Country Dance and Song Society Family Week 2 at Ogontz August 4 - 11, 2007

As of June 13, this week has spaces available.

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Program Description Staff Class Descriptions & Schedule

Family Week 2 at Ogontz August 4 - 11, 2007 Program Director: Mary Alice Amidon Peter Amidon Staff: Stefan Amidon Karen Axelrod Andy Davis Robin Davis Brad Foster * Steve Hickman Rhett Krause Jane Miller * Keith Murphy DeLaura Padovan Roger the Jester Becky Tracy Steve Zakon-Anderson * Advisors

Program Description: [Back to Top]

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

Imagine, a hundred or so children, teenagers and adults awaking in their rustic cabins in the foothills of New Hampshire's White Mountains, wandering down the hill overlooking the fog lifting over lake and mountains, joining together for a hearty community breakfast, splitting off to age specific sessions where children dance and sing with children, adults with adults, all led by some of the best community dance and song leaders and musicians in the country, and then all rejoining for a Morning Gathering that brings together the intentional community family of all ages for a sharing time that is a songfest and a dance and a concert all rolled into one. That is Ogontz Family Week 2. And that is just the beginning!

Ogontz Family Week 2 is led by a stellar staff of some of the very best dance leaders, dance musicians and singing leaders around. We are very excited to introduce the Ogontz folks to Roger the Jester, who will spark up the week with his extraordinary clowning.

Children's classes include Anglo-American singing games and dancing, clowning, storytelling and more. The adults will have daily class choices in rapper, contra and English country dancing. Peter Amidon is leading a new teen "power dancing" class that will expand the boundaries of traditional dance. There are also harmony singing, storytelling, family dance band and craft classes; and a clowning / mummers play production for all who will. There is daily swimming in Ogontz's pristine lake, two daily all-camp gatherings of dance, song and storytelling, a nightly pied piper for the 9 and unders and contra and English country dancing each evening for 10 and up. We have not scheduled in, but we also highly recommend the ever-popular health-enhancing activities of napping, reading, taking walks or simply hanging out.

Jane Miller will lead a Teachers Training Course concurrent with this week (pre-registration required).

-- Mary Alice and Peter Amidon, Program Directors

Staff: [Back to Top]

Mary Alice Amidon is an irrepressibly joyful and engaging musician-educator who connects song, dance and storytelling with children's literature. Mary Alice will lead the 6-7s in dance, song and storytelling, and, with Peter, will lead harmony singing for 13 and up.

Peter Amidon ditched early careers as a construction laborer, a viola da gambist, a mental health worker and an offset press operator to embrace a life of singing, dancing and storytelling. His choral arrangements are being sung by school, church and community choruses across the country. He will lead the teen power dance class and he will help Mary Alice lead harmony singing.

Stefan Amidon is the percussionist in Lissa Schneckenburger's contra dance band, in Seth Houston's Lift Ticket and in the up and coming honky tonk band The Sweetback Sisters. He is in his last year as a jazz percussion student at the Oberlin Conservatory where he also has taught and performed Sacred Harp music and worked with preschool children as part of the work study program.

Karen Axelrod is highly regarded for her creative and rich piano accompaniment for English, American and Scottish dance. Her bands include Foxfire (with Daron Douglas) and Woodlark (with Earl Gaddis and Chris Rua) and she also plays accordion for Orion Longsword. When not playing music, Karen performs with the comedy improv troupe, The Villa Jidiots, and makes jewelry.

Andy Davis is a master dance musician (accordion, piano, banjo) and dance teacher, and a fine storyteller and singer. An elementary school music teacher, Andy co-founded New England Dancing Masters whose books and CDs are a staple of the American elementary school music classroom. He will work with the 10-12s, teach a sword dance and mummers play to the 8-9s and lead a dance band class.

Robin Davis has the gift of helping folks of all ages create crafts of heartbreaking beauty. Her repertoire includes modular origami, Ukrainian egg dying, lantern making, decorative juggling balls and accordion memory books. Robin has been participating in community music and dance activities for much of her life.

Brad Foster is a sweet and friendly guy with a bottomless well of dance leading experience who teaches dance with grace and panache. He will lead English dance in the daytime and the evening. The Executive and Artistic Director of CDSS, he is a big (tall) reason why traditional dance and song are alive and well in the U.S.

Steve Hickman is a world class fiddler, a passionate historian, a family homesteader, a late night weeder and a master hamboner. He has toured internationally with groups including The Fiddle Puppets and Childsplay. Watch out for his transformational, paradigm shifting English fiddling.

Rhett Krause has been dancing and teaching ritual English dance since his teens. He has written extensively on the history and practice of rapper, longsword and morris dancing. He will teach the rapper sword dance class.

