Country Dance and Song Society English Dance Week at Pinewoods August 11 - 18, 2007

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Program Description Staff Class Descriptions & Schedule

English Dance Week at Pinewoods August 11 - 18, 2007 Program Director: Bruce Hamilton Staff: Adam Brown Susan de Guardiola Daron Douglas Earl Gaddis Wayne Hankin Debbie Jackson Barbara Kinsman Tom Kruskal Susan Lehotsky Amelia Mason Phyllis Richmond Jacqueline Schwab Laurel Swift Advisors: Jan Elliott Brad Foster Steve Howe

Program Description: [Back to Top]

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

Do you like to work and play? Dance and sing? Make music and dance? English Week at Pinewoods is packed with chances to stretch yourself by day and play at night. Barbara Kinsman, making her first visit to Pinewoods, will help you polish your dancing even if you're an expert, and deepen your connection to the music. Barbara is little-known in the U.S., but sought after all over England for her concise teaching and high standards. Susan de Guardiola will give you a medium-depth look at the steps, mores and dances of the waxing and waning years of the original country dance period, with knowledge, taste and wit. Callers and choreographers will find valuable practice in her reconstruction class, but it's useful to us all: seeing how much interpretation is required makes it hard to be dogmatic on the dance floor. Daily Alexander Technique classes will show you things you never knew about your body and how to use it for dancing or playing your instrument, even if your instrument is your voice. Laurel Swift's and Adam Brown's classes will make your morris dancing stronger and crisper. If you're not an expert in singing, country, morris or rapper, you'll find gentle introductions to those.

And there’s more. There are chances to play for dancing, practice your calling and pick up the latest English fiddle styles -- morris, country and ceilidh. And evening dances to our outstanding musicians, with some of the most skilled and friendliest fellow dancers anywhere. Besides the scheduled activities, Pinewoods’ porches, docks, ponds and paths -- and your cabin if you like -- offer even more chances to sing, make music, visit with old friends and make new ones. -- Bruce Hamilton, Program Director

Staff: [Back to Top]

Adam Brown has played music and danced the morris for more than 3/4 of his life, having grown up at music and dance camps and festivals. He dances regularly with Thames Valley International and has played semi-regular music gigs all over North America and Europe, either solo or as a member of various outfits whose styles may range from blues, folk and rock to jazzy groove, alternative and experimental. Renowned for his dynamic oratorical and presentation styles, he is highly sought after in his academic milieu as a guest speaker in symposia, on the radio or in his day job as a Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Susan de Guardiola is an independent dance historian, teacher and caller. Based in Connecticut, she teaches regularly at workshops and dance events across the U.S. and serves as resident instructor for The Elegant Arts Society, for which she teaches regular monthly workshops in New York City. Susan has taught historical social dance of various eras in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia, Louisiana, Ontario and more. She recently performed and served as dance consultant for A&E's Biography episode on Jane Austen. Her particular specialties are Italian dances of the late 16th century and French and English dances of the early 19th century (Jane Austen/Napoleonic Wars), but her interests include 15th-century court dance, 17th-century country dance, the Victorian era and the early 20th century/pre-WW1 era. She has also been known to admit to a taste for disco line dances. Susan also teaches cross-step waltz and conducts gender-role-free workshops in modern and historical dance styles.

Daron Douglas, again living in New Orleans, is a fine fiddler for American and English dance traditions. Daron also brings a rich repertoire of songs from her great-grandmother, who was one of Cecil Sharp's informants in the southern mountains.

Earl Gaddis is a full-time dance musician, having played fiddle and viola for a mixture of English, Scottish, American and international dancing for well over 40 years. He plays for dance camps, workshops, balls and other dance events throughout the U.S. and abroad. Earl is a member of Bare Necessities, which has released about a dozen recordings of English country dance music so far, and of Woodlark (with Karen Axelrod and Chris Rua) and he has recorded with a number of other musicians as well. He lives in great contentment on ten acres of woods in rural Michigan with his wife, Sherry Brodock.

Bruce Hamilton is a thoughtful and energetic teacher of English country dancing (and sometimes morris and Scottish). He focuses on the non-choreographic elements: how to move well, how to be musical, how to recover from slips and help others do so, how to be a good partner, etc. He carries this focus into his callers classes, an approach which delights some and mystifies others.

Wayne Hankin, specialist in ancient winds, has performed for Cirque du Soleil, Center Stage, Alley Theater, New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center, American Repertory Theater and on Broadway. He's made music with most of the major early music groups in the world. His numerous television credits include CBS Sunday Morning, The Tonight Show, Regis & Kathee Lee, Monday Night Football, HBO's Showtime and ABC News Niteline, and has recorded with popular stars from They Might Be Giants to Jewell. Recent television credits include Nickelodeon's Miss Spider and recent movie credits include Disney's The Princess, Belle and Anastasia. Numerous recording credits include works for RCA, ECM and Sony. Wayne teaches the world over and is recipient of several awards including the Noah Greenberg Award, ASCAP Standards Awards, besonder Verdienst award of Austria, Meet the Composer Grants and the ASCAP Plus Awards six years in a row for composition.

