Country Dance and Song Society Family Week at Pinewoods July 29 - August 5, 2000

As of March 30, there is a long wait list at this week.

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Program Description Class Descriptions Staff & Schedule Programs Homepage

Family Week at Pinewoods July 29 - August 5, 2000 Program Director: John Krumm Staff: Mary Alice Amidon* Peter Amidon* Elke Baker Fred Breunig Alistair Brown Eshu Bumpus Sara Hiebert Scott Higgs Toppy Kramer Bob Pasquarello Kari Smith Bob Stein Kathy Talvitie Katy Tarter * Advisors, plus: Brad Foster

Program Description: [Back to Top]
Look up our Family Programs for some general information; here is more detail about this particular program and staff.

The program of Family Week is built around English and American dance, traditional music, songs, and storytelling, but Family Week itself is built around the people who attend -- the families as much as the program and camp staff. This inevitably makes each camp one of a kind. In this, the crowning year of the millennium, we will strive to make Family Camp 2000 truly unique, truly itself, and a model of community that we can take back into our daily lives. Pretty lofty goals indeed.

This year's staff has been chosen for their comfort in working with each other and with children and adults as well as for the diversity and quality of their expertise as professional teachers and performers of the traditional arts. It will be a challenge for campers to take advantage of the array of skills and traditions that the staff brings to camp.

We will offer developmentally appropriate classes for children of various ages as well as a program for teens and adults. A hallmark of the camp is the twice daily whole camp gatherings and times set aside for swimming, recreational singing, music making, and storytelling. At night, babysitters will check on children while the teens and parents enjoy the evening dance. Come this year to learn, to relax, to celebrate, and to create Family Week 2000.

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]

Ages 2 and 3
Child care will be offered by Katy Tarter during the 9:00 and the 2:50 class periods each day. Children should bring along a favorite book and one toy to share with the class: blocks, play-doh, etc.

Ages 4 and 5
Songs, stories, games, play-parties and crafts will be the meat of this course. Morning sessions will be with Bob Pasquarello and afternoons with Kari Smith.

Ages 6 and 7
These campers will work with Mary Alice Amidon and Eshu Bumpus in the morning and with John Krumm in the afternoon. Classes will be based on the extensive music, dance and story repertoire of these highly experienced childhood music educators as well as the creative work of the kids.

Ages 8 and 9
Morning classes will feature dance, most probably longsword, with the amazing Kari Smith. In the afternoon session the children will work with master storyteller Eshu Bumpus.

Ages 10 to 12
Peter Amidon will take the morning session to new heights of dance drawing from his vast repertoire of community dances from the U.S. and the U.K. In the afternoon the group has an opportunity to work in morris dance with Alistair Brown.

Ages 13 and up
Classes this year will feature English country dance, American contra and square, and old-fashioned couple dances. Harmony singing will be led by the Amidons and there will be storytelling with Eshu Bumpus. Classes will be open to all campers 13 and up.

The Early Afternoon Classes at 1:40
Classes at 1:40 offer a variety of choices to a wide range of ages. Some activities may not require a week long commitment. You can choose from:
Traditional songs, stories and games (4 and up) with Katy Tarter

Family Folklore (6 and up) with The Amidons

Latern Making (6 and up) with Sara Hiebert and Kathy Talvitie
Sara will lead a workshop on Lantern making assisted by Kathy Talvitie. Sara's lanterns come from your imagination and range from the whimsical to the grandiose. Some participants may complete their work in one or two sessions, others may take the whole week. We hope to find a use for them in the end of the week activities.

Nature Exploration (7 and up) with Bob Stein

Mumming (8 and up) with Alistair Brown

Dance Band with Toppy Kramer and Bob Pasquarello

Become a Storyteller (10 and up) with Eshu Bumpus

Marley Style Clog (13 and up) with Kari Smith

Free Time with your muse

Family Week at Pinewoods Daily Schedule
7:45 - 8:15	Breakfast
9:00 - 9:55	Morning classes, divided by age group
10:00	Refreshments
10:15 - 11:00	Family Gathering
11:00 - 12:00	Swimming
12:15	Lunch
1:00 - 1:30	Camper led Tunes and Singing
1:40 - 2:35	Early afternoon classes, mixed ages/Rest time
2:50 - 3:45	Afternoon classes, divided by age group
3:50 - 4:45	Swimming
4:45 - 5:15	Songs and Stories, Meet the Staff
6:00	Dinner
6:55	Parade to family dance
7:00	Family Dance
7:50 - 8:45	Evening Gathering
8:30	Pied Piper/bedtime for children 9 and younger
8:45 - 10:45	Evening Dance Party
9:30	Bedtime for 10-12 year olds
11:00 - 12:00	Optional after-dance activities

Staff: [Back to Top]

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are versatile and widely respected performing and teaching artists who for the past twenty years have dedicated themselves to traditional song, dance and storytelling. Peter and Mary Alice are familiar faces at the major northeast US music and dance festivals, at teacher conferences and at summer folk camps of traditional dance and song. They have performed concerts and led residencies in hundreds of schools, libraries, churches and museums.

