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This page was updated
January 11, 2009

Workshops

Workshop Notes

Florida FMEA Conference

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon
FMEA Conference * January, 2009

Dear FMEA Participants,

Mary Alice and a wonderful time in sunny Tampa these
past few days.  It was amazing to leave the cold and
ice of Vermont for the balmy sunny breezes of Tampa.
And it was wonderful to meet so many of you in and
out of our workshops.  We appreciated your enthusiastic
participation in our sessions.

Many thanks to the tireless work of the FMEA organizers
and workers; especially to Lu Anne Leone, Debbie Fahmie
and Val Anderson with whom we planned the details of
our coming here.

I apologize that I forgot to mention that you have a
local contra dance in Tampa Florida.  You can get
information on that dance and on other contra,
square and community dances throughout the
United States at:

The notes below are arranged as follows (you can click on
any of these to go directly to notes on the session you
are interested in).

Here, below, are notes on our sessions.  You can
click on any of the titles  to go directly to notes on
the session you are interested in.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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You can get more detailed information on the below
upcoming Amidon workshops (and all our upcoming
workshops) at:

or you could subscribe to the Amidon e-mail list.  I send
postings maybe once a month - the classic format is
Dance Workshop - Announcements - Musings.  Here is
the most recent one:

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Mary Alice and I were pleased to see some of
the folks who have taken our summer week-long,
3-credit course at Hartt School of Music in
West, Hartford, CT.  We are offering  it again
this summer:

Rich Traditions and New Creations:
Dance, Song, Storytelling and Literature in the Music Classroom

Mon - Fri, July 6-10, 2009:

Information on that course will be posted at
the Hartt Summerterm website soon:

http://harttweb.hartford.edu/summer.php
or e-mail dehansen@hartford.edu for more information.

       *              *              *

Adult Village Harmony singing camp
Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are joined by two young
gifted  singer/ percussionists: Luke Hoffman, and
the Amidons' son Stefan Amidon in leading a 9-day
camp of SATB singing from ethnic choral traditions
including American shape note music, African American
gospel, and the leaders' own transcriptions and
arrangements of songs steeped in the oral tradition.

http://www.villageharmony.org/summercamp/2009/VHA_greenmountain.html


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TAMPA FMEA 2009
AMIDON POST-SESSION NOTES

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TEACHING TRADITIONAL DANCE TO CHILDREN

(Friday morning)

Pepperell Stomp (included in the book of notes)
We did this to the "Irish Reel Medley" in NEDM's
"Sashay the Donut" collection.  It is a wonderful
early circle/partner dance for young children.


Going to Alberta (included in the book of notes)
In NEDM's Sashay the Donut collection
This is a GREAT way to teach the ballroom position (used for the waltz,
the polka, and for a contra dance swing) at the same time as a simple
polka step.  We have found this to be a great dance for little kids,
big kids mixed ages, community dance, in short, for anyone.  You can
do it as an a cappella singing game, or accompany it with piano,
guitar, accordion, or Orff instruments, or do it to the music of
the Sashay the Donut CD.


Dance Teaching Tips/La Bastringue
(La Bastringue is included in the book of notes)
"La Bastringue is included in NEDM's Chimes of Dunkirk collection
We used this as a vehicle for a lot of teaching tips:
Mittens; front of your mitten on the front of your neighbor's
mitten, thumb lightly on back; take hands drop hands take
hands drop hands; posture; teach the forward separately
from the back in the forward and back; shake partner's
hand, hang on, take partner's left hand for teaching promenade;
while promenading: inside person is the moon/peanut butter/gent,
outside is the star/jelly/lady; four steps of making a circle from a
promenade: "Hang on to partner stop walking, hang on
to partner face the center, drop hands, take hands.";
9 ways of keeping the circle big and round on circle
left and right; dosido (gents start on inside, ladies start
going outside) flowing into two hand turn flowing into
promenade; when music starts clapping the first of
each 8 beats; doing the dance with your hands; "thick"
calling, then "thin" calling then no calling; saying the
call right before the 'clap' or before the first beat of
the phrase and figure.


Choosing Partners (This is included in the book of notes)
We recommend alternating between choosing random
gent/lady partners for the students, choosing random
non-gender specific partners for the students, having
them choose their own non-gender specific partners,
and having them choose their own gent/lady (opposite
gender) partners.