Debbie Jackson, innovative pianist from Michigan, plays regularly with her bands, Childgrove and Dr. Grangelove. In addition to English, she is also an avid dancer and musician in styles that range from Eastern European and Brazilian to bluegrass, swing and Scandinavian. Her favorite is whatever she is playing at the moment! She is also a composer of English country dance tunes, a singer/songwriter as well as a versatile harmony singer. When not playing piano for events and dance camps, she is well known for her international photography work and studio piano work. She also recently had the unique honor of playing the part of pianist Floyd Cramer (yes) in The Patsy Cline Story (luckily, no speaking part!).

Barbara Kinsman discovered the joys of English folk dance as an 18 year old student and has enjoyed a lifetime of dancing and half a lifetime of teaching English country dance. She started teaching with the Playford group in Birmingham in the 50s, has taught workshops at Sidmouth, Whitby and Broadstairs festivals, at Halsway Manor, at weekends and holiday courses throughout England and in Holland and the Czech Republic, and is highly sought after today. In 1998 the EFDSS awarded her the Gold Badge for her teaching. In their spare time, Barbara and her husband danced with a performing group for 40 years. We are lucky to have her high standards and the breadth and depth of her experience for the first time ever at Pinewoods.

Tom Kruskal plays Anglo concertina and banjo for Orion Longsword and the Pinewoods Morris Men and is leader/founder of youth teams Velocirapper, Candyrapper, Beside the Point, Great Meadows Morris and Sword and Hop Brook Morris. A frequent musician at Pinewoods since 1966, Tom's playing for display dance is strong, driving, rhythmic and attentive to the needs of the dancers and the dance.

Susan Lehotsky is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique and teaches privately in Carlisle, MA. She studied with Ruth Kilroy and Rivka Cohen at the Alexander Technique Teaching Center in Newton, MA. Susan also holds a BA in Music from the University of Lowell and has a background in folk music and dance. She plays a variety of instruments and performs with the Boston area group The Assabet Ramblers. Susan enjoys various forms of dance, including English country, contra, contact-improv and swing.

Amelia Mason is an accomplished fiddler and third generation Morris and sword dancer. She has been attending Pinewoods since infancy, in recent years as a member of the grounds crew. She has played for Candyrapper and New Moon sword teams, and for Great Meadows and Banbury Cross Cotswold sides. She also plays for contra and Scottish country dances and has appeared in concert as well, most recently on the main stage of the Boston Celtic Music Festival.

Phyllis Richmond is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique and a Certified Laban Movement Analyst with over 25 years experience teaching dancers and musicians for universities and performing arts programs in the U.S. and Europe. She has taught the Alexander Technique for Southern Methodist University, Baylor, Rice, Vanderbilt, the University of Oklahoma, the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She currently teaches Alexander Technique for the University of North Texas School of Music and maintains a private practice in Dallas, TX. She is the Editor of AmSAT News, the journal of the American Society for the Alexander Technique.

Jacqueline Schwab has 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 ten 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.

Laurel Swift is one of the young English morris dancers at the forefront of her generation. Gently pushing boundaries in our perception and performance of morris dance she runs the unique company, Morris Offspring, and has successfully taken their first major show, On English Ground, to mainstream arts centres. She is passionate about the indispensable function of and need for traditional arts in contemporary society. Two-time medal winner in the double jig contest at Sidmouth, Laurel also plays fiddle in rising dance band stars, The Gloworms, and dances both Northwest and step clog.

English Dance Week at Pinewoods Tentative Schedule:
7:45 - 8:15 Breakfast
9:00 - 10:15
Experienced ECD	Barbara Kinsman
Big Morris	Laurel Swift
Alexander Technique for Musicians	Phyllis Richmond, Susan Lehotsky
Basic ECD	Bruce Hamilton
10:30 - 11:30
Dancing is Music Made Visible	Barbara Kinsman
Basic Cotswold Morris	Adam Brown
English Fiddle Style	Laurel Swift
Singing for the first time Again	Wayne Hankin
11:30 - 12:15 Swimming, Bookstore staffed
12:15 Lunch
1:00
Singing on Dining Hall Porch	Daron Douglas
1:45 - 2:45
Regency Dancers Don't Turn Single	Susan de Guardiola
Innovation Within the Morris Set	Laurel Swift
Alexander Technique for Dancers	Phyllis Richmond, Susan Lehotsky
A ça Pinewoods	Wayne Hankin
3:00 - 4:00
Mostly Modern	Barbara Kinsman
Experienced Cotswold Morris	Adam Brown
Country Dance Reconstruction	Susan de Guardiola
4:00 - 4:30 Tea
4:30 - 5:30
Open Mic	Bruce Hamilton, Daron Douglas
Basic Rapper Sword Dance	Adam Brown
5:30 - 6:15 Swimming, Bookstore staffed
6:30 Dinner
8:00 Evening Dance Party
11:00 Optional after-dance activities

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]

English Country Dance:

Experienced ECD -- Barbara Kinsman / Jacqueline Schwab, Daron Douglas
We'll use dances from Cecil Sharp and Pat Shaw to explore points of finesse which enhance the dancer's enjoyment and sense of elegance.

