Country Dance and Song Society American Dance Musicians Course at Pinewoods August 9 - 16, 2003

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Program Description Tentative Schedule Class Descriptions Materials Registration

American Dance Musicians Course at Pinewoods August 9 - 16, 2003 Program Director: Mary Lea
Tentative Schedule: [Back to Top]
9:00 - 10:00
American Dance Musicians Course: Small Ensembles or Instrument Classes
10:15 - 11:15
American Dance Musicians: Melody	Mary Lea
American Dance Musicians: Rhythm	Keith Murphy
1:15 - 2:15
Open Mic Contras	Linda Leslie
Couple Dance Potpourri	Scott Higgs
Quebecois Styling	Sabin Jacques
Quebecois Piano	Rachel Aucoin
Guitar Accompaniment	Larry Unger
2:30 - 3:30
American Dance Musicians Course: Small Ensembles or Instrument Classes
3:45 - 4:30
Afternoon Delights	Lisa Greenleaf
Quebecois Repertoire	Richard Forest
Slow Jam	Larry Unger
4:30 - 5:15
Cinq a Sept: Social Hour and Jam
5:15 - 6:00
Rendezvous: Staff Presentations and More
8:00
Couple Dances
8:15 - 11:00
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.

This special course is for intermediate and advanced players with experience playing for dances. Participants must be able to play their instruments at dance tempos. An ability to learn music by ear, by music or both is valued. Some music for the course will be provided before camp in cassette format and other music in written form during the classes.

The course is designed and led by Mary Lea, who brings over 20 years of experience playing a wide variety of dance music in many ensembles, including Bare Necessities, Yankee Ingenuity, BLT, Orijent Express, Wild Asparagus, Childsplay and a marching samba band. She has taught individual fiddle and band workshops at many different dance and music camps around the country and was program director for two years for American Dance & Music Week at Pinewoods. Personal Webpage

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]
For two periods every day, Mary Lea will lead an exploration of the intimate relationship between music and dance in American contra dancing. Special attention will be given to playing rhythmically and creating a groove, developing medleys and harmonic interest and exploring what different musical genres (Irish, quebecois, Appalachian, old-time, etc.) contribute to the dancing. The group will form small ensembles and craft medleys in order to play for an evening dance. Some time will be spent looking at creative and sensitive ways to address the interpersonal aspect of music-making! Master classes will be held each day during the second period. Keith Murphy will work with the rhythm players, and Mary will work with the melody instrumentalists. It's possible that other American Dance & Music Week staff members will be able to provide special workshops at other times. These can be arranged during the week to meet specific needs.

During free times, participants can choose from among other activities available. Please check the description of American Dance & Music Week for details on the rich and varied program and staff.

Registration: [Back to Top]
The registration deadline for this course is March 17. If it is oversubscribed on the 17th, there will be a lottery. American Dance Musicians Course is limited to 15 people. There will be acoustic pianos, but piano players are encouraged to bring an electric keyboard with headphones. We will attempt to keep a balance between melody players and accompanists. Scholarships are available.

Program Description Tentative Schedule Class Descriptions Materials 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/