Country Dance and Song Society American Dance and Music Week at Pinewoods August 7 - 14, 1999 as of 6-9-99: there is still space at this program

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Program Description Class Descriptions, Teachers & Schedule Other Musicians Programs Homepage

American Dance and Music Week at Pinewoods August 7 - 14, 1999 Program Director: Mary Lea Staff: Kathy Anderson* Sam Bartlett Mary Cay Brass Claudio Buchwald Richard Forest Lisa Greenleaf* Frank Hall Sabin Jacques Paul Kotapish Abby Ladin Normand Légault Mario Loiselle Mark Roberts Susan Waters * Advisors plus: Brad Foster

Program Description: [Back to Top]

Building on last year's successful blend of music and dance instruction, American Week will again offer a wide range of dance and music classes presented by some of North America's finest musicians and dance leaders. Contras and squares will be the main staple of the evening parties with some spicing of québécois social dancing, Irish sets and couple dances. Day-time classes will give campers instruction in most of these dance forms plus a fresh look at styling, partnering and other useful dance tips. There will also be Appalachian clogging and québécois step-dancing classes as well as music instruction in Irish flute, whistle and fiddle, québécois fiddle, accordion and piano, old-time string band, and singing.

Sharing in the teaching of contras and squares will be the strong team of Lisa Greenleaf and Kathy Anderson. Both have a good eye for an interesting and exciting dance and an excellent sense of pacing, both for classes and evening programs. Their teaching is clear, concise and great fun; their classes will offer a wide range of dances selected for variety, novelty, familiarity, ease and challenge. Kathy and Lisa will each offer a calling class. Normand Légault, both a scholar and teacher of québécois social dances for many years, will run a class of his favorite québécois squares. Frank Hall, one of the finest teachers of Irish set dancing this side of the Atlantic, will teach a class of these sets. For dancers wanting to improve their footwork, Normand and Abby Ladin will teach step-dancing and clogging classes.

One of the most popular elements of last summer's program was the strong presence of music occurring around camp in the spaces of the day. Helping in this regard was the energetic québécois trio of Richard Forest, Sabin Jacques and Mario Loiselle, who will no doubt again hit the ground running, leading late-night jam sessions after teaching music classes in fiddle, button accordion and piano during the day. Expanding on the music offerings this summer, the very dynamic Monks With None (Frank Hall, Claudio Buchwald, Sam Bartlett and Abby Ladin) will establish a strong old-time music presence. Claudio will lead a string band session during the day, and he and Frank will demonstrate some exceptional double fiddling. Inevitably, Irish music will also become a major component of the week as Mark Roberts and Mary Lea will teach the music (flute/whistle and fiddle) that propels the set dances. Mary Cay Brass, Susan Waters and Paul Kotapish join Mark and Mary to create a very versatile and powerful "Northern" band.

Returning this year is Mary Cay Brass, whose class in multi-cultural harmony singing last summer was very popular. Drawing on many traditions - shape note, gospel, Eastern European and more - Mary Cay will lead the group into exciting territory. Helping lead some singing for pub night and other community gathering times is Susan Waters, who, along with Mary Cay, has worked with many adult and teenage groups over the years, including Larry Gordon's Northern Harmony and Village Harmony.

During the day there will be five class periods, three meals, a daily gathering for mini-concerts, songs, etc., evening dance parties, time to swim, canoe, party and hang out. On different nights after the evening dances there will be skits and performances, pub night, community singing, jam sessions, an auction and general merriment. Somehow, the staff will find time to give short concerts, run slow jams and squeeze in a special workshop or two.

American Dance and Music Week at Pinewoods Tentative Schedule:
9:00 - 10:00
Québécois Music I	Richard Forest
Québécois Piano I	Mario Loiselle
Contra Connection	Lisa Greenleaf
Clogging	Abby Ladin
10:15 - 11:15
Québécois Music II	Sabin Jacques
Québécois Step-Dancing (Beg)	Normand Légault
Squares Through the Ages	Kathy Anderson
The Zen of Calling	Lisa Greenleaf
11:30 - 12:00
All Camp Gathering
2:00 - 3:00
Singing in Harmony	Mary Cay Brass
Québécois Piano II	Mario Loiselle
Hot off the Press Dances	Kathy Anderson
Fiddle for Playing Irish Sets	Mary Lea
Flute/Whistle for Playing Irish Sets	Mark Roberts
3:14 - 4:15
Challenging Dances	Lisa Greenleaf
String Band	Claudio Buchwald
Québécois Step-Dancing (Adv)	Normand Légault
Calling Squares	Kathy Anderson
4:30 - 5:30
Québécois Social Dancing	Normand Légault
Irish Sets	Frank Hall
8:00
Couple Dances
8:15 - 11:00
Evening Dance Party
11:00
After-dance Activities

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]

Contra Connection - Lisa Greenleaf
A great opportunity to tune up your dancing. We'll cover figures, flow and timing while dancing satisfying contras.

Challenging Dances - Lisa Greenleaf
Squares, contras, and more for those ready to explore more advanced choreography.

The Zen of Calling - Lisa Greenleaf
Using contras as a foundation, this class will emphasize vocalization and relaxation while exploring the music and language of dancing. Experienced and novice callers are all welcome, as well as those who'd like to work on feeling comfortable talking to a large group.

