Program: Class Descriptions
For information on the ECD Dance Musicians' Course so-sponsored by the Country Song and Dance Society, click here.
For details on the schedule, click here.
Click on the links below for details of the 2012 classes.
Longsword
For dancers of ALL abilities
Randall Cayford with Jim Oakden
What happens when traditional longsword collides with social dance? English longsword dances are typically unique to each individual team, highly position dependent, with small numbers, and locked into a single linked ring. We're going to explore what it takes to make longsword more social and suitable for spontaneous situations. We'll work on a body of figures that can be arranged to form multiple dances, choreography for variable numbers and random positions, as well as alternate formations beyond the linked ring. All while still retaining a sense of performance. Most of all, we'll have fun with swords!
Rapper Sword
For dancers of ALL abilities
Randall Cayford with Daron Douglas
Fast paced, energetic and loads of fun! We'll explore rapper figures both old and new, adding variations, and choreographing a rapper sword dance. All experience levels welcome.
Open Display Dance
Randall Cayford
Here is a chance for all you display dancers of all flavors to get together and play. You could continue working on Randall's new longsword dance and keep playing with the concepts. You could share a border morris dance with the group. You could dance jigs or any common repertoire just for fun. You could make something up. Come see who's there and see what happens!
English Country Dance: Back Through the Ceiling
For dancers of ALL abilities
Bruce Hamilton with Karen Axelrod, Jim Oakden, and John Hymas
When your dancing reaches a certain level, it can be hard to keep improving. Rather than just try harder, it can be more effective to focus on a different aspect of your dancing, and resume improvement there. We’ll explore several aspects for you to consider.
English Country Dance: Present and Future Classics
For dancers of ALL abilities
Bruce Hamilton with Daron Douglas and Paul Hutchinson
Enjoy dances that have stood the test of time, and recently-composed ones likely to. Along the way, we’ll pay attention to what these dances have to teach us about dancing well.
English Country Dance: A Fried Herman Style Primer
For dancers of ALL abilities
Paul Ross with Paul Hutchinson and John Hymas
Experience the ten basic style precepts that were thematic in Fried's teaching. We will enjoy a selection of accessible dances, not all hers, to help you incorporate the style points into your dancing.
English Country Dance: Inventive Genius--The Dances of Pat Shaw and Fried de Metz Herman
For EXPERIENCED and ACCOMPLISHED dancers
Paul Ross with Shira Kammen, Jim Oakden, and Rebecca King
"Inventive genius" is a term that Fried used to describe Pat Shaw (in her introduction to Choice Morsels), and it applies equally to her and her work. Fried and Pat were close friends and shared a lot of the same vision of the dance. Come explore some of the more challenging work from their repertoires.
English Country Dance Open Mic for Musicians, Callers, and Dancers
Paul Ross and Rebecca King
Dancers—enjoy another opportunity to do English dance and support your fellow campers who are playing and calling. Callers—get some practice calling and share favorite dances with your friends. You can choose to get feedback tailored for you from Paul. Musicians—get practice playing for dancing while having fun with your fellow campers. Rebecca is the band leader and she'll provide suggestions and feedback. Come in one role, two, or all three—a good time will be had by all!
English Country Dance: Core Curriculum
Tailored for newer dancers
Mary Devlin with Daron Douglas and Karen Axelrod
Learn the nuts and bolts of ECD. Each day will be a different "subject". We'll start with Geography (up / down / away / cast off / and basic figures) and continue with Music, Social Studies, Agriculture, and English Lit. We'll put it all together with Language Arts -- the language being (ta da!) English country dance!
English Country Dance Callers Class
Bruce Hamilton with Rebecca King
This will be a mixture of theory and practice. The topics will be partly driven by the participants, but we’ll cover essentials like brevity, music, and the caller’s attitude.
Band Workshop
John Hymas
Learn to play as an ensemble with an emphasis on listening to and watching each other. We will work on tunes old and new, and find ways to enhance and develop them using variations of harmony, rhythm and instrumentation. We will also discuss presentation and performance of music in general and, during the first part of the week, prepare tunes for Camper Night. John has written a number of tunes for English country dance, some of which we will play later in the week--a great chance to practice learning and playing unfamiliar tunes as an ensemble.
Prerequisite: at a minimum you should be familiar enough with your instrument(s) that you can play scales of up to 3 flats and sharps, and you must be able to read music and/or be able to pick up complete melodies by ear. If you cannot do this yet, consider taking the slow jam class.
Slow Jam
Paul Hutchinson
Hone your tune-learning abilities and have fun playing a variety of tunes at a relaxed tempo. We'll do some by ear and some by sight. All levels welcome.
Songs for the Session
Jeff Warner
Become famous in your neighborhood! Introduce great chorus songs into your local tune sessions. Or catch everyone's ear as you begin a singaround at your local church or pub. We'll explore songs that have invited group participation for generations--on both side of the Atlantic: drinking songs, love songs, ballad choruses, shanties, sentimental songs, gospel songs, kids' songs, silly songs and laments--all with fine choruses. We'll even discuss song-leading and how to introduce a song, whether it's at a pub or a school gathering. Whether you come simply to enjoy a fun singing session or your goal is to learn a bunch of new songs to take back to your community, this will be a great way to spend part of your morning. All levels welcome.
Making a Song Your Own
Jeff Warner
Bring a song to sing--and we'll discuss presentation, accompaniment and choices of all kinds. We'll have fun while we all learn how to be more confident in our singing--to ourselves or a group. Jeff will have lots of songs available should you want a suggestion or need to refresh yourself on the last verse. All levels welcome.
Improv Comedy
Karen Axelrod
Come explore a variety of improv exercises and games that unleash your natural creativity and humor. Improv is all about taking risks, trusting yourself, and trusting your scene partners. We'll start basic and build on skills as we go along, adding more each day. (By the end of the week, you can quit your day job, move to Chicago and audition for Second City.) Open to all levels. This isn't stand-up or sketch comedy, and you don't have to be funny to do it. All that's required is an open mind and a desire to have fun.