Ralph Page, c. 1940s

Ralph George Page (January 28, 1903 – February 21, 1985) was an American contra dance caller. He was influential in spreading it from New Hampshire to the rest of the United States and other countries, and was recognized as an authority on American folk dance overall.

Early life and career

Page was born on January 28, 1903, in Munsonville, New Hampshire.[1] He grew up in Nelson, New Hampshire, where his Scottish-Irish American[2] family had lived for several generations as farmers.[3]

In 1934, he was elected selectman for Nelson by a five-vote margin over a more conservative incumbent, Harry Green.[3]

Calling career

External image
image icon Page calls a contra dance in Nelson, New Hampshire, in 1941

Page began calling (prompting) contra dances in 1930 accidentally, when he was scheduled to play for a dance in Stoddard but the caller developed laryngitis.[4][5] He took five days off per year from his work.[4] Every Tuesday, he travelled to the Clarendon Street YMCA in Boston to call contra and square dances.[4]

In 1944, Page was one of three founders of the New England Folk Festival Association.[4] He was its president for several years.[1]

Beginning in the 1950s, Page led folk dance camps across the United States.[5]

In 1956, the U.S. State Department sponsored Page to tour Japan.[4] During this trip, he called a dance for more than 4,000 people in a Tokyo stadium; he used hand signals, as he did not speak Japanese.[6]

In 1966, Page toured England and led workshops with the English Folk Dance and Song Society.[4]

Page opposed the modern western square dance movement, and criticized its complexity in his writings.[7]

Later life and death

Page died at age 82 on February 21, 1985, at the Cheshire County Hospital.[4] He is buried in the Munsonville Cemetery.[1]

Personal life

Page married Ada Novak in 1945.[4][1] He had one daughter, Laura Susan Wilson, born 1946.[4][1] He lived in Keene.[8]

Page was a bibliophile. He especially enjoyed history and mystery novels, and wrote an unpublished mystery novel himself.[1]

Page never learned to drive, instead commuting by train or bus.[7]

Page was active in local politics. He served as the president of the Cheshire County Historical Society for 15 years[4] and as a selectman for Nelson from 1934 to 1938.[3]

Recognition and legacy

External videos
video icon Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, January 2020

As an early American contra dance caller, Page is credited with sustaining and spreading the tradition, keeping it alive until the 1960s, when it experienced a revival due to the countercultural revolution.[9][10] In 1977, Page received the Granite State Award.[1][11] In 1980, he was given Callerlab's Milestone Award.[1]

Page's papers are held in a collection at the University of New Hampshire library.[5]

The Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, begun in 1988 and held annually in January at UNH, is named in his honor.[12]

Publications

Page published Northern Junket magazine from 1949 to 1984.[1][2] It contained calling instructions, folk tunes, and other folk culture, and an editorial.[1] His other works include:

  • With Tolman, Beth (1937). The Country Dance Book: The Old-Fashioned Square Dance, Its History, Lore, Variations and Its Callers. Literary Licensing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-4940-3855-7.
  • The Ralph Page Book of Contras. London: English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1969. ISBN 0-85418-003-6. OCLC 810699.
  • Heritage Dances of Early America. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Lloyd Shaw Foundation. 1976. OCLC 959505293.
  • An Elegant Collection of Contras and Squares. Denver, Colorado: Lloyd Shaw Foundation. 1984. ISBN 0-915213-00-1. OCLC 10913290.
  • Knox, Ralph C., ed. (1990). Contras as Ralph Page Called Them. OCLC 22742269.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Guide to the Ralph Page Manuscript Collection, 1940–1985". Library. University of New Hampshire. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Oakes, Dick. "Ralph Page". socalfolkdance.org. Folk Dance Federation of California, South. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Rumrill, Alan F. (August 28, 2021). "A moment in local history: Ralph Page, selectman". The Keene Sentinel. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Ralph G. Page, 82; an authority on folk dancing in United States". The Boston Globe. February 22, 1985. p. 13. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Whitney, D. Quincy (January 13, 1991). "Salute to Page planned at UNH". The Boston Globe. pp. 261, 264. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  6. ↑ Osgood, Bob (April 1961). "As I See It". Sets in Order. pp. 9–10. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via University of Denver Digital Archive.
  7. 1 2 Smukler, David; Millstone, David (2008). "Who Was Ralph Page?". Cracking Chestnuts: The Living Tradition of Classic American Contra Dances. Haydenville, Massachusetts: Country Dance and Song Society. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-917024-30-6.
  8. ↑ "Ralph Page's Northern Junket". Nelson History. Nelson History Roundtable. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ Tremblay, Caroline (September 28, 2017). "1941 in Nelson: Special Contra Dance Travels Back in Time". The Keene Sentinel. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  10. ↑ Bealle, John (2005). Old-Time Music and Dance: Community and Folk Revival. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 9780253111685.
  11. ↑ "Contra Dance Caller Gets Granite State Award". The Brattleboro Reformer. September 28, 1977. p. 7. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Guide to the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend Collection, 1988–2017". Library. University of New Hampshire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
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