Program: Class Descriptions 2019
For details on the schedule, click here.
Click on the links below for details of the 2019 classes.
ECD: Impropriety for All
For dancers of ALL abilities
Brooke Friendly with Chip Prince and Audrey Knuth
Not only will we focus primarlly on the dances of Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett (Impropriety Volume 6 will be published in the spring), we will also spend time exploring some of the ideas, such as global terminology and forming sets, that are hallmarks of Brooke’s teaching. You’ll dance to great tunes—old and new—that have inspired the set formations, figures, phrasing, progressions, and nuances that are the signature of this duo’s work.
ECD: Expect the Unexpected
For dancers of ALL abilities
Brooke Friendly with Chip Prince, Daniel Beerbohm, and Emily O'Brien
Unusual formations, unexpected music, genre bending, new interpretations, different ways of learning, and more… Who knows what might happen each day! Drawing from dances old and new, we will explore ideas and repertoire to expand our understanding of English country dance and to make us better dancers. And fun, we’ll have fun.
ECD (Advanced): The Joy of Dancing Well
For SKILLED and ACCOMPLISHED dancers
Bruce Hamilton with Trio Picante (Kate Barnes, Daniel Beerbohm, Mary Lea)
Everything is more fun when you’re good at it, and in English dancing there’s no ceiling. We’ll work on advanced-level stuff and on subtleties in some fundamentals. We’ll also explore possibly new areas like:
• What we can give to our partner, other couples, the musicians;
• Recognizing and using the spaces between people, notes, footfalls, phrases;
• Treating mistakes lightly -- others’ and our own;
And you’ll get to enjoy dances that can only be done with a skilled group.
This session is intended to be challenging for intermediate and accomplished dancers. You'll need to have a strong sense of personal orientation and the ability to learn quickly without needing dances called after the first few times through, as well as the skills to recover well. You should also be familiar and comfortable with heys for three and four in various orientations, triple minor progression, double figure eights, and fast circular heys. These figures are our starting point and will not be taught.
ECD: The Breadth of the Genre
For dancers of ALL abilities
Bruce Hamilton with Charlie Hancock, Mary Lea, and Kate Barnes
Elegant, clever, social, rowdy, sublime; with music from five centuries. What it means to make that music visible. Where to look for the joy in an unfamiliar style, or one you thought wasn’t fun. We will focus on intermediate-level skill building, including interesting variations of basic figures, phrasing, dancing in different ways, various kinds of stepping/footwork, and learning, recovering, and helping.
ECD Connection: Music and Movement
For dancers of ALL abilities
Bridget Whitehead with Charlie Hancock, Audrey Knuth, and Emily O'Brien
Explore a range of music-related themes aimed at increasing connection to the music and each other. Topics include music fundamentals for English dancers (what’s a slip jig? how do you identify one? why should you care?), changing up your movements to suit different styles of music, dancing to wonky tunes, and using the music to create satisfying physical connections with other dancers. No musical background required. Some listening, lots of dancing.
ECD Callers Workshop
Open to ALL
Bruce Hamilton with Chip Prince
You spend two hours telling people what to do, and hope they’ll love it and come back for more. Why will they do that? A small part is mechanics — efficient presentation, varied program, band communication — and a large part is other stuff — the social dynamics of a dance, how you speak to people, your attitude as leader, etc. The class will include both parts, alternating discussion with practice-calling and structured feedback from fellow callers, instructor and musician. Current ECD callers of any experience level, those considering a career in ECD calling, and those interested in the process are all welcome.
Longsword
For dancers of ALL abilities
Gillian Stewart with Charlie Hancock
Hailing from the north of England, longsword is stately, graceful, and surprisingly athletic. Learn one of the dances created and performed by Orion Longsword; dances which incorporate traditional longsword figures and stylistic elements into modern choreography. Wear comfortable shoes suitable for brisk walking and skipping (sneakers, oxfords, split soles, etc).