Jane Miller, a "teacher's teacher," will oversee the Teachers Training Course for the week. She founded the Price Farm School in Antrim, NH and is on the faculty of Antioch University New England. Jane has been involved with traditional dance and song for most of her life. Thirty-three years ago she introduced Mary Alice to contra dancing.

Keith Murphy has been immersed in music and dance since his childhood days in Newfoundland. Now Keith's groove guitar, power mandolin and rhythmic piano playing drives dances across the country and shapes the sound of Nightingale, Childsplay, Assembly and more. In addition to his dance music, Keith will collaborate with Roger the Jester on the 2007 Ogontz mummers play.

DeLaura Padovan is an irrepressibly joyful presence around camp, whether she is dancing and singing with the 4-5s and 6-7s, or leading dancing with the whole Ogontz community. DeLaura (along with Steve Hickman and their two daughters) raises chickens and goats on her family homestead and teaches and organizes for her local Virginia homeschooling community.

Roger the Jester is a consummate performer who left an early career with the Swiss theatre troupe Mummenschanz to take to the road, recreating the wandering lifestyle of a medieval fool and leaving a trail of laughter throughout 23 countries. He will work with the 8-9s, work with Keith Murphy on the 2007 Ogontz mummers play and collaborate with Peter on epic serial storytelling at the Green Chairs.

Becky Tracy's fiddling is a striking combination of power and beauty. She is ubiquitous, playing in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Europe with both Wild Asparagus and Nightingale. Becky will play for daytime and evening contra dancing and for the 10-12s' class.

Steve Zakon-Anderson teaches and calls with great skill and humor and never fails to weave in choice tidbits from his great store of knowledge of the history of contra dancing. His repertoire of dances ranges from some of the latest, greatest choreographies to great old dances that we should never forget. He will lead daytime and evening contra dancing, and the 10-12s' class.

Family Week 2 at Ogontz Daily Schedule click for tentative Detailed Daily Schedule
7:45 - 8:30	Breakfast
9:00 - 9:55	Morning classes, divided by age group
10:00	Refreshments
10:15 - 11:00	Morning Gathering
11:00 - 12:15	Swimming, Bookstore staffed
12:15	Lunch
12:45 - 1:15	Bookstore staffed
1:30 - 2:25	Early afternoon classes / Rest time
2:35 - 3:30	Afternoon classes, divided by age group
3:30	Refreshments
3:40 - 5:30 3:40 - 4:40	Swimming and/or Late afternoon classes
4:55 - 5:30	Storytelling at the Green Chairs
5:50	Dinner
7:15	Community Dance
7:45 - 8:30	Evening Gathering
8:15	Pied Piper / Bedtime for children 9 and younger
8:30 - 10:45	Evening Dance Party
9:30	Bedtime for 10-12 year olds
11:00	Optional after-dance activities

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]
Children's classes by age group -- 9:00 and 2:35

Ages 2 and 3
Childcare provided. Staff TBA.

Ages 4 and 5
These children are in for a feast of dance song and storytelling with Stefan Amidon in the morning and DeLaura Padovan in the afternoon.

Ages 6 and 7
DeLaura Padovan will lead singing and dancing in the morning. Mary Alice Amidon will do storytelling, picture books and more music and movement in the afternoon.

Ages 8 and 9
Andy Davis will lead longsword and a mummers play in the morning. Roger the Jester will teach clowning, juggling and more in the afternoon.

Ages 10 to 12
Steve Zakon-Anderson will teach contras and squares in the morning to Becky Tracy's fiddling. Andy Davis will lead storytelling activities and English country dancing in the afternoon.

Ages 13 and up Morning classes (9:00 - 9:55)

Teen Power Dance Class (ages 13 - 18) -- Peter Amidon
Peter Amidon and the teens will push the limits of traditional Anglo-American dance.

English County Dance (ages 19 and up) -- Brad Foster / Steve Hickman, Karen Axelrod

Ages 13 and up Afternoon classes (2:35 - 3:30)

Contras -- Steve Zakon-Anderson / Becky Tracy, Keith Murphy

Rapper -- Rhett Krause / Steve Hickman

Early Afternoon Classes (1:30 - 2:25)

Napping and reading are highly respected.
Also, family walks and hikes around camp are great.

Crafts (8 and up, 6-7 with parent) -- Robin Davis

Mummers Play / Clowning (8 and up, 6-7 with parent) -- Keith Murphy, Roger the Jester

Ogontz Community Dance Band (10 and up) -- Andy Davis
For folks who already know how to play an instrument

Sacred Harp (12 and up) -- Stefan Amidon

Late Afternoon Classes (3:40 - 4:40)

Harmony Singing (13 and up) -- Peter and Mary Alice Amidon

Crafts (13 and up) -- Robin Davis

Storytelling at the Green Chairs (4:55 - 5:30)
Roger the Jester and special guests will bring us all together before dinner.

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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