Country Dance and Song Society English & American Dance Week at Buffalo Gap July 10 - 17, 2004

As of July 17, this week is over. Folks had a wonderful time!

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Program Description Staff Class Descriptions & Schedule

English & American Dance Week at Buffalo Gap July 10 - 17, 2004 Program Director: Kathy Anderson Staff: Karen Axelrod Peter Barnes Lise Brown Robert Cromartie Barbara Finney Earl Gaddis Jamie Gans Ralph Gordon Joe Herrmann Sam Herrmann Colin Hume Kappy Laning Mary Lea Tamara Loewenthal Jacqueline Schwab Advisor: Brad Foster

Program Description: [Back to Top]

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

For the dancer who enjoys many styles of dancing, the friendly community of Buffalo Gap in the hills of West Virginia invites you to come and experience this week of good times on and off the dance floor. There will be classes to suit every interest, with English country and American dance offerings, music and song, clogging and ritual dance.

Colin Hume will join us from England with his inimitable style and humor, and share his take on English country dance trends as well as his English view of American squares and contras and his own clever choreography. Barbara Finney will draw first-timers into English dance and treat us to old favorites. The stellar music of Jacqueline Schwab, Mary Lea, Peter Barnes, Earl Gaddis, Karen Axelrod and Ralph Gordon will lift the English country dancing to high levels.

Robert Cromartie will charm the dancers with his interesting and unusual contras and his dry humor. He will also lead a contra callers class and critique the open mic session. Kathy Anderson will call squares to bend the brain, as well as contras and more at the evening dance, and will lead the square callers class. Sam and Joe Herrmann, Lise Brown, and Jamie Gans will provide the tunes for the squares and contras and will invite you to relax with an old-time song session in the late afternoon. Tamara Loewenthal will teach clogging and longsword, and Kappy Laning will lead a rapper class.

With so many offerings to choose from, including the lure of a nap or a break by the lake or a hike in the hills, there are tough choices to make. Afternoon theme parties are always a possibility, as is gathering by the sauna to relax.

The evening dance parties will feature a mix of English and American dances each night and late night activities, including singing, swing dancing, jamming, skits and more, cap off the day. The week will end with class presentations and an afternoon social.

We hope you will join us at Buffalo Gap. We'll be glad to see those who already know and love its delights, and first-timers, who will enjoy its welcoming atmosphere. See you there!

Staff: [Back to Top]

Kathy Anderson from Dayton, OH, has been calling almost since she started dancing in 1980. She will focus on her true love, squares, this week. She also is an old-time musician, playing banjo and piano .

Karen Axelrod plays beautifully expressive piano for English, American and Scottish dance (currently in the band Barley Moon with Daron Douglas and Dave Langford), and plays accordion for longsword and morris. In addition to her life as a musician and mother, Karen makes jewelry and performs with the improv comedy troupe, the Villa Jidiots.

Peter Barnes, enthralled by dance music since birth, has been putting sparks under people's feet for over 30 years playing piano, flute, whistle, guitar and assorted other instruments. He has published three dance music books, toured ten countries and appeared on over 50 recordings. He plays for English country, contra, square and vintage dancing and has played for festivals and tours from Prague to Hawaii. He currently works with the bands Bare Necessities, The Latter Day Lizards, Yankee Ingenuity and with singer, Cathie Ryan.

Lise Brown comes from NYC where she played in the horn section with several bands and then moved north and found herself surrounded by folkies, fiddlers and contra dances! She bridged both of those interests with the band Big Bandemonium. She writes the horn parts and they wail on the northern fiddle tunes. She brings a new life to the dance music.

Robert Cromartie, from Chapel Hill, NC, brings with him 12 years of exceptional calling experience. At dance camps across the country Robert has a reputation for bringing out the best in dancers and raising the level of excitement to a fever pitch. His sense of timing, choice of dances and playful personality make him a favorite throughout the U.S.

Barbara Finney has a dance background which includes a variety of styles, including Renaissance and Baroque court dance. An acclaimed dance leader, she teaches at the weekly dance of the CDS, Boston Centre and over the last 12 years has called at many other dances in the eastern U.S. and Canada and at Pinewoods.

Earl Gaddis, of Northampton, MA, is a full-time dance musician, having played fiddle and viola for a mixture of English, Scottish, American and international dancing for nearly 40 years at dance camps, workshops and balls throughout the United States and abroad. He is a member of Bare Necessities and has been known to play spirited percussion accompaniments to Balkan dance music on a garbage can when no other instrument was available.

Jamie Gans is a fiddler extraordinaire, fluent in a variety of traditional fiddle styles. His newest CD, Snug in the Blanket, with Paddy O'Brien and Daithi Sproule, has just been released to rave reviews; he will also be featured on an upcoming Canadian release of great fiddlers, including Pierre Schryer. He performs with his wife, Tamara, in Fiddle 'n' Feet.

