Country Dance and Song Society English Dance Leaders Course at Pinewoods August 11 - 18, 2001 The 4:30 class period has been corrected from the printed version.

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

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Program Description Tentative Schedule Class Descriptions Materials Registration Programs Homepage

English Dance Leaders Course at Pinewoods August 11 - 18, 2001 Program Director: Bruce Hamilton
Tentative Schedule: [Back to Top]
9:00 - 11:45
English Dance Leaders Course	Bruce Hamilton Mary Devlin Susie Lorand
1:45 - 2:25
Presentation
2:30 - 3:45
Open Mic	Mary Devlin
3:50 - 4:25
Tea and Singing
Susan Murrow, Tom & Anne Siess
4:30 - 5:30
Choreographers Wrkshp	Gene Murrow
English Country for All	Helene Cornelius
Introduction to Garland	Kari Smith
Advanced Clog	Meg Ryan
8:00
Couple dances/Harp waltzes/Unprompted Sets
8:15
Evening Dance Party
11:00
After-dance Activities

Program Description: [Back to Top]
Held during English Dance Week at Pinewoods Camp, the course is intended for people with a small amount of calling experience who want to enrich their skill, their confidence and their "bag of tricks" (if you have no experience or a lot of experience and want to take the course, call us).

There are many skills involved in calling, and they take more than a week to impart. We don't try to do that. Instead, we give you tools for teaching yourself. You will learn how to see clearly what goes on at a dance, and how to improve anything - your weaknesses and your strengths - creatively and effectively. You'll get feedback in a way that is useful, and non-threatening enough that you can actually let it in. This is helpful during the week, but its real value comes when you take it home and teach your friends to give you feedback in this way.

Interspersed with those subjects, which run through the week, will be introductions to many skills: how to pick a tempo and communicate it to a band, how to talk rhythmically, how to be heard and understood without hurting your voice, how to have infinite patience with dancers, how to read dance directions, how to make your calling more efficient (no matter how efficient it already is), how to be in charge without becoming autocratic, and other topics depending on the needs of the participants. You'll get a start on these, and chances to practice every day. You can then use the tools mentioned above to continue developing your skill after you get back home.

Class Descriptions [Back to Top]
Morning Caller's Class (9:00-11:45): An intense mixture of dancing, practice-calling, lecture, demonstration and discussion. Bruce Hamilton leads this, with Mary Devlin assisting and Susie Lorand playing, for better than a 3:1 student/staff ratio.

Afternoon Practice Calling (2:30-3:45): An open-mic session for students in the course and other camper-callers who want to practice their calling. You can watch, dance, practice what you learned in the morning, or just get some air time. Mary Devlin coordinates this and provides gentle, constructive feedback.

That still leaves a period to study, practice, rest or dance in one of the classes offered at English Dance Week.

Materials [Back to Top]
Students will be asked to read Chapters 1-4 of The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey. They should bring dances for practice-calling (easy ones are especially recommended) and a lively curiosity.

Registration: [Back to Top]
This course is limited to eight participants to ensure plenty of opportunity for active participation. Scholarships are available.

Program Description Tentative Schedule Registration 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/