Kings and Queens (included in the book of notes)
We used "On the Danforth" for NEDM's "Other Side
of the Tracks" CD.  You could also use the slightly
different version of "On the Danforth" that is on
NEDM's "Sashay the Donut" CD.  Sometimes (as
I did with you) I teach this while the music is
playing.  The music helps sustain the royal mood
while you are teaching.


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EVENING COMMUNITY DANCE

(Friday evening)

Blaydon Races (included in the book of notes)
in NEDM's Chimes of Dunirk collection
Mary Alice played for this.  You can do this
to any jig medley.
We did this is a mixer, but you can also do it with
younger children without changing partners.
We often call this at weddings.  We always start
teaching this, as we do with any circle mixer, by
having the dancers promenade and defining the
gents/moons/peanut butter/inside partners and the
ladies/stars/jelly/outside partners.


Grumpy March (included in the book of notes)
in NEDM's Sashay the Donut collection.  We put
the "Wizard's Walk" medley on our "Sashay the
Donut" CD specifically for this dance.
This is a great dance for upper elementary, middle
school and high school.
I have changed one figure from the book: right after
the "grumping" across/clapping figures I have everyone
take hands in a long skinny circle to circle right.  THEN
they drop hands and skip back the other way.
Remember to specifically teach the students not to
clap their partner's hands too hard.


Larry's Mixer (included in the book of notes)
In NEDM's "Listen to the Mockingbird".
We used the cut "The Coming Dawn" from NEDM's
"Other Side of the Tracks" CD, which is the
band "Assembly", a quartet that includes
our two sons Sam (fiddle) and Stefan (percussion).
Also try doing this to "Old Favorite" from
the same CD, or try "Golden Keyboard" from
NEDM's "Any Jig or Reel" CD.  All of these are
flowing music, and I find that this dance can
have a sublime "Historic English County Dance"
feel (think Jane Austen) when done to those
cuts of elegant music.


Galopede (included in the book of notes)
In NEDM's Chimes of Dunkirk collection
We always do this to the specific tune 'Galopede'
which is on the Chimes of Dunkirk companion CD.
We often end a community dance with this dance.
If you have a live band, have them play an extra
C section the last time through at the end of the
dance and have each of the successive top couples
keep going down the middle while the rest of the
dancers move up the outside.  Sometimes we practice
this final figure ahead of time, sometimes we don't.


Sasha (not in the book of notes)

In NEDM's Sashay the Donut collection.
A great dance for all ages! We are not sure of the origins
of this dance: one source suggested it was a novelty dance
based on a Russian pop song from the 60's.  'Ras, dva,
tri' is Russian for 'ready, set, go!'


Intersection Reel (not in the book of notes)
from Warren Doyle
adapted by Peter Amidon
Use any hot reel for this, like 'Brothery
Love' track on NEDM's 'Sashay the
Donut' CD.  This is a GREAT dance
for high school students.  Ideally you should
have 5-8 couples in each set (40 - 64 dancers total),
but it can also work for from 4-10 couples
in each set (32 - 80 dancers total).   I call it
with a wireless microphone, and stand in the
middle to keep the dancers from sashaying
back across 'no man's land' at the beginning
of B2 when they sashay to the bottom of their
new sets..  Of course I get out of the way for
the great quadruple sashay crossing in B1.

formation: Four longways sets laid out like a
giant X.  The head couples are the ones closest
to the corners of the room.  The bottom couples
are the ones in each set closest to the center
of the room.  Between the four sets is a space
that I will call 'no man's land'.

A1 (16): Each of the four sets take hands
              in a ring and circle R (8)
           Each of the sets circle L (8)

A2 (16): Dosido partner (8)
                Two hand turn partner (8)

B1 (16): Top couples in each set sashay down through their
                own set, through 'no man's land' and up through the
                middle of the opposite set till they get to the top of
                the other set.

B2 (16): Active couples sashay to the bottom of this new
               set they are in (not back to their original set). (8)
            Long lines forward and back. (8)


NOTES: When the dancers are circle left at the end of A1
they should be looking for their partners, and walk right
from the circle Left into the Partner dosido.

I have two rules for the sashaying: no collisions, and
couples pass side by side (rather than one couple going
under another couple's arch, which I find holds things up
too much).  As far as which side, negotiating that on
the go is what makes the dance fun.

If the B1 sashays go fairly quickly, the couples may
have a few seconds to catch their breath before
sashaying back to the bottom at B2.

The dancers need to keep moving 'up' or 'out' whenever
the outside couples sashay to the bottom of their new
sets, in order to keep the 'no man's land' area clear.
The dancers should also try to keep their sets oriented
so that there is a straight, clear alleyway from one set
through its opposite set.

