Country Dance and Song Society English Dance Musicians Course at Pinewoods August 10 - 17, 2002

As of April 3, there is a wait list at this week.

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English Dance Musicians Course at Pinewoods August 10 - 17, 2002 Program Director: Jacqueline Schwab
Tentative Schedule: [Back to Top]
9:00 - 10:00
English Dance Musicians Course: Small Ensembles or Instrument Classes
10:15 - 11:15
English Dance Musicians Course: Small Ensembles or Instrument Classes
11:30 - 12:10
All Camp Gathering	John & Tony
2:00 - 3:00
English Dance Musicians Course: Small Ensembles or Instrument Classes
3:10 - 4:10
Tea & Singing with John
4:15 - 5:15
English Country: Old Time Ballroom	Alex
Open Mic/ECD band	MC: Brad & Barbara G.
Reflections on Traditional Dance on Film	Tony
Garland Inventions	Kari
8:00
Couple Dancing
8:15
Evening Dance Party
11:00
After-dance Activities

Program Description: [Back to Top]

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

Want to develop your harmony skills for playing English country dance music? This week-long course is aimed towards experienced dance musicians, who are already playing for dancing and who want to further explore "what to do when not playing the melody."

Working in a friendly, supportive group, we will listen to and analyze harmonic patterns and explore different approaches to textural styles (such as homophony or polyphony). We will discuss historical context, but the harmonic field will be wide open. Our focus will be on creating personally expressive lines, improvised on the fly. We'll also, however, get into the nitty gritty details of voicing and harmonic progression. (How advanced we get will be determined by the class's overall experience.) We will create arrangements, looking at orchestration, form and mood and we will divide up into small groups to experiment. Other topics may arise.

You will have the opportunity to dance with the rest of camp every day -- an English country class and the evening English dance. Drawing on that, we will put movement, fluidity, breath and pulse into your harmonic lines. You will be encouraged to play without written music.

The course, held concurrently with English Dance Week, will be led by pianist Jacqueline Schwab, an English country dance musician for over 25 years and a founding member of Bare Necessities. Her music developed out of her classical and improvisational training, her many years as a country dancer and her experience playing for many styles of dance, including modern and ballet. She has taught English dance and music at workshops around the country. Jacqueline's music has been heard on the soundtracks of nine Ken Burns PBS documentaries, and she plays on over 30 recordings, including many English dance recordings and three solo ones.

Where possible, Jacqueline will invite other staff members to coach on their own instruments. If a number of pianists register, we'll have a few piano-oriented classes.

The schedule includes participation in country dancing (as described above) as well as in the full range of camp activities, from singing to swimming to socializing. Please check the description of English Dance Week for details on the rich and varied program and staff. Playing at informal, camper-led dances and music sessions during free periods will be encouraged.

Registration: [Back to Top]
The registration deadline for this course is March 18. If it is oversubscribed on the 18th, there will be a lottery. The English Dance Musicians Course is limited to 15 ensure ample opportunity for active participation. There will be an acoustic piano, but pianists are encouraged to bring a keyboard with headphones. We will aim for a balance between single-line, melody players and chordal players. Your ability to play tunes at dance tempo is assumed. 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/