Workshop Notes
Creating a Dynamic Learning Community with Traditional Dance, Song and Storytelling
Saturday, September 11, 2010 * Indianapolis, Indiana Orff
Dear Friends,
We had a wonderful time with you at our workshop yesterday. Many thanks to Josh Southard, Dean Maniakas, and to everyone else who took such good care of us. Here are a few announcements. (If you want to go straight to the workshop notes click here.)
Amidons’ new CD
(which was not available at the workshop)
A Song in My Heart: 25 Years of Amidon Favorites
2010. Peter & Mary Alice Amidon, with Sam & Stefan Amidon and more
Some might say this is a collection of children’s songs, but we think of them as great songs that children happen to enjoy. Here are some of our favorites from thirty-five years of singing together and twenty-five years of recording.
The CD includes six songs not previously recorded as well as songs from the Amidon CDs: Faerie’s Gift, All I Really Need, This Pretty Planet, I’ll Never Forget, and Keys to the Kingdom.
CD: $15.00
AMIDON MAILING LIST
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Meet our Boys
Stefan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX3C8JuynVE
Sam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ReicnrffpA
AMIDONS SUMMER WEEK-LONG 3-CREDIT COURSE
Every summer Mary Alice and I teach a week long 3-credit course for music teachers taught by Peter and Mary Alice Amidon. We are anticipating that we will be teaching this again in the summer of 2011 (probably around the second week of July, but the specific week will not be scheduled for another month or so):
RICH TRADITIONS AND NEW CREATIONS: DANCE, SONG, STORYTELLING AND LITERATURE IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM
(or “Everything we know”)
Hartt Summerterm, West Hartford, CT
General info: http://harttweb2.hartford.edu/summer.php
The foundation of this class is the wealth of songs, dances, singing games, and folktales that spring from the Anglo American/African American oral traditions. Each participant will write a song and tell a folktale.
Contact: Dee Hansen * 860-768-4128 * dehansen@hartford.edu * * *
WORKSHOP NOTES
YOUR HOMEWORK:
Go dancing!
HERE IS WHAT WE DID:
BLAYDON RACES (p. 4 in handout)
in NEDM’s “Chimes of Dunirk” collection
For music we used “Blaydon Races” from the Chimes of Dunkirk - 2010 revision CD which will be released in about a month.
Here is the Blaydon Races mp3 for free download.
You can also 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 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.
SHAKE THEM SIMMONS DOWN (not in handout)
in NEDM’s upcoming collection: “I’m Growing Up - Music/Movement Activities for Preschool & Kindergarten”
STROLLING IN THE PARK
in NEDM’s upcoming collection: “I’m Growing Up - Music/Movement Activities for Preschool & Kindergarten”
TEACHING DANCE 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; identify partner and corner; allemand = “elbow down, hand up, thumb around thumb, hand over wrist, 7% arm wrestle (or give weight). Facing neighbor all put left hand in the air. “Elbow down, hand up, thumb around thumb, fingers over wrist, 7% arm wrestle (give weight to neighbor), then allemand left neighbor WHILE LOOKING FOR PARTNER, and then dosido partner (Gents/Moons going towards the middle first in order to dosido passing right shoulders) WHILE LOOKING FOR NEIGHBOR, then allemand left neighbor again WHILE LOOKING FOR PARTNER, then, “Hey”, take partners right hand in right (like a brief handshake) and go into a promenade with partner; 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.
TWO BOOKS THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE TEACH:
- “A General Theory of Love” by Richard Lannon
- “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge
COMMENT ÇA VA (p. 4 in handout.)
In NEDM’s “Sashay the Donut” collection
A variation of La Bastringue (in NEDM’s “Chimes of Dunkirk” collection)
FROM THE SEED IN THE GROUND (p. 8 in the handout)
This is on our new CD “Song in My Heart” My Children’s Choir arrangement of this is in my collection “From the Seed in the Ground - Six Arrangements for Treble Chorus”
Listen to it here: From the Seed in the Ground.mp3
INTRODUCING SONGS WITH STORIES
SYLVIE (p. 10 in the handout)
I made up a story based upon the true story of my great grandfather and his brothers all having names beginning with the same letter, and growing up on a Vermont farm. My Children’s Choir arrangement of this is in my collection “From the Seed in the Ground - Six Arrangements for Treble Chorus”
Listen to it here: Sylvie.mp3
PICTURE BOOKS
(bibliography pp. 14, 15 in handouts)
(* = not in bibliography)
- *”We All Went On Safari” by Lauri Krebs, illustrated by Julie Cairns
- “First Strawberries”
- “I Miss You Every Day”
- “Mother Earth”
- *”Day Is Done” by Peter Yarrow, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
SALLY SUNSHINE (p. 3 in handout)
in NEDM’s “Jump Jim Joe” collection.
