Pontine Presents 'Contra Dancing In NH,' With Dudley Laufman

Sunday June 3rd at 2pm, Pontine Thetre presents Dudley Laufman's Contra Dancing in New Hampshire: Then & Now. Thanks to grant support from New Hampshire Humanities, this program is open to the public at no charge Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. Contact Pontine to reserve seats: info@pontine.org / 603-436-6660.

Since the late 1600s, the lively tradition of contra dancing has kept people of all ages swinging and sashaying in barns, town halls, and schools around New Hampshire. Contra dancing came to New Hampshire by way of the English colonists and remains popular in many communities, particularly in the Monadnock Region. Dudley Laufman brings this tradition to life with stories, poems and recordings of callers, musicians, and dancers, past and present. Live music, always integral to this dance form, will be played on the fiddle and melodeon.The Plains School is located at #1 Plains Avenue in Portsmouth NH. The space is fully accessible with adjacent parking.

Dudley Laufman was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship in 2009. In 2001 he received the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 1999, Laufman was featured at the Smithsonian FolkLife Festival in Washington, DC. Laufman has been playing fiddle and calling for contra and square dances for 64 years. He co-authored Traditional Barn Dances and recorded several CDs. Under Laufman's leadership the Canterbury Orchestra produced five recordings.