Basic ECD -- Bruce Hamilton / Debbie Jackson, Earl Gaddis
Get a solid grasp of the fundamentals -- musical rhythms, figures and steps -- using simple, popular dances. A great introduction to English country dancing, a chance to go back and learn thoroughly things you have picked up, or just a fun way to get questions answered.

Dancing is Music Made Visible -- Barbara Kinsman / Debbie Jackson, Earl Gaddis
Here's an opportunity to absorb magical music and appreciate the different ways that a dancer can express it within the Playford genre.

Regency Dancers Don't Turn Single -- Susan de Guardiola / Jacqueline Schwab, Daron Douglas
This class will concentrate on the dances from the extreme ends of the country dance tradition: dances from very early editions of Playford contrasted with the dances of the 1810s and 1820s. The dances will be taught with the steps and format of their original eras with the aim of showing the significant differences in country dancing at the beginning and towards the end of its dominance of social dancing. Some quick attention will also be given to related contemporary dance forms from each era as they relate to country dancing.

Mostly Modern -- Barbara Kinsman / Debbie Jackson, Earl Gaddis
Dance research and the art of choreography are flourishing. It has always been the case that only really good dances will stand the test of time. We'll examine a selection from the last half century and you can try to guess which will be the classics of the future.

Country Dance Reconstruction -- Susan de Guardiola / Jacqueline Schwab, Wayne Hankin
Get into the nitty gritty of turning dances from words on a page into artistic movement. This class will involve hands-on reconstruction work using primary source material drawn from two centuries' worth of dance manuals, including both the reconstruction of specific dances and a look at some of the challenges of reconstructing particular figures and how the use of period steps and dance sources outside the country dance tradition influence historical reconstruction.

Open Mic -- Bruce Hamilton, Daron Douglas
A chance to practice your calling or playing with a forgiving group of dancers. Bruce and Daron will coordinate and give feedback.

Special Interest Class:

Alexander Technique for Musicians -- Phyllis Richmond, Susan Lehotsky

Alexander Technique for Dancers -- Phyllis Richmond, Susan Lehotsky
The Alexander Technique teaches you how to change habits of poor body use, reduce tension and effort and improve posture, coordination and breathing through intentional thinking. These hands-on workshops will focus on dance and music practice and performance and will feature lots of individual attention. Learning to improve the way you use yourself will contribute to the ease and longevity of your dancing and music-making.

Ritual/Display Dance Classes:

Big Morris -- Laurel Swift / Tom Kruskal
This workshop explores ways of conveying the intimacy and power of Cotswold morris on a (large) stage. Both familiar and new Cotswold traditions will be drawn on and the result will be a huge new morris dance, unique to Pinewoods. Some morris dance experience is preferred. The idea is to challenge your perception of what the audience sees when they watch Morris.

Basic Cotswold Morris -- Adam Brown / Tom Kruskal
We will go through the mechanics of basic Fieldtown stepping and figure formation, with a minor emphasis on style and 'cheats' to look good with minimal input. By the end of the week, this beginner's morris class will be able to perform an entire hanky and stick dance effortlessly.

Innovation Within the Morris Set -- Laurel Swift / Amelia Mason
This workshop concentrates on how innovative ideas can be applied in Cotswold morris without losing the traditional shape of a set or the familiar structure of figures and choruses.

Experienced Cotswold Morris -- Adam Brown / Tom Kruskal
This class is aimed at experienced morris dancers looking to work on stylistic elements that make Thames Valley International's Fieldtown tradition so graceful and exhilarating.

Basic Rapper Sword Dance -- Adam Brown / Amelia Mason
This class will teach the basic stepping and figures of rapper dancing. Although we will be starting from scratch and working at a beginner's level, you should be able (and expected) to charge through a whole dance at breakneck speed by the end of the week (backflips optional!).

Music:

English Fiddle Style -- Laurel Swift
England currently has a rich crop of exciting and individual fiddle players discovering and reinventing English fiddle music. Laurel brings her own distinctive tunes and style to Pinewoods for you!

Singing for the first time Again -- Wayne Hankin
This is a course set on the relaxing art of music making. It's easy, fun and an enjoyable way to participate in this large musical get together. Each person gets individual attention too. Wayne will bring his musical bag of tricks, so when you leave camp you can amaze your friends at home. Everything's provided: music, helpful tips, exercises and encouragement. The only thing missing, is you!

Singing on Dining Hall Porch -- Daron Douglas
Swap songs, join in choruses, have fun.

A ça Pinewoods -- Wayne Hankin
The art of singing in ensemble. Our chorale ensemble will touch folk, choral, scat singing, traditional music and maybe a new piece or two, along with helpful exercises to make you more tuneful, enhance projection and increase your range and friends around you. Attention is focused on the art of group participation. Need extra help? That's what I'm there for.

Program Description Staff Class Descriptions & Schedule Top

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