A great singing game for getting children of all ages stepping to the beat.
NOBLE DUKE OF YORK (p. 4 in handout)
in NEDM’s “Jump Jim Joe” collection
I used a new recording from NEDM’s forthcoming collection “Nine Failsafe Dances and Singing Games for Children” (book/CD/DVD in one package); all materials chosen from the five NEDM collections.
FLYING SCOTSMAN (p. 5 in handout)
In NEDM’s “Listen to the Mockingbird”.
This is quite an aerobic dance, with everyone skipping or sashaying more than half of the time. The main teaching points:
- -After the top couple sashays way down below the other dancers, the other dancers take hands with partners to “block the way” for the active couple.
- -When all of the couples are sashay up at the same time, all let go of partners’ hands and the ladies line takes hands along the line and continue sashay up and around the gents line to start the figure over again.
MY HEART IS READY (p. 12 in handout)
This is a great! song for instant group by-ear harmony singing. This, and many other SATB and treble voice choral arrangements will be available for purchase soon on the LISTENING/SHEET MUSIC DOWNLOAD page on our website. A few pieces have been put up already at: http://www.amidonmusic.com/store/downloads.html
ACRES GRACE (p. 13 in handout.)
Composed for the fourth original musical co-written by Stephen Stearns (script, director) and Peter (music and lyrics).
B R E A K
SEED IN THE GROUND DANCE
Peter made this up for a performance by five second grade classes for their parents:
- If you got the sun
- *Walk sideways with hands miming sun rising. and if you got the rain
- *Walk sideways the other way with hands miming rain. and you plant a little seed
- *Crouch down. in the old back lane
- *Then jump and turn halfway with arms moving directly over head, end pointing in opposite direction. And you wish and you hope
- *hands clasped together in front, take step to diagonal left, then diagonal right, And you keep the weeds down
- *Crouch down, keeping head up. You might find, oh
- *standing up, step and gesture with arm to left. You might find
- *step and gesture with arm to right a root growing down from the seed
- *mime with hands in the ground
- *take one step forward (leaving other foot in place) ending with forward leg bent a little and back leg straight as arms and hands sweep from front to both sides (separating) as if miming the flat surface of the ground.
This was inspired by “flashdances”:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k&feature=related
LUCKY SEVEN (p. 6 in handout.)
In NEDM’s “Chimes of Dunkirk” collection
We used ‘Golden Keyboard’ from NEDM’s ‘Any Jig or Reel’ CD.
The grand right & left exercises:
First all promenade to determine inside/outside gent/lady or moon/star roles. Then all face partner. Ladies crouch while men weave around circle, starting on the inside. Then Men crouch and assist ladies as they weave around: right hand for outside, left hand assist for inside. Then all stand and face center and do a stationary grand right and left just with the arms, counting up to seven. Repeat that, but this time stepping in place (two steps per arm reach). Then face partner and ‘repeat after me’ some of the rules: ‘I will not turn around, I will not go back…’ etc. Tell them that it always takes seven times to get it right, and make sure, when it doesn’t go right, that they all go back to where they started from (rather than trying to fix it in the middle of the grand right and left figure).
- Level one: Wait 8 beats on 2nd half of A2 music.
- Level two: dosido partner on 2nd half of A2 music.
- Level three: At end of grand right and left allemande right the 7th person about 1 1/4 into a promenade.
FIRST NIGHT QUADRILLE (p. 7 in handout)
In NEDM’s “Listen to the Mockingbird” collection
A great dance for, say, 4th grade and up who have a fair amount of dance experience. We love doing this to Old Time Reels on NEDM’s “Sashay the Donut” CD. Teach your students “Lucky Seven” (NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection) first so that they already know the grand-right-and-left figure going into this wonderful flowing square dance.
