[Apologies for duplicate posting] I'd like to make folks on this list aware that my new video about caller Ralph Sweet is now available for purchase on DVD. Entitled "Sweet Talk," it's 73 minutes long, mostly an edited interview with Ralph.
Additional material interspersed with the interview includes segments on the early years of modern Western square dancing, some older audio recordings and photographs of callers and dancers as well as diagrams from numerous square dance books. There are also several short sequences recorded in recent years of Ralph calling, including at the Greenfield dance the night when Ralph and his all-star band recorded the wonderful "Shindig in the Barn" CD. Among the topics that Ralph discusses are his own history in traditional dance (from Connecticut to Georgia to Texas and back again to New England), the rise of MWSD and some subsequent difficulties that movement faced, his attempts to introduce contra dance to modern Western dancers, his fife and flute business, and some advice for callers. Others on this list have seen parts of the video that were screened at the recent Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend; some have copies of the entire video that they purchased at that time. I'll let them speak to the merits of the video, if they feel so moved. I also have copies available of the Dudley Laufman video and my earlier one that focuses on Bob McQuillen. Discount prices available for folks who purchase packages containing more than one title. Please contact me off-list for more information. David Millstone <[email protected]> P.S. And let me conclude by encouraging others to get out there with a video camera to record interviews with callers, musicians, dancers, organizers, as well as shooting footage from dances. Once you've done so, look into making that ootage available to others by getting it-- originals or a good copy-- into an appropriate archive!