Elke Baker, 1995 US National Scottish Fiddle Champion, combines lyrical melodies with driving dance rhythms in her energetic fiddling. Elke plays Scottish, Celtic and American fiddle for concerts, festivals, dances and parties across America and abroad. She teaches Scottish music and dance and directs the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club.

Fred Breunig began calling and playing for dances in 1970 while a college student. He is a founding member of Nowell Sing We Clear, the Green Mountain Mummers longsword dance group and the Putney Morris Men. Fred lives in Putney, VT, where he has called a monthly contra dance since 1977.

Alistair Brown has been singing the old songs, and new songs written by people who like the old songs, since he was fifteen years old. His career began with his helping out in the folk clubs of his native Scotland during the great folk scare of the 60s, opening bottles (and occasionally concerts) for the likes of Archie Fisher, Hamish Imlach, The Incredible String Band and Billy Connolly. Since coming to Canada in 1972, he has been active in many aspects of folk song and dance for years, as a recording artist, radio broadcaster, columnist, festival director, dance teacher and program director at folk music and dance camps. In moments of quiet reflection, Alistair dances with Thames Valley Morris.

Eshu Bumpus was reared in the projects of Boston by a mother who believed in education. As a boy, he divided his time between reading stories at the library and telling them on the street. He still tells them today in schools and concert halls -- captivating African-American tales leavened with music, humor and mystery. The stories are not originals but rather simple folktales he's collected from around the world. He likes the tradition of handing down tales orally for generations. Like all great storytellers before him, he makes each tale his own. No matter who you are, or where you come from, with Eshu Bumpus you'll soon be celebrating the common threads which bring us all together.

Sara Hiebert is an elegant and dynamic dance musician. She is familiar to dancers on the West Coast through her work with The Moving Cloud Orchestra as well as being on staff at the Mendocino and Monte Toyon dance camps. Currently a professor at Swarthmore College, Sara plays with The Commotions along with fearless leader John Krumm.

Scott Higgs, a caller and teacher from Philadelphia, is a favorite with dancers all over the country for his high-energy contras and elegant country dances. Scott has a special knack for making the mysteries and beauties of English dances accessible to all. Early One Morning, a collection of his dance compositions, is now in its second printing.

Toppy Kramer is a multi-talented musician who has accompanied country dancing for more than 25 years. She is currently on the music faculty at Berea College teaching Appalachian music, aural harmony, recorder, clarinet and piano. Toppy plays clarinet in the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also a member of the dance band The Berea Cast-Offs.

John Krumm has been music and dance specialist at the Miquon School in Pennsylvania for 19 years. He has also been playing and calling dances for over 26 years. He teaches Music and Movement in the Elementary Classroom for the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Skilled in teaching harmony singing and leading group singing, John has an endless repertoire of good songs. John has published two books of his own compostions, A Book of Rounds and Joy of my Heart.

Bob Pasquarello has been a dance musician since 1980, featured in A Band Named Bob, Col. Mike's Dance Band and many other local groups. For seven of the past dozen years, he has led Princeton's Rum & Onions and he has been an integral part of the Brasstown Folk School's Contra Dance Musicians Workshop since its inception in 1995. Bob is a current CDSS Board member. He works at the Miquon School in Pennsylvania in their nursery.

Kari Smith is the founder and foreman of Guiding Star Clog Morris and performer with The New Dancing Marleys. In demand due to the clarity and precision of her dance teaching, Kari has recently added to her credits a Masters in Early Education from Antioch New England Graduate School.

Bob Stein has been a member of A Band Named Bob for over 15 years, and has been a fixture on the Philadelphia-area dance scene for more than 20 years. His lively, rhythmic and emotional playing have brought smiles to the feet of dancers across the country. Bob is a long-time musical collaborator with John Krumm and Bob Pasquarello. In his alternate life, he is a teacher of environmental science at a suburban Philadelphia high school.

Kathy Talvitie plays for both English country and contra dancing. She plays piano with Hold the Mustard and A Joyful Noise, and guitar with Raise the Roof. She is very active in the Delaware Valley dance community as a player, dancer and organizer.

Katy Tarter is an energetic dance and song enthusiast from Berea, KY. She was a member of the Berea Festival Dancers for seven years. She is particularly interested in English clog dance, traditional music and drama. Katy has attended numerous CDSS summer camps as an office assistant, staff member and participant. Currently a college student in South Carolina, she has traveled and performed extensively in the U.S. and abroad. She is a member of the Ritchie family, renowned for their singing tradition. Katy has grown up helping to care for numerous foster children and now has an adopted sister and brother who are two and four.

Program Description Class Descriptions Staff & Schedule Top

413-268-7426 FAX: 413-268-7471

Country Dance and Song Society 132 Main St/PO Box 338 Haydenville, MA 01039-0338 Office Hours M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm EST

http://www.cdss.org/