Country Dance and Song Society Family Week at Buffalo Gap July 14 - 21, 2001

As of April 10, there is a short wait list at this week.

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Program Description Class Descriptions Staff & Schedule Programs Homepage

Family Week at Buffalo Gap July 14 - 21, 2001 Program Director: Steve Hickman DeLaura Padovan Staff: David Cantieni Mary DesRosiers John Devine Daron Douglas Ellie Grace Leela Grace Tully Larew Leslie Jeanne Milbourne Jim Morrison Marney Morrison* Ann Percival Jim Voorhees Bill Wellington * Advisor, plus: Steve Howe Kappy Laning Meg Ryan

Program Description: [Back to Top]
Welcome to Family Week at Buffalo Gap! This is the week that puts the rest of the year in perspective. Sing, dance, laugh, rest and play with your kids, your parents, old friends, or new.

Look up our Family Programs for some general information; here is more detail about this particular program and staff.

Our community is warm and welcoming; our program chock-full of superb instructors and musicians; our camp itself breath-taking and beloved. Once again, our open-air Casbah tent welcomes your throw rugs, floor cushions or wall hangings to become a cozy, informal spot for chats, tunes or siestas.

Our program offers something for everyone: campers as young as 2 years attend class twice a day, and babysitters are on watch during the evening dances so parents may enjoy the evening activities without worry. The schedule is lively, but offers classes for parents and kids to share, as well as down time for quiet walks or rests.

Friday is fiesta day! Come ready to join in the fun and games as we parade through camp, Show and Share what we've learned all week, and whoop it up at the waterfront.

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]
Children's classes by age group - 9:00 and 3:00
Children are expected to attend these two classes while their parents are attending classes listed under Adult Classes.

Ages 2 and 3
Morning and afternoon class times will be full of stories, songs and games with Marney. Bring a favorite book to share, or "group" toys and get ready for many happy adventures.

Ages 4 and 5
Mornings with Ann will be full of singing and dancing. In the afternoon class, Leslie Jeanne will include stories, nature projects and exploration.

Ages 6 and 7
Mornings begin Leslie Jeanne's stories, crafts and games which will blend with the after-lunch nature walk activities and give these campers opportunities to make some neat stuff to take home. In the afternoon, Mary will lead a garland dance class.

Ages 8 and 9
In the morning, Bill will lead dance, games and Who-Knows-What? In the afternoon, Jim Voorhees will lead the longsword class.

Ages 10 to 12
In the mornings, you may choose between two of the adult classes listed for ages 10 and up. In the afternoons, Bill will share with you the FUN-damentals of dancing contras, squares and waltzes with a partner.

Early Afternoon classes at 2:00
This class period offers a chance for families to do something together.

Nap Time for any who will

Crafty Day-z (All ages) - DeLaura Padovan
Fun with pipe cleaners, beads, baubles and more, for all who will. Kids under 8 with parent, please.

Nature Exploration (4-up) - Leslie Jeanne Milbourne
Parents encouraged, all ages! Youngest children will need a parent with them.

Family Band (8-up) - David Cantieni

Square Dance (8-up) - Mary DesRosiers with John Devine and Bill Wellington

Harmony Sing (10-up) - Ellie and Leela Grace

Woodcarving (ages 10 and up) Also offered at 4:15. - Tully Larew
Create a one-of-a-kind Buffalo Gap souvenir to take home. From hearts to hound dogs, barrettes to butter knives, Tully has something to offer carvers of all abilities. Carving knives will be available to borrow or purchase (for about $10) from Tully. Please sign up for only one carving class per day.

Adult classes (Ages 13 and up unless otherwise noted)

10-up Contra Dancing 9:00 - Mary DesRosiers with John Devine & David Cantieni

10-up Appalachian Clog 9:00 - Ellie & Leela Grace with Jim Voorhees

10-up Swing dance 11:00 - Ann Percival & David Cantieni with Steve Hickman & John Devine

