Newsletters
PETER AMIDON'S E-MAIL #17
In this edition:
- DANCE WORKSHOP: Galopede
- ANNOUNCEMENTS: Just released! Two New England Dancing Masters publications
- MUSINGS: Singing and Dancing for Survival
DANCE WORKSHOP
Galopede (in NEDM’s “Chimes of Dunkirk” collection)
Galopede is a great dance for, say, 2nd to 3rd grade and up, and for a community dance with mixed ages. I end most of my community dances with Galopede. It is a traditional dance from England. Note that the musical form, instead of the usual AABB, is AABC. It is the same length as AABB, but the last bit “C” is a different melody from “B”.
When we did our 2010 revision of our “Chimes of Dunkirk” collection of dances, we, the four New England Dancing Masters founders and editors, discovered that we had five different versions of Galopede: Andy’s, Mary Cay’s, Mary Alice’s, mine, and the one in the original 1991 “Chimes of Dunkirk” book.
Here is my version:
Galopede traditional, from England
Formation: Longways for as many as will.
Music: “Galopede” (on Chimes of Dunkirk CD)
- A1: Forward and back with a “high ten” (clapping partner’s
hands) on the fourth beat. (8)
All pass right shoulders with partner, crossing over to partner’s place. (8) - A2: Forward & back with high ten on fourth beat. (8)
All pass right shoulders with partner, crossing back home. (8) - B: All dosido partner. (8)
All two hand turn with partner. (8) - C: Top couple sashay to bottom of set while all clap
to the music:
“ clap/clap/clap/(rest), clap/clap/clap/(rest) etc.” till top couple reaches the bottom.
All move up one place. (16)
Galopede teaching tips:
-
The clap
The clap on the fourth beat is a great way to keep dancers together on the forward back, correcting the tendency inexperienced dancers have of doing the forward and back too quickly. I challenge the dancers to all clap together exactly on the forth beat in the forward and back.
-
Crossing over
I say: “Look at your partner’s shoes. That is where your shoes will be after you cross over.” This is all I do in a community dance or with younger children.
All the rest of the tips might be useful when you are teaching older children.
To make sure dancers pass right shoulders both over and back, you can demonstrate how the cross over and cross back takes the same route as a dosido (which is always clockwise); it is like a dosido with a pause in the middle. Have the dancers all do a slow dosido to experience on which side of their partners to pass when crossing over and crossing back.
-
Making the dancing more flowing
Typically dancers cross over and stop in their partner’s place, and then stand there waiting for the next phrase of the music to start the A2 forward and back. To make the figures more flowing try this: when the children cross over, have them keep going a few steps past their partner’s place, then turn in a sort of hook and come back, timing it to reach their partner just in time for the A2 clap on the fourth beat.
Do the same thing on the A2 cross over; go a bit past your own original spot, turn in a sort of hook, and walk through the spot that was your original place right on the 1st beat of B1, and directly into the dosido.
However, finish the dosido fairly close to your partner so that you can easily go into the two hand turn, again, timing it so that you start the two hand turn exactly on the first beat of the 2nd half of the B1 music.
This way the dancers never stop moving and flowing from one figure to the next.
-
Trim your lines
Say to the children: trim your lines. That is: be aware of the lines as they go forward and back and each dancer do your part to keep the lines straight. If the lines are all trimmed then everyone will pass right shoulders at the same moment (for a nanosecond all the dancers will be lined up on one perfectly straight line), and the dancers will keep the two lines straight as they pass and walk away from their partners, and then turn to come together again for the second “high ten” partner clap.
When the children master this flowing and line trimming, Galopede, an otherwise fairly simple dance, becomes sublime, and the dancing children will become quiet with the awesome joy of being part of such beautiful choreography.
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A special ending - the eggbeater
On our 2010 edition of the “Chimes of Dunkirk” CD we have added a second version of the “Galopede” music which has, at the end of the last time through the tune, an extra C music, so that, instead of the usual AABC of the music, the last time through the music goes AABCC.
The last time through the dance you have the dancers do the “eggbeater” figure: in the “C” music, after the top couple sashays to the bottom, the 2nd couple moves up to the top and immediately sashays to the bottom. Similarly the 3rd, 4th, etc. The side couples keep moving up the sides; when they reach the top they sashay down the middle, and when they reach the bottom they separate and start moving up the sides again. Adding an extra “C” music gives a little more time for this “eggbeater” figure. Sometimes I rehearse the “eggbeater” before doing the dance, and other times I just give the dancers a heads up during the dancing that a special ending is coming, and then call it on the fly.
-
In short
Galopede is accessible and engaging to all ages. You can simply use the first two paragraphs of teaching tips above, or you can add elegance and sophistication to the dance by using some of the other teaching tips. Watch out for dance heaven when you, the teacher, (you are dancing with the children!) stop calling, and enjoy the dance as a dancer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New England Dancing Masters announces two new publications
-
Chimes of Dunkirk - Great Dances for Children - 2010 edition
book ($15) and companion CD ($15) (book & CD sold separately)
The first major revision of New England Dancing Master’s classic collection of twenty traditional dances for children first published 20 years ago in 1991.
-
Alabama Gal - Nine Never-Fail Dances & Singing Games for Children
book/CD/DVD - $30 (all in one package)
Selected from New England Dancing Masters’ five previously published collections.Edited by all four New England Dancing Masters (Andy Davis, Mary Cay Brass, Peter and Mary Alice Amidon), this is a great starter collection for music teachers new to dance teaching. The DVD includes each of the four New England Dancing Masters teaching some of the dances and singing games.
This book/CD/DVD is published by GIA Publications.
MUSINGS
Singing and Dancing
Sometimes I think I should give an option to those of you on this mailing list to choose between our emails about dance with children and our emails about choral singing with adults. But then I think, no, even though these are two somewhat different parts of our lives, they are both such an integral part of who Mary Alice and I are, I would rather not compartmentalize them.
I studied, and loved, instrumental classical music through and after college, playing piano, guitar, cello and viola da gamba. Then, when I was 25, and living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I was introduced to traditional song and dance. It was an epiphany; I loved the physicality of the singing and dancing, and the fact that it was participatory. I loved that it came from and was for the common people. I sold my viola da gamba and bought a fiddle and a banjo. I met Mary Alice at a contra dance and we have been singing and dancing together ever since.
When Mary Alice and I lead a workshop on teaching dance to children with elementary school music teachers, we almost always include adult choral singing. One reason we do this is because we think it is something approaching a mortal sin to be in a room full of wonderful musicians/singers who are all musically literate and not do some community choral singing. Another reason is to remind ourselves how important it is for us as teachers to be musically nourished on an adult level.
What is the evolutionary function of singing and dancing? How did it help survival of our species? I believe that it has to do with how when people sing and dance together it creates synchronicity amongst the group. Community singing and dancing makes a group more cohesive, and thus more likely to survive. While this cohesiveness could be critical to a community’s life or death survival ages ago, I feel it is no less important now.
Be bold, be bold, but not too bold.
Best,
Peter (and Mary Alice) Amidon
info@amidonmusic.com