Ted Sannella
Encyclopedia
Ted Sannella was a professional square dance
, contra dance
and international folk dance
caller and choreographer who was active in the region surrounding Boston
, Massachusetts
, in the United States
.
. He graduated from Revere High School in 1945, and in 1949 graduated from Tufts College
in Medford
, receiving degrees in biology
and chemistry
. He worked as pharmacist at Richardson Drug in Concord, Massachusetts
, for many years. He retired after 35 years as a pharmacist and moved to Wiscasset, Maine, in 1989. He died November 18, 1995, at the age of 67.
dance as a caller
, choreographer, dancer, and leader. He began calling professionally in 1946 and organized dance series in Cambridge
, Westport Point, and Concord, Massachusetts
, and in his final years, North Whitefield, Maine
. He was influential as a revered and well-liked caller, as a choreographer through his social dance compositions and books, and via his cheerful attention to teaching about the pleasures of joy and style in social dance. His vigor, energy and perspective influenced many callers and dancers, and his dance compositions are regularly seen today at contra dances, 20 and 30 years after their original composition.
Sannella was long involved with the New England Folk Festival Association
(NEFFA) as a leader and board member. He served as president of NEFFA and the North of Boston Callers Association and was also on the board of the nationally-oriented Country Dance and Song Society. His contributions to social dance were recognized via honorary or life memberships in the Folk Arts Center of New England and the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre. His multi-faceted and generous involvement with dance and dance leadership, experience and longevity, earned him the moniker The Dean of New England Callers.
One of Sannella's memorable choreographic innovations, inspired by the three-couple English country dance
triplets, was to compose triplets suitable to contra dance tempo reels and jigs. His 41 published triplets were commonly known as Ted's Triplets. Triplets are still composed, and sometimes seen on the dance floor.
Sannella was very interested in the history of dance, and he possessed an extensive collection of 500-plus dance books and more than 3,000 recordings. He was a careful note-taker, and his dance cards indicate his opinion of the best tunes to go with each dance. His archive consisting of published materials, 50 boxes of personal papers and his dance cards, invaluable to any American folk-dance researcher or present-day caller, is now in the possession of the University of New Hampshire
special collection entitled the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music & Dance.
Square dance
Square dance is a folk dance with four couples arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, beginning with Couple 1 facing away from the music and going counter-clockwise until getting to Couple 4. Couples 1 and 3 are known as the head couples, while Couples 2 and 4 are the side couples...
, contra dance
Contra dance
Contra dance refers to several partnered folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines...
and international folk dance
International folk dance
International folk dance is a genre of dance wherein selected folk dances from multiple ethnic groups are done by the same dancers, typically as part of a regular recreational dance club, for performances or at other events. The dances are typically considered the products of national or cultural...
caller and choreographer who was active in the region surrounding Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early life and career
Ted Sannella was born in Revere, MassachusettsRevere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and located approximately from downtown Boston. It is named after the American patriot Paul Revere. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 51,755.- History :...
. He graduated from Revere High School in 1945, and in 1949 graduated from Tufts College
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
in Medford
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, receiving degrees in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. He worked as pharmacist at Richardson Drug in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, for many years. He retired after 35 years as a pharmacist and moved to Wiscasset, Maine, in 1989. He died November 18, 1995, at the age of 67.
Dance career
Sannella devoted much of his adult life to traditional New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
dance as a caller
Caller (dancing)
A caller is a person who prompts dance figures in such dances as line dance, square dance, and contra dance. The caller might be one of the participating dancers, though in modern country dance this is rare....
, choreographer, dancer, and leader. He began calling professionally in 1946 and organized dance series in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Westport Point, and Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, and in his final years, North Whitefield, Maine
Whitefield, Maine
Whitefield is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,273 at the 2000 census. Whitefield is named for the celebrated British evangelist George Whitefield, who inspired the colonists before the town was settled in 1770, mainly by Irish Catholics...
. He was influential as a revered and well-liked caller, as a choreographer through his social dance compositions and books, and via his cheerful attention to teaching about the pleasures of joy and style in social dance. His vigor, energy and perspective influenced many callers and dancers, and his dance compositions are regularly seen today at contra dances, 20 and 30 years after their original composition.
Sannella was long involved with the New England Folk Festival Association
New England Folk Festival
The New England Folk Festival is an annual weekend festival of traditional dance and music. It takes place in the Boston, Massachusetts region each spring. It is conducted by the New England Folk Festival Association. Both the festival and the association are colloquially known by the abbreviation...
(NEFFA) as a leader and board member. He served as president of NEFFA and the North of Boston Callers Association and was also on the board of the nationally-oriented Country Dance and Song Society. His contributions to social dance were recognized via honorary or life memberships in the Folk Arts Center of New England and the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre. His multi-faceted and generous involvement with dance and dance leadership, experience and longevity, earned him the moniker The Dean of New England Callers.
One of Sannella's memorable choreographic innovations, inspired by the three-couple English country dance
English Country Dance
English Country Dance is a form of folk dance. It is a social dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I of England is noted to have been entertained by "Country Dancing," although the relationship of the dances she saw to the surviving dances of...
triplets, was to compose triplets suitable to contra dance tempo reels and jigs. His 41 published triplets were commonly known as Ted's Triplets. Triplets are still composed, and sometimes seen on the dance floor.
Sannella was very interested in the history of dance, and he possessed an extensive collection of 500-plus dance books and more than 3,000 recordings. He was a careful note-taker, and his dance cards indicate his opinion of the best tunes to go with each dance. His archive consisting of published materials, 50 boxes of personal papers and his dance cards, invaluable to any American folk-dance researcher or present-day caller, is now in the possession of the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
special collection entitled the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music & Dance.
External links
- University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music & Dance: Ted Sannella
- David Smukler's Index of Ted Sannella's published dances
- The annotated bibliography for Ted Sannella's Swing the Next