Hot off the Press Dances - Kathy Anderson
Features the latest dances, contras and others, some with unusual choreography and clever ideas, from all over the country.

Squares Through the Ages - Kathy Anderson
Square your sets for a survey of squares through the ages, including examples of Appalachian, Southern and Western squares, leading up to recent ones that integrate English and contra influences with the old-time styles.

Calling Squares - Kathy Anderson
Learn to free yourself from the phrase, then integrate your calling with patter to master the art of calling fun, fast-moving squares to great old-time music.

Québécois Social Dancing - Normand Légault
Here are lively, old-style square dances Normand collected at house parties in 1978 from three counties around Québec. These are among his favorite dances because they have nice movements with everyone moving all the time; the different parts have specific tunes and meters that create delightfully changing moods.

Irish Sets - Frank Hall
Irish sets are the square dances of the Emerald Isle, done for years on kitchen flags or at country crossroads. The quadrille formations feature some of the same figures as American squares but also have unique moves and footwork to give the dance lift and make rhythmic accents. Sets are danced to reels, jigs, polkas, slides and hornpipes - a wonderful array of dance rhythms. If you've wondered how to get the most out of Irish dance music without having to kick high, keep a stiff back or wear leather pants, this is your class.

Clogging - Abby Ladin
For dancers at any level who want to learn or brush up on the basics, simple moving patterns, rhythmic combinations, etc. Lively and fun!

Québécois Step-Dancing (2 levels) - Normand Légault
The beginners' class will focus on rhythm exercises, foot percussion and style and will cover the basic steps (simple, double, triple). The advanced class will cover step repertoire and musicality, rhythm combinations, improvisation and style.

Singing in Harmony - Mary Cay Brass
Mary Cay's dynamic teaching style has led to ever increasing numbers of adults and teenagers getting swept up into group singing. Using repertoire she has collected from traditional choral or group singing traditions from around the world, such as shape note, Balkan, southern African and Afro-American, Mary Cay will help singers learn melody and harmony parts to create a full, rich and exhilarating sound. Reading music is helpful but not necessary.

Québécois Music Classes I, II - Richard Forest and Sabin Jacques
These classes will be for instrumentalists wishing to learn tunes from the québécois repertoire. Both Richard and Sabin hail from musical families and have extensive experience teaching; they will help melody players of accordion, fiddle and other instruments learn tunes and aspects of québécois styling. Instruction will rely on students learning by ear. By doing both classes, instrumentalists will gain a larger repertoire (esp. from Richard) and a more in-depth attention to styling (Sabin's class). Both musicians have taught at many dance camps and have recorded and toured with dance troupes throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Québécois Piano I, II - Mario Loiselle
Mario is a master teacher of québécois piano. He has been teaching for 14 years, working with as many as 10 students at a time in Montreal. Patient and clear as a teacher, and passionate about the piano, Mario will help pianists make strides in their understanding of the syncopated, harmonically sophisticated and engaging style he is so versed in.

String Band - Claudio Buchwald
As a multi-instrumentalist, superlative musician and veteran of numerous dance camps, Claudio is in a good position to lead this session for people wanting to play old-time music. Claudio will help teach melodies (by ear) as well as back-up, chording and rhythm, to all who are interested in this music. He plays fiddle, guitar, piano, banjo, many styles of dance music from old-time to English country to salsa, and is currently a member of Evening Star and Monks With None.

Fiddle for Playing Irish Sets - Mary Lea
Tunes to accompany Irish sets will inform the repertoire we work on in these classes. Polkas, a hornpipe and slide or two, some jigs and reels are the principal tools for the dance; how they can be played to drive a dance, what their phrasing and timing are, will be the focus of the class. Mary has been playing for dancing for 20 years as part of Yankee Ingenuity, BLT and Bare Necessities and has had extensive experience teaching fiddlers of all levels.

Flute and Whistle for Playing Irish Sets - Mark Roberts
Mark will focus on music for the Irish sets (see above for description). His principal instruments are the Irish flute and 5-string banjo, a combination that helps him fit into a wide range of musical situations with great ease and panache. Mark has been playing traditional music for 25 years, is currently with the Red Clay Ramblers, yet manages to squeeze in contra dance gigs with the Clayfoot Strutters, New Grange and just about every other group of note.

The Other Musicians: [Back to Top]

Sam Bartlett (banjo, guitar)
A driving musician, rhythmic and sure, Sam plays old-time banjo and guitar back-up, tenor banjo and mandolin on Irish and other contra dance tunes. Known for his stunts and irrepressible humor, Sam will help Abby with her classes and play for Kathy with Monks With None. He is a much sought-after musician with wide experience playing for dance troupes and dances, on both recordings and the concert stage.

Paul Kotapish (mandolin, guitar)
For nearly three decades Paul has played mandolin and guitar on concert stages and in dance halls throughout the US and abroad. He performs and records regularly with groups like Kevin Burke's Open House, Hillbillies From Mars, Moving Cloud Orchestra and the Quirks. A consummate musician and campmate, Paul is much sought out to teach and play at major music camps and workshops in the country.

Abby Ladin (bass)
Considered by other old-time musicians to be one of the best old-time bass players in the country, Abby brings to the instrument an extensive knowledge and love of the music plus a flawless precision that only an ace dancer can master.

Program Description Class Descriptions, Teachers & Schedule Other Musicians Top

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