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BACDS Fall Ball |
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| Staff: | |
| The Ball | |
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Robin Hayden has been dancing since arriving at Swarthmore College in 1979. She has lived and danced in Amherst, MA since 1987 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 taught at weekends, workshops and festivals across the U.S. and in the U.K. |
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Jon Berger has played music for morris, English country, and contra dances since 1976. A former musician for Berkeley Morris, he now plays for Apple Tree Morris in Sebastopol, and in Flashpoint, a Santa Rosa-based contra dance band. He is well-known for his powerful music, and, while playing for morris, his ability to maintain a connection between the music, the dancers and the dance (not to mention his sense of humor, and grand singing voice). He is a regular musician at Bay Area and North Bay English country dances. Jon is also a former member of Tempest, a Celtic rock band that plays for an entirely different style of dancing. Between gigs, Jon has a solo law practice. He lives in Sebastopol, California with his wife, famed morris dancer and clogger Kalia Kliban, and a sufficient number of cats. |
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Shira Kammen is fiddling extraordinaire. A hit at English Week in 1999, 2000, 2003, the Playford Ball in 2000, and Fall Weekend in 2002, she's been a highlight of many California Revels shows. She has a degree in music from UC Berkeley and 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. |
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Versatile dance pianist Rebecca King has been playing dance music in California since 1982. She can be heard playing English and Contra Dance in the greater San Francisco Bay area and the North Bay, mainly with the bands Flashpoint and Luceo. Her strong classical training and her love of jazz shows in her rhythmic and lyric piano accompaniments. By day, she teaches music in the Sonoma Valley schools. She can also be heard on Cowboy Dancing by Ray Bierl, and on BACDS' recent music CD Swinging On The Gate in which she was also executive producer. |
| The Workshop | |
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Besides being the programmer for the BACDS Wednesday Night English Country Dance series, Charlie Hancock has done it all. His piano and accordion are familiar sounds at BACDS dances and camps for over 10 years. He plays for English, contra, and Scottish country dancing, and plays a bit of jazz for fun. His checkered past has included playing rock, classical, punk, and disco. Charlie appeared at numerous camps and festivals, including the New England Folk Festival playing piano and accordion, and can be found on recent CDs by Cathie Whitesides and Shira Kammen. His infusion of high energy, improvisation, and equal facility in accompanying English country, contras, and ritual dancing, make him a special addition to any event. He also suffers from being an incredible friendly and nice guy. |
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David Strong has been playing fiddle (both folk and classical) for
the last 50 years. He says that playing for English is the most elegant
appreciated fun. He plays Violin and Viola for Scottish County Dancers and
couple dancers. He also enjoys playing Brazilian Choros too. Having played English since...."gosh I can't remember... is that a problem?", he notes that "the 3/2 Dances are the hook," David also plays with Bangers and Mash, an English Country Dance Band and has played for most of the major English Country Dance events in the Bay Area. David is a self-employed economic consultant ("I do governments, non-profits, and businesses… not people," he says). David lives in Oakland with his wife Mao. They enjoy traveling overseas and looking for that just right Violin! |
| The Sing Along | |
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Cathleen Myers is the Dance Director of The Great Dickens Christmas Fair, and Artistic Director of PEERS (the Period Events & Entertainment Re-Creation Society, which produces full-scale historical costume balls and dance classes almost every First Saturday). A dancer since childhood, she has researched and taught historical and vintage dance in the Bay Area since 1988. In her copious spare time, she also performs with the Alameda Vintage Dancers and with her own group, the PEERS Flying CirCUS, a historical music, dance and theater performing group, most notorious for their recurring Peerless Music Hall and Le Theatre des Vampires. |
| The Organizing Committee Your Hosts and Hostesses for the Fall Ball are:
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