Ralph Gordon is a consummate musician; his rhythm, tone, knowledge and experience with all styles of music make him the best all around bass player for dance music. He has worked with many bands over the years, has about 50 recordings to his credit and has graced many a concert stage, dance camp and festival here and abroad.

Joe Herrmann is a talented multi-instrumentalist who has been making music for over 30 years. He is well-known in traditional music circles for his singing and instrumental prowess. He founded The Critton Hollow String Band with his wife, Sam, in 1975, and has played at festivals, concert halls and dance camps throughout the U.S. and Canada. He also performed with The Fiddle Puppet Dancers for 16 years and with them toured the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Japan. Joe has taught banjo and fiddle workshops at numerous music camps and has five Critton Hollow recordings to his credit.

Sam Herrmann's odyssey with the hammered dulcimer began instantaneously, the sweet sounds resonating in her heart. That was at the Fiddler's Convention in Galax in the early 1970s. She has used it and her sweet voice to bring music to dancers, singers and listeners. With Critton Hollow String Band, she has toured extensively including many appearances at CDSS dance camps.

Colin Hume is also well known to dancers for the variety of his beautiful dances (collected in over five volumes), his music, his writing about dance in eds, the EFDSS magazine, his work reconstructing historical dances and his commitment to good dancing. Now that he's figured us Colonials out, he's also very entertaining!

Kappy Laning, our Camp Director, will also be part of the program staff this year! This is her 14th year at Buffalo Gap where she has worn many hats. Kappy has danced, taught and played fiddle for The Court Square Dancers and Dew Drop Inn and danced with Frayed Knot Rapper in Charlottesville, VA.

Mary Lea has been playing violin and viola for dances for over 20 years, from contra, square and English country to ragtime era and couple dance music. She is a member of the nationally-known bands Bare Necessities and Yankee Ingenuity, as well as Crazy Quilt, Dark Carnival and Paradiso. Mary has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad playing for workshops, concerts and week-long dance events and is known for her mastery of many musical style.

Tamara Loewenthal has been clogging up a storm for over twenty years! A founding member of Rhythm in Shoes, she toured with the company for 15 years and now dances and performs with the group Fiddle 'n' Feet. A past winner of the clogging competition at the Mt Airy, NC, Fiddlers Convention, she has taught traditional dance at camps including Augusta and Brasstown, and is known for the clarity and enthusiasm of her teaching.

Jacqueline Schwabhas been an English country dance musician for over 25 years and is a founding member of Bare Necessities. She is widely known as the pianist on 10 Ken Burns's PBS documentaries (including The Civil War, Baseball and Mark Twain) and on over 30 recordings, including with Bare Necessities, singer Jean Redpath and fiddlers Alasdair Fraser and Laura Risk. Jacqueline also has three solo recordings. She has performed for former President Clinton at the White House and at the Smithsonian. A longtime dancer, Jacqueline plays and teaches English dance workshops with Bare Necessities around the country and abroad.

English & American Dance Week at Buffalo Gap Tentative Schedule:
7:45 - 8:30 Breakfast
9:00 - 10:10
English Dance at Cecil Sharp House	Colin
Intro to English Dance	Barbara
Appalachian Clogging	Tamara
10:25 - 11:35
Contra Dance	Robert
Colin's Choreography	Colin
Longsword	Tamara
11:50 - 12:20
Camp Gathering
12:20 - 12:40 Swimming, Bookstore staffed
12:40 Lunch
1:30 - 2:30
Old-time Squares	Kathy
Rapper	Kappy
English Dance Band	Jacqueline
2:45 - 3:45
English Classics	Barbara
Contra Dance Callers	Robert
Square Dance Callers	Kathy
4:00 - 5:00
American Squares and Contras	Colin
Open Mic, Open Band	Robert
Singing	Sam, Joe
5:15 - 6:30: Swimming, Bookstore staffed
6:30: Dinner
8:00
Couple Dances
8:15
Evening Dance Party
11:00
After-dance refreshments Camper initiated late-night activities/parties

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]

The English country dance classes will be taught by Colin Hume and Barbara Finney. One of the periods will have graded classes giving each camper a chance to get the instruction they need to take their dancing up a notch. The music for each of these classes will delight us all!

The American side of the dance program will include contras with Robert Cronartie, squares with Kathy Anderson and a taste of Colin's English version of American dances.

Tamara Loewenthal will teach clog and longsword. Her repertoire of performance dance will astound. Kappy Laning will give us rapper dance as well.

Jacqueline will lead English dance musicians in a band class as well and we will have time to sing with the Herrmanns.

Program Description Staff Class Descriptions & Schedule Top

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

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