I’M GROWING UP (p. 10 in handout)
You can add motions to this, of course.
VOTE FOR ME (p. 11 in handout)
Rose Sanders, the first African American woman judge in Alabama, lives in Selma, where she does educational work with children, particularly around civil rights history and issues. She has written several great songs with the children.
STORYTELLING
SIR GAWAIN AND LADY RAGNELL
ACTING OUT A STORY
Children do this quite naturally; you just set it up and, as much as possible, get out of the way. After telling a folktale I give them the homework to retell it aloud, we might go through a speed through of the story or do a quick group map of the story or discuss the story (What was the funniest/saddest/most scary/most memorable moment?) Once they all know the story well, you are the narrator, and maybe also the musician (guitar, accordion). Pull the characters (and human props) from the ‘audience’ of children sitting in a bunch in front of the ‘stage’. All the action takes place right in the middle in front of the audience. The ‘actors’ speak loudly so everyone can hear. If they forget what happens next you can feed them a line as the narrator: “And then Arthur asked Sir Gromer what the riddle was.” You can use this method to create a musical performance with added instrumental music, songs and dancing, or just do it once and leave it at that.
CHOOSING PARTNERS
We think it is a real gift to children to teach them how to choose their own partners. I like to frame this in ‘Kings’ and ‘Queens’ language to help the children get over their self consciousness over choosing partners.
I start with a story about how Kings and Queens realized that it might be more fun to dance with more than just their own spouses, and so they needed to devise a polite and efficient way to choose other partners. “And the method they came up with was so good we still do it today.”
I have them all practice the words: ‘May I please have this dance?’ ‘Yes thank you.’ and then practice answering me, and then practice asking me. Then I demonstrate what it looks like to ask a partner to dance, by asking one of the ‘Queens’. Then, I have that Queen sit down, and I ask her again, showing the 10 steps: The approach. Eye contact. The question. The answer. King puts out his hand. Queen stands and takes King’s hand. They hang on to each other’s hand and walk to the top of the hall. If there are two Queens then there is a Queen on one side and a Queen on the other side. If there are two Kings (you know the rest). If it is a King and a Queen, the King stands on the King’s side, the Queen on the Queen’s side and they face each other, nose, toes and bellybutton, taking two hands. Then they drop their hands, and, voila, there they are.
Then I have a volunteer Queen ask a King, and when they are finished I have a volunteer King ask a Queen, and they get in place in the line beside the first King & Queen. Then all ask. This can be wonderful, and the children who succeed in doing this can be quite proud of themselves. Then I have a volunteer Queen ask a King, then a volunteer King ask a Queen, and then all ask. This can be wonderful, and the children who succeed in doing this can be quite proud of themselves.
KINGS AND QUEENS (p. 7 in the handout)
We used ‘On the Danforth’ from NEDM’s ‘Other Side of the Tracks’ CD for this dance. You might also use our other version of ‘On the Danforth’ which is on our ‘Sashay the Donut’ CD.
Before we teach this dance we will dub each child a King or a Queen, and talk to them (sometimes while the music is playing to help sustain the mood) about what it means to be a King and Queen: They have royal posture, they never rush, they make good decisions, they are very attractive; basically describing the ideal King/Queen or, which, in my mind is being the very best person they can be. This is in the style of an historic English country dance.
CIRCLE WALTZ MIXER (p. 7 in handout)
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 you can do it the original way we learned it, doing a short waltz instead of the two hand turn. In the original dance gents are the “posts” and women are the “twirlers”, but it works perfectly fine in a non-gender community dance with a two hand turn. In order to make sure that this works in a community dance you:
- Limit the dance to Kindergarteners and older.
- Tell K-3 students that they must dance with an adult or a child who is 4th grade or older.
- Start by having everyone promenade, and have the older partner promenade on the inside.
- Tell all the inside (left hand) partners they are “posts” and all the outside (right hand) partners they are “twirlers”.
- All look at partner and say “goodbye”.
- Posts stay in place and keep their feet planted during the “twirl” figure.
- Carefully teach the first “twirl” each “Post” does with their left hand neighbor, from left to right.
- Once the dancers get that twirl, the rest of the dance can go pretty smoothly.
KEEP ON SINGING AND DANCING AND TELL YOUR STUDENTS STORIES!
Best,
Peter and Mary Alice Amidon