) comes up alongside him and tells him off. What a slice of life...
rocketplumber 2 years ago 3
@rocketplumber the kids today have much more body contact when they dance and no one says anything :)
slimphotog 1 year ago
I like the miscues and mistakes, goodnaturedly fixed by fellow dancers. Happens to everyone at some time!
rocketplumber 2 years ago
Lovely slice of life from the past. Thanks so much for making this and sharing it!
MissGarbo 2 years ago
The real kicker: there's a very good chance that same small New England town does the same thing you're seeing in this film 45 years later. In fact, I grew up in New Hampshire, and I think I can actually recognize a couple of people in that, who are still playing and dancing in this style today.
And you got the sense of movement right.
thexalon 2 years ago
beautiful! i love the action of the camera moving through the dance floor!
goldenlunafish 2 years ago
WHEN was this?
niffleheim1998 2 years ago
1965. A very early documentary. I was 21 years old. I was making a documentary, my first. I worked hard to get permission to go down to the mountains of North Carolina as I loved mountain music and heard it on Long Island as a boy.
David Hoffman
filmmaker
allinaday 2 years ago
@allinaday
I found your great work today.Great stuff.
TheRifle65 2 years ago
Brilliant.
gilly8532 2 years ago