The exhibit features the music, artifacts, and stories that document the long and continuous tradition of country dance in the New Hampshire Monadnock Region from the days of the early settlers to the present.
Drawing on photographs, early records, stories, documents, and music, this exhibit takes the viewer on a journey from the community dances of the 18th century, kitchen dances of the 19th century, and the days of Ralph Page and his Orchestra in the 1940s.
Featured in the exhibit is an audio compilation of music and text developed and curated by Randy Miller who wrote the authoritative book, The New England Fiddler’s Repertoire. A selection of materials from the UNH Library’s New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music and Dance also accompany the traveling exhibit.
The exhibit was created by the Monadnock Folklore Society and the Monadnock Center for History and Culture with support by a grant from the NH State Council for the Arts.
The exhibit opened at UNH during the Ralph Page Legacy Weekend, an annual celebration of New England dance traditions dating back to 1988.