Note that that, because dancers  on, say, the
traditional 'gents' side of the set, end up on the
traditional 'ladys' side of their new sets after the
grand quadruple sashay crossing, this is, by
definition, a gender free dance: it makes no
difference which side you are on.

Although the 'X' formation utilizes the space of
a room best, note that it is much easier for, say,
younger children (I have done this with 4th graders)
and folks at a community dance to keep the four
sets oriented correctly if you make it a "+"
instead of an "X" so that each of the four sets are
perpendicular  to one of the walls instead of
pointing towards the corners of the room.


Sicilian Vowel Dance (included in the book of notes)
In NEDM's Sashay the Donut collection
We used 'Golden Keyboard' (actually, the piano only comes in
at the end of the cut) from NEDM's 'Any Jig or Reel' for this.
Do this with 5th or 6th graders who have a fair amount of dance
experience, and who have already learned the grand right and
left ('Lucky Seven' from our Chimes of Dunkirk collection
is a good teaching dance for the Grand Right and Left figure).
It can work at a community dance if you have all the younger
children dance with an adult or older experienced child partner.
The main teaching point is, once folks are in the formation
of couple facing couple (Sicilian circle formation), having
everyone point to the left.  Those pointing to the inside of
the circle say "I am an insider." Those pointing to the outside
say, "I am an outsider." That is the direction they start going
when they do the big, no hands, stay-with-partner grand
right and left.


Circle Waltz Mixer (included in the book of notes)
In NEDM's  'Sashay the Donut' collection.
We used 'In Continental' Waltz from the 'Sashay' CD for the music.
This is a wonderful dance for a wedding, where is is often
best for dancers to have a short waltz replace the two
hand turn.



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LITERATURE, STORYTELLING AND MUSIC

(Saturday morning)

Owl and the Pussycat The song is in the book of notes,
and a picture book of the poem is referenced in the
handout bibliography.
This is on the Amidons' Faerie's Gift CD
We encourage you to make up your own songs to poems, and
see how it makes you, the children, and the poem come alive.


Faerie's Gift

This is on the Amidons' Faerie's Gift CD


PICTURE BOOKS


Nyangara

After I tell a story I often give the children homework: tell this story out loud before you go to bed.  It could be to your mother or father or sibling or even your dog or just say it out loud to yourself.  Then you will remember it for a long time.

Acting out Nyangara
We loved your acting-out interpretation of the story.  Try this out with your students.  It is a risk, and it might get a little chaotic, but it can also be one of the most memorable experiences you and your students have together.

See "Parameters of Acting Out a Story" in the
"Telling Stories to Children" article in the book of notes.


Chiney Doll - 2 1/2 year old Sam tells his first story.
The song "Chiney Doll" is in the book of notes.
There is a wonderful book of this song that is
sadly out of print:
Mommy, Buy Me a China Doll : Adapted from an Ozark children's song
 by Harve Zemach (Adapter), Margot Zemach (Illustrator)

You might be able to find it at one of the second hand book websites.

I always introduce this song with a story, the idea of which I
got from that picture book.  I had always done the story with
the book when I told it to 2-year-old Sam, and when we were
recording Sam singing familiar songs and Mary Alice got to
the Chiney Doll, Sam could not sing the song without telling
the story: as far as we know, the first story he ever told.

As I mentioned at the workshop, a teacher who listened to that
who knew a lot about child development said, "When Sam
was grunting his way through the story it wasn't that he
didn't remember the story; he knew it perfectly well.  It was
that he was turning the images in his head into language."

And that is what we do when we tell stories, and we listen to
stories we turn the language back into images.

Children need to hear stories, they need the classic folktales as
a way to help sort out their emotional lives.  The archetypal
characters that inhabit folktales: the kings, queens, princes,
princesses, ogres, giants, witches, wise old women and men,
and everyman Jacks and Marys are, according to one of
my storytelling mentors, Donald Davis, all part of our own
inner selves.  When a prince marries a princess at the end of
a folktale, Donald Davis goes on, that marriage represents our
male self marrying our female self; a healthy emotional integration.

There are depths of meaning of these wonderful folktales that
we will never fully plumb, but whenever we tell folktales to
children, it is wonderful to see them uncover endless and
often surprising new meanings.



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That's it for now, except, oh yes, your homework:

    * Dance.

    * Sing.

    * Tell stories.

Best,
Peter (and Mary Alice) Amidon