Rapper 9:00 - Jim Morrison with Steve Hickman

English Country Dance 3:00 - Jim Morrison with Daron Douglas & Ann Percival

Adult Jam Session 3:00 - Camper-led

Kerry Sets 4:15 - Jim Morrison with Jim Voorhees

Family Week at Buffalo Gap Daily Schedule click for tentative Detailed 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 11:00 - 11:45	Bookstore Staffed/Swimming and/or Late morning class
12:30	Lunch
2:00 - 2:45	Early afternoon classes/Rest time
3:00 - 4:00	Afternoon classes, divided by age group
4:15 - 5:30 4:15 - 5:00	Swimming and/or Late afternoon classes
4:45 - 5:30	Bookstore Staffed
5:30	Sing For Your Supper
6:00	Dinner
7:15	Community Dance
8:30	Pied Piper/bedtime for children 9 and younger
8:45 - 11:00	Evening Dance Party
9:45	Bedtime for 10-12 year olds

Staff: [Back to Top]

David Cantieni (woodwinds): Pioneer of the double reed contra dance sound, David's masterful playing brings grace and excitement to all manner of dance music, be it on flute, whistle, or that good ol' time southern Appalachian saxophone.

Mary DesRosiers (caller): Mary presents her marvelous repertoire of traditional New England contra and square dances with a French Canadian flair that is one of a kind! We welcome Mary back to Family Week after a too-long hiatus and especially look forward to her 6-7s garland dance class. Hooray!

John Devine (rhythm guitar, vocals): Rock solid and ever-ready, John is an undeniable power house when it comes to backup guitar! His bedtime Pied Piper Parade is a cherished Family Week tradition that seems to defy improvement or change.

Daron Douglas (violin, vocals): Daron's mastery of the violin and vivacious personality make her a favorite at dance events throughout America. Daron hails from a singing family, visited nearly a century ago by Cecil Sharp himself.

Ellie and Leela Grace (mandolin, banjo, vocals, clog): These charming and talented musicians dance, sing and play with unbeatable charisma. Their debut at Family Week 2000 was such a hit, we knew we had to bring them back for more. Get ready for some hot clogging and powerful singing with the Grace sisters.

Steve Hickman (fiddle, hambone, program co-director): When he's not milking goats or changing diapers, Steve plays a wicked-good fiddle, and makes a fair amount of body music, as well. Up to his ears in camp paperwork, he'll be glad to get to BufGap and see all these great ideas in 3-D!

Tully Larew (master woodcarver): Tully's woodcarving class has given our camp a rite of passage coveted by those under 10 since BufGap Family week started 12 years ago. Patient and stalwart as ever, Tully always finds time to help carvers of all abilities fine-tune and finish their projects, listen to or share a story. His carvers' porch is a quiet, industrious and well-loved haven in a busy camp.

Leslie Jeanne Milbourne (naturalist): Nature in all its facets is Leslie's tour de force. An environmental educator by profession, Leslie's awareness of the world we all share and her caring, engaging manner combine to make her an outstanding facilitator for students of all ages. We are never separate from nature; Leslie helps us to open our senses to the world in which we live.

Jim Morrison (caller, English country dance, Rapper, Kerry Sets): Every once in a while, it feels great to be able to make someone's wish come true. In response to overwhelming (and unrelenting) camper requests, we are thrilled to have Jim on our staff this year! Besides, who else could we ever find to wear all of these hats in one week?

Marney Morrison (2-3s Childcare, Program support): Marney and her husband, Jim, were program co-directors for the first-ever Family Week at BufGap years ago. Marney is a superlative dancer who once performed the minuet at Lincoln Center. She has filled countless roles at dance camps across the country, and we are delighted to have her as guardian for our youngest campers this week.

DeLaura Padovan (crafty program co-director): DeLaura is learning how to delegate and is having a much better time with the behind-the-scenes paperwork for this year's camp. She looks forward to making merry and making really cool crafts with her BufGap friends.

Ann Percival (piano, guitar, vocals): The "wild" of Wild Asparagus. Like many of us, Ann has been counting the days till she gets to come back to Family Week. She returns this year with new tricks and glue sticks up her sleeve, stepping in to lead the 4-5s morning class for the first time! From goony crafts to swing dance to graceful goodnight songs, Ann has the chutzpah to make our camp a happenin' place.

Jim Voorhees (ritual dance, button accordion): Jim is a life member of Foggy Bottom Morris Men and has played for Washington, D.C. dances since the 1970s. He is an active Reveler in the D.C. area. We welcome Jim as our longsword dance instructor.

Bill Wellington (storyteller, caller, fiddle, banjo, vocals): Widely-acclaimed children's performer and recording artist, Bill weaves wonders when it comes to storytime. His tales are one-of-a-kind renderings of traditional stories, as well as fantastic fruits of his own imagination. He's a heck of a caller, too.

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/