Spend a summer evening visiting the 15 excitingly diverse museums and historic sites in Lower Manhattan — all for free!
Learn about New York City’s history, discover new heritages,
and enjoy discounts at local restaurants.
Don't miss this year's Night at the Museums programming at Fraunces Tavern Museum! The evening's event will include live 18th-century music and colonial dance lessons provided by the Tricorne Dance Ensemble throughout the evening accompanied by Anne Underwood and Ridley Menslow on genuine colonial instruments. Participants can also snap a souvenir photo in the Colonial Costume Photo Booth and take a free guided tour of the museum.
The Tricorne Dance Ensemble is an 18th century dance group that performs and teaches the social dances that were performed during the colonial period. The group; which is under the direction of Denise Piccino, came into being 12 years ago in response to requests from the Bergen County Historical Society for demonstrations of period entertainment. Members of the group include actors, dancers, singers, musicians, and artists. The group has performed at various historical sites in New York City and Williamsburg, VA. They have also performed at the Old ’76 House in Old Tappan, NJ, and at various school programs in northern New Jersey. The group can be currently seen performing throughout the year at various events held at the Bergen County Historical Society in River Edge, NJ.
Founder Denise Piccino is a professional ballet teacher, dancer, and choreographer. She has studied ballet with the late Irine Fokine (niece of the great choreographer Michel Fokine), and at the American Ballet Theater School. In recent years, Miss Piccino studied 18th century dance and music with Chip and Francis Hendricksen.
Ridley and Anne Enslow will appear in period dress; and sing and play instruments that are appropriate to the colonial period. For Ridley, that’s an 18th-century violin built in France in 1776. For Anne, it’s the hammered dulcimer, a trapezoidal instrument with nearly 100 strings that are struck with little wooden hammers. And of course, they bring along the star of the show—a little wooden dancing figure called a limberjack. Their limberjack has been painted to look like General George Washington.