Morris Dance
For dancers of ALL abilities
Gillian Stewart with Jim Oakden
We'll take a look at the similarities underlying Playford-style English country dance and morris dancing. After spending the first few days of class getting the basics of a couple of traditional morris dance (both stick and hankie) under our belts, we'll take inspiration from our favorite ECD tunes and figures and write a new dance. Along the way we'll work on dancing as a set, think about what makes a good performance, and learn to work in concert with a musician. Bring sneakers or similarly supportive athletic shoes.
Percussive Dance (and singing)
For dancers of ALL abilities
Gillian Stewart and Nicole Singer with Audrey Knuth
Dancers: learn a variety of percussive dance steps, patterns, and styles along with how to connect with the music and experiment with improvising. Singers: learn some songs to accompany percussive dance as well as how to relate to the dancers and sing in a way that will inspire movement. We’ll start each class warming up together, then dancers will spend time with Gillian while singers work with Nicole, after which we will come back together to play.
Care of Body and Mind
Open to ALL
Bridget Whitehead
Enjoy a daily refresher to keep you dancing all week long. Yoga, stretching and other gentle techniques to loosen tight muscles, decrease soreness, and cultivate peace of mind. No yoga background is required and multiple options will be given to accommodate different bodies. [Yoga mats will be available, though you are welcome to bring your own.]
Leading Songs
For singers of ALL abilities
Nicole Singer
Come sing along while we focus on becoming better song leaders, but with a very chill, positive vibe (no intense critique). We'll talk about vocal projection, diction, storytelling, stage presence, finding the right pitch, and engaging with an audience and/or with a group of fellow singers in a social session. We'll also talk about how to indicate when and how an audience should sing along with you, and how to teach a song to a group if you want to perform it but the group doesn't know the chorus or call/response parts yet. We'll all get a chance to lead songs, give one another feedback, and of course practice and sing a lot!
Song Session Dynamics
For singers of ALL abilities
Nicole Singer
Join in with lots of casual social singing, with a focus on song session dynamics. What makes a good sing-around? What can leaders do to facilitate good flow, participation, manners, and fun when they get people together to sing? What makes us choose to lead different songs at different moments, and how can we use those choices to shape the path of the session? You will sing a lot, but will also learn how to facilitate a song session, and then will practice facilitating the group sing-around throughout the week. This will be great for folks who want to just hang out and sing a lot too, even if they don't necessarily want to try leading the session...we'll need a group of guinea pig singers to practice session facilitation skills.
Ensemble Playing
For musicians of ALL levels
Kate Barnes
Kate will cover a variety of topics in her workshop - playing in an ensemble, assembling a palette of arrangement tools, improvising harmonies and melodic lines and addressing any other issues regarding individual or group musicianship that you'd care to bring up. Some music will be provided but it would also be helpful to bring "The Barnes Books" if you have them.
Music Off the Page
For musicians of ALL levels
Emily O'Brien
Whether you are jamming with friends or playing for dance, freeing yourself from the sheet music can add to your own enjoyment and make you a better dance musician. Learn or improve your ability to play by ear, practice and memorize tunes, and improvise harmonies.
Tunes from South of the Border
For musicians of ALL levels
Mary Lea
Hone your skills for both sight-reading and learning by ear while playing great music with a South-of-the-border flavor: tunes from Brazil (choros, waltzes), Venezuela (waltzes), and Mexico (polkas, waltzes often of a crooked nature). Along the way, we’ll explore harmonies and rhythmic backup.
Getting in the Groove
For musicians of ALL levels
Daniel Beerbohm
Bring your instruments, the Barnes books, and your wits. As we tackle tunes, we'll learn a variety of techniques for reaching and holding dance tempo. We'll discuss what pitfalls to avoid, how to master the tough spots, finding the perfect tempo, how to tune in on the figures of a dance, and how to become one with the communal pulse.
Dance, Music, and More Grab Bag Sessions
All experience levels welcome
a variety of staff and campers
A wide range of choices through the week--something different every day! Campers will be invited to propose sessions as part of their pre-camp program questionnaire.