1. Mary DesRosiers. Peter’s Informal Bio: Mary has been calling since the early 1980’s, also starting at the Nelson dance where she was one of the three who called every week for years. She has strong roots in the New England dance tradition. I know she danced to Duke Miller; she probably danced to Ralph Page as well. She is an excellent contra as well as square dance caller, and calls many of the old favorites. Mary recently suffered from a devastating house fire in which she lost nearly everything. There is a major effort to help her get her life back together (see her web site for information). But we can’t forget that she has made enormous contributions to the New England traditional dance scene for years.

Musicians

Nor’easter

1. Max Newman. His bio says: Max Newman plays guitar and mandolin and grew up dancing in Alaska. He served as the Youth Projects Intern '09-'10 at CDSS. He's also a big dance history geek -- don't get him started. Peter adds: Well, I would love to get him started; I’m sure he has all sorts of interesting things to say! He’s also a very nice person, and very helpful; it’s thanks to Max that the RPDLW has a presence on Facebook.
   

2. Julie Vallimont: Peter’s Informal Bio: Julie is an excellent piano player, also a very nice person and a lot of fun. She has a fondness for Québécois music as well as New England contradance music. Julie can provide excellent accompaniment for traditional dance music as well as for more modern-style dance music; but even when she’s playing modern style you don’t have to worry about a shortage of phrasing and rhythm.
   

3. Cedar Stanistreet: Cedar is the fiddler who drives the band, and he does that very nicely. I believe he has been connected with the traditional music and dance world much of his life; and it shows. Cedar and the band will give us some excellent danceable music at the Weekend!
   

Mac’s Band (for lack of an official name!)

1. Bob McQuillen. Peter’s Informal Bio: I’m really going to summarize Bob McQuillen in a paragraph or two - you’ve got to be kidding! Fortunately most of you know who he is; and if you don’t you’ll find out! He’s the piano player who sets the standard for what New England dance piano is all about. He’s written over a thousand dance tunes, many of which are first class and are becoming/have become chestnuts ~ Dancing Bear, Amelia, Old Tyme Quadrille, Pete’s March, many others. He always has something positive and encouraging to say, and generally has some great stories to tell as well.
   

2. Lissa Schneckenburger. Official Bio: Fiddler and folk singer Lissa Schneckenburger started her performing career in the state of Maine at an early age, and has now blossomed into a seasoned musician, performing for audiences all over the world.  She plays traditional New England style dance tunes and folk songs blended with contemporary acoustic arrangements. Peter adds: I’ve known Lissa for a long time, and she’s one of my all-time favorite musicians as well as one of my favorite people. She’s also an excellent teacher. I’ve been suggesting her for staff for years and I’m so glad it worked this year. Lissa is one of those rare people who has strongly influenced modern New England fiddling, but who also has a very strong interest in the older music and dance traditions. Listening to old recordings with Lissa is always a treat, because she  enjoys them so much and hears so much in the music.
   

3. David Kaynor. Official Bio: David Kaynor has been in and around melody and harmony since before birth, a square and contra dancer since before his teens, a guitarist  since before his 20s, a dance fiddler and tunesmith since before his  30s, and a dance caller, composer, and organizer since before his 40s.  David is often found on dance floors and stages at community dances around the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest and at such  music and dance camps as Northern Week at Ashokan, Dance Musicians’ Week at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Northeast Heritage Music  Camp, Fiddle Hell, and Folklife and Fiddle Tunes. Peter adds: David is remarkably knowledgeable about the music and dance. I can’t count the number of great workshops he’s done at Ashokan over the years. He’s a very good Swedish fiddler as well as New England fiddler. At Ashokan last summer he led a couple daily sessions together with Bob McQuillen in which we had tremendous fun playing many of the old favorite fiddle tunes and exchanging stories; music and dance activities don’t get a whole lot better than that!
   

Northern Spy. Official bio: Since 1980, Northern Spy has been keeping New England dance traditions alive, spreading the joy of contra and square dancing across the generations. Hosting a monthly contra dance in the Upper Connecticut River Valley on the NH/VT border, Spy dances attract crowds from elementary school students to senior citizens. Known for its energetic blend of diverse traditional instruments (fiddles, flute, mandolin, guitar, banjo, and piano), the band draws its repertoire from the richness of New England, French Canadian, Southern and Irish traditions and plays everything from classic "Chestnuts" to more recently composed tunes.