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English dance music and music workshops by Shira Kammen, Jim Oakden, Charlie Hancock and Kathrine Gardner | |||
American contradance music and music workshops with
Serpentine
(Andrea Hoag,
Charlie Pilzer,
Leigh Pilzer and
percussionist Will Morrison)
Andrea and Charlie have been nominated for a 2007 Grammy for Traditional World music for their recording "Hambo in the Snow" |
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Cis Hinkle perpetually delights dancers with her welcoming and enthusiastic manner, clear instruction, and perfect selection of flowing contras and fast moving, western-style squares. She's a favorite at BACDS American Week, was the featured caller at this year's Faultline Frolic, and is popular all over the country.
North Carolina's Fred Park has been teaching and collecting dances for more than 35 years. He leads contra dance, squares, Scandinavian dance, Cajun French two-step and waltz, and much more, as well as being a memorable storyteller. Find out more about Fred at his website.
Robin Hayden has been dancing since arriving at Swarthmore College nearly 30 years ago. She lives and dances in South Amherst, MA, and began leading English dances there in 1993. Under her guidance, the weekly dance has become the center of a flourishing community of dancers and musicians. Known for her clear teaching and ability to analyze and articulate what makes good dancing, she has participated in weekends, workshops and festivals across the U.S. and in Canada and the U.K.Robin has been a hit at Fall Weekend and Mendocino English Week.
Jocelyn was a member of the first rapper sword teams in California , but in more recent years she has given her allegiance to longsword. She founded Ring of Cold Steel in 1996, to perform her version of Ampleforth. Jocelyn has been involved in the English dance world since 1980, and has performed morris all over the USA, England, New Zealand and Canada. She has taught sword and morris workshops at several BACDS camps, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Lark in the Morning. She attained her masters degree in English dance history in 1993 from Dr. Tony Barrand.Jocelyn will offer longsword in varying degrees of difficulty, suitable for beginners and experienced practitioners. This relatively low-impact display dance form is gentler on knees and ankles than morris dancing, and can weave a hypnotic spell over the viewer.
CHARLIE HANCOCK's piano and accordion are familiar sounds at BACDS dances. He plays for English, contra, and Scottish country dancing, and plays a bit of jazz for fun. His bands include Fear of Commmitment (who played for the 2006 Playford Ball) and Swing Farm (frequently on the contra scene), as well as the Kammen/Oakden/Hancock configuration.
JIM OAKDEN has gone through a succession of musical stages, from early music to traditional. Jim has been a staff musician at many West Coast camps including Fall Weekend, both by himself and as part of the GUPpies, and is currently active as a musician for English country dances, contras, Irish and Cape Breton sessions and dances from Brittany. Jim is a board member of the Traditional Dancers of Santa Cruz, led the band for the 2000 Playford Ball, and programmed the 2001 and 2002 BACDS Fall Weekends, and two American Weeks at Mendocino.
Kathrine has played fiddle and some piano for contra, square, and English dances and dance camps since the mid-80s. Some of her early mentors were Cathie Whitesides, Jeremy Kammerer, and Barry Shultz. She credits Cathie with teaching her how to fit tunes to dances, Jeremy with how to live the itinerant musician's life on a low budget and with honor, and Barry with helping her master the slippery and offbeat ways of Southeastern American fiddling. Lark in the Morning camp deserves mention for providing some of her first opportunities to play for dancing, and for the inspiration to try to make life a nonstop music party.Today Kathrine plays with Fear of Commitment, the Guppies and the KJammers. Kathrine lives with husband Kit Nelson near the beach at Half Moon Bay.
SHIRA KAMMEN's fiddling is always a hit at Mendocino English Week and Fall Weekend. Her band workshops always encourage the players to push themselves along. She's played for the BACDS Playford Ball, CDSS dance camps, and regular English dances. She's been a highlight of many Christmas Revels shows. She has a degree in music from UC Berkeley. She is a member of Ensembles Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings. She has performed and taught around the US and the world, and is at home in many musical genres, including English and Breton.Here is Shira's website.
"But I *am* dancing! It's just that my partner is electronic and has a lot of knobs!" is how Nick responds when asked why he's listening to music instead of dancing. Highly regarded by dancers, callers, and musicians for the attention that he pays to the needs of those on and off the stage, Nick is the house sound engineer for the San Francisco, Berkeley, and Sonoma contra dances and the Berkeley experienced English dance. Taking equal joy in producing contra, English, and other folk and couple dance music of the highest quality, Nick's credits as lead or assistant sound engineer include numerous BACDS events and camps (English Week, Fall Weekend, Fall Ball, Sierra Swing, and local tours by The Flying Romanos, Pete Grassby, and Four in a Bar), the first two NBCDS Mad Robin English balls, the San Francisco Free Folk Festival, and the Fairfield (IA) Folk Arts and Dance Co-op's annual Bare Necessities dance weekends.
This document last modified: Saturday, 22-Sep-2007 03:04:31 PDT
This document last modified: Saturday, 22-Jul-2017 14:25:54 PDT
Particulars
We're holding firm on prices this year; no increase from last year. Admission $225 (Miller/Morris or camping on-site), $235 for the more modern Cary Lodge (home of late night noise). Offsite admission (program and meals only) is $190. Click here for a discussion of the lodging choices. [Note that until 2002 we were able to charge the offsite price for tent or vehicle camping; the Monte Toyon management will no longer permit this and will charge us the full onsite rate, which we have to pass on to you, so car or tent camping is also $225.]
Work-trade arrangements provide a $70/$60/$55 discount (Cary/Miller/Offsite) for doing some chores to make the camp run more smoothly.
Children are welcome, and many of the workshops (which will be shown on the tentative schedule, when we have it ) will be designed for all ages, although children under twelve must have their parents with them in the workshop. Other workshops and evening dances will only be suitable for children who can dance at an adult level; some other activities will be available at this time. Parents are responsible for their children throughout the weekend. A parents' cooperative will be organized so that everybody gets time to dance. Prices are as follows:
Age | Price |
2-5 | $75. |
6-11 | $95. |
12-18 | $165 |
Click here for a map showing location of the camp, or here for a very complete description of the Monte Toyon site.
Arrive any time after 4:00 pm Friday, October 12. You're on your own for dinner Friday; there are many excellent restaurants in Santa Cruz and some good places in Aptos. The welcome dance party begins at 8:00 pm. Food and dorm-style lodging are provided, along with all kinds of country dance, singing, and musical fun, until the farewell dance party ends at 4:30 pm Sunday.
This document last modified: Saturday, 22-Jul-2017 14:25:54 PDT Accesses: (none)
This document last modified: Saturday, 22-Jul-2017 14:25:54 PDT Accesses: