Programs
Residencies
Mary Alice and Peter Amidon now mostly do residencies together: e.g. Mary Alice working in one space (often the music room) and Peter in the other (often the gym). Often they will include a duo school assembly program of singing, storytelling and dance for up to 600 children at one time as part of a duo residency. Many schools hire the Amidons for a concert for the whole school and four workshops with classroom-size groups of children (Mary Alice and Peter each do two) for a one day visit.
The Amidons can end a duo residency with a community dance where Peter calls to the music of Mary Alice's piano and a hired fiddler.
Parameters of an Amidon residency
(workshops with classroom size groups of children)
Up to five 45-minute sessions a day; One classroom size group for each session (no double class sessions).
The Amidons encourage classroom teachers to participate in the sessions, and *strongly encourage* the physical education and music teachers to participate in at least a few sessions, as they are the ones most likely to continue dancing with the students.
The Amidons require that there be at least one adult school staff member at all sessions.
The Amidons require a large space for dancing. Often Peter works in the gym and Mary Alice works in another large space, like a cleared out music room. They have a lot of equipment and materials so it does not work to move around from space to space.
Peter and Mary Alice's residency workshops
Mary Alice:
Working with you for the past two years at Johnson State has quite
literally revolutionized my teaching-instead of being an "extra, a
"treat", songs and dance are an integral part of each day.
-Wendy Clark, teacher at
Shelter Island Elementary, NY
Peter:
The teachers told me that it was the best residency they ever had,
Parents called me to express their appreciation, and the children
were excited and inspired by your work and by your example...The
community dance was wonderful! It was definitely the best school wide
family gathering we've ever had.
-Rebecca Lallier, Arts Coordinator;
Hartford VT Elementary School
Although Amidons each can work with K-6 students, when they do a duo residency often Mary Alice works more with, say, K-4 and Peter with, say, 2-6. An Amidon residency session can include traditional singing games, dances, storytelling and singing. Mary Alice also has a wonderful repertoire of enhancing picture books with music (She "sings" picture books to children, making up tunes to the books' text, or she finds the perfect recorded background music to her reading of a picture book) wonderful for K-3 while Peter has more experience dancing and storytelling with 2nd - 6th grade students.
Through their songs, dances, and stories, the Amidons can touch on themes including: the seasons, African-American, Native American, country life, and the environment. Activities include chants, singing games, fingerplays, participatory folktales, longways dances, playground games, creating dances from songs, and folktales from around the world.
The Amidons are known for their clear and positive teaching and for their ability to give children of diverse backgrounds and ages a dynamic and joyful dance experience. Some of the principles in their dance teaching include:
- Distract children from their self consciousness.
- Break down the dance into succession of elements each of which the children will succeed in.
- Make expectations clear.
- Use positive group management techniques.
- Get them dancing as soon as possible.
- Create dance independence.
- Keeping the dancing engaging; quick & fun dances
An abundance of practical ideas .. Great correlation between music,
literature and dance .
-Central NY TAWL Workshop participant
The Amidons both play banjo, guitar and accordion. The Amidons' published CDs and books of songs, singing games and dances are further resources for teachers and students. Teacher workshops are an essential component of Mary Alice's work in schools.
Great! Inspiring! and immediately useful. I can't wait to try these songs and dances with my class. Wish there was school tomorrow.
-Southampton NY TAWL Workshop participant
Evening Community Dance
Amidon dance residencies often finish with an evening community dance. Peter calls to the live music of Mary Alice's accorion playing or to Mary Alice's piano playing and a hired fiddler. Children, parents, teachers, and
other members of the greater school community come together for an evening of dances that can be enjoyed by all, regardless of previous dance experience. While all dances are taught at the community dance, the Amidons make a point of including some of the dances the children have learned in their residency sessions.
The Amidons usually run their evening community dances from 6:30 - 8:00 pm or from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. The Amidons provide their own sound system for the dance.
Fees
Note: These fees assume that assembly programs, evening dances, and Peter's residency workshops happen in the same space, typically the gym, so that the sound system does not have to be moved. Mary Alice uses a smaller sound system in her residency space.
- $1,100/day for duo residency of 1-2 days.
- $1,000/day for duo residency of at least three days
* 5 sessions/day of classroom size groups of kids
* room big enough for dancing (bigger than a classroom)
* One of the 3 days can be an assembly program for the whole school and 4 classroom workshops (Mary Alice and Peter do two each). - $700 for 60-minute duo assembly program of singing/storytelling/dance
- $450 for 90-minute community dance to Mary Alice's accordion playing.
- $650 for 90-minute community dance to Mary Alice's piano playing and a hired guest fiddler.
- $1,100 for two duo assembly programs on the same day or for one duo assembly program and 4 classroom workshops on the same day (Mary Alice & Peter each do two workshops) or for one day of 10 dance workshops (Mary Alice and I each lead 5 workshops).
- Plus travel (50¢/mile).
- Plus $100/night for hotel before each day in a school. If the community dance is on the last day of the residency then we need to stay in the hotel that night as well. (For example: add $300 hotel for a three day residency - if the community dance of a three day residency is the evening of the last day of the residency add $400 for hotel).
- The assembly program fee is negotiable with block booking.
For More Information Contact
Peter or Mary Alice Amidon
20 Willow Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-257-1006
info@amidonmusic.com