A friend just forwarded the link to your website. I have had a fairly long and varied connection with the Wayside Inn and very much enjoy the connection of the past with the present. I am currently living in central Maine so I only get down to Marlboro and Sudbury once a year. I am researching an old (mid 1800’s) dance book published in Belfast, Maine where our current Contra Dance is. William Quimby’s introductory note stated that they hoped that their book would keep “the good old dances of our ancestors alive”. Many of the tunes and dances are from the mid 1700’s (Fisher’s Hornpipe, Speed the Plough, The Fly, Humors of the Priest House etc.) though a number are also from the early 1800’s. One of my main sources for period music and as a reference for the evolution of many of the dances are the books published by Elias Howe from Framingham in the mid to late 1800’s.
I am always interested in connecting with other folks who might have similar interests or be willing to share material or thoughts connected with this project.
Alex Mann
Hi, I used to be part of the Wayside Inn Steppers and I miss it so much! If you, Alex Mann, or anyone else know of a similar group near the Midcoast of Maine, please let me know. I just heard some English dancing songs on NPR this morning and it made me long to dance again!
A friend just forwarded the link to your website. I have had a fairly long and varied connection with the Wayside Inn and very much enjoy the connection of the past with the present. I am currently living in central Maine so I only get down to Marlboro and Sudbury once a year. I am researching an old (mid 1800’s) dance book published in Belfast, Maine where our current Contra Dance is. William Quimby’s introductory note stated that they hoped that their book would keep “the good old dances of our ancestors alive”. Many of the tunes and dances are from the mid 1700’s (Fisher’s Hornpipe, Speed the Plough, The Fly, Humors of the Priest House etc.) though a number are also from the early 1800’s. One of my main sources for period music and as a reference for the evolution of many of the dances are the books published by Elias Howe from Framingham in the mid to late 1800’s.
I am always interested in connecting with other folks who might have similar interests or be willing to share material or thoughts connected with this project.
Alex Mann
Hi, I used to be part of the Wayside Inn Steppers and I miss it so much! If you, Alex Mann, or anyone else know of a similar group near the Midcoast of Maine, please let me know. I just heard some English dancing songs on NPR this morning and it made me long to dance again!