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This page was updated
October 10, 2010

Middle Tennessee Orff workshop

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon leading Traditional Dance, Storytelling, Community Singing

Nashville, Tennessee - Saturday, October 2, 2010 Saturday, October 2, 2010 • contacts: Teena Boone • Kathy Lunceford

Dear Nashville area teachers,

Thank you very much for your enthusiastic participation in our workshop yesterday. Special thanks for Teena Boone, who was our main contact and who took great care of us, to Kathy Lunceford and her husband for providing and setting up a really good sound system, to Susan Ramsay for driving us to the airport early Sunday morning, to Kali for her help with sales and sound, and to everyone else who helped make this a great experience for us.

Here are some announcements, followed by the workshop notes. CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE WORKSHOP NOTES

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MEET OUR BOYS

AMIDON ONLINE LISTENING & SHEET MUSIC DOWNLOAD PAGE

Mary Alice and I are in the process of putting many of our children’s choir and SATB choral arrangements and compositions up on our website for purchase. There are a few up now; by December we are expecting to have many more up: http://www.amidonmusic.com/store/downloads.html

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:

Dance in Nashville:
http://www.nashvillecountrydancers.org/
Contras EVERY Friday night at
Second Presbyterian Church
3511 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37215

English Country Dances 2nd Sunday of every month; the next one is this Sunday, Oct 10, with your own fantastic Susan Kevra calling (she used to live in our town of Brattleboro VT and she is one of the best callers around:
http://www.nashvillecountrydancers.org/ecd.html

GREAT contra dance weekend from Oct 29 - 31
Music City Masquerade
http://www.nashvillecountrydancers.org/MCM.html

WHAT WE DID:

BLAYDON RACES

(p. 9)

in NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection
We used ‘Blaydon Races’ from NEDM’s 2010 Revision of the ‘Chimes of Dunkirk’ CD for this. You can also use any jig or reel medley for this dance. 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.

MY HEART IS READY

(p. 11)

This is one of our favorite ‘instant harmony singing’ welcoming songs for groups of singers.

Tree Song story

TREE SONG

(p. 4)

in NEDM’s Down in the Valley collection
I introduced this with a story that I made up. Elements of the story came from this singing game, the singing game ‘Roger is Dead’ (NEDM’s Down in the Valley) and the traditional song ‘Chiney Doll’ (on our ‘Song in My Heart’ CD). Lorraine Hammond, who composed this wonderful singing game, is a songwriter and musician, and one of the best known Appalachian dulcimer players in the country. She is in the greater Boston area. The piano arrangement on the CD is Peter’s and is available as a children’s choir piece for young singers. We find this to be a calming, centering dance, both for the children and for ourselves.

STROLLING IN THE PARK

in NEDM’s upcoming collection: “I’m Growing Up - Music/Movement Activities for Preschool & Kindergarten”

SALLY GO ROUND THE SUNSHINE

(p. 3)

Both this, and its English cousin “Sally Go Round the Sun” are in NEDM’s “Jump Jim Joe” collection.
We like using this singing game with all ages: especially 2nd grade and up (right through middle school/high school/adults) to teach the relaxed, rhythmic style of walking characteristic of contra dancing and of nearly all the Anglo and African/American dances we teach. We teach the song quickly by rote, and then keep singing the song over and over again as the students first walk in place in time to the song, then do the dance, and then maybe add a forward and back into the figures.

BOBOLINKA

(p. 3)

in NEDM’s ‘Jump Jim Joe’.
A great singing game for introducing elements of longways set dancing to children. I can be followed by ‘Kindergarten Reel’ (in ‘Listen to the Mockingbird’) and a simple version of ‘Virginia Reel’ (in ‘Chimes of Dunkirk’.

GOING TO ALBERTA

(p. 2)

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection
Thanks to Marian Rose for this 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

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.

COMMENT ÇA VA

(p. 8)

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection
Music: Any reel. French Canadian is nice for this; for example, “Quebeqois Reels” on NEDM’s “Sashay the Donut” CD. This is really a version of “La Bastringue” with a more sophisticated B1 section (after the Circle L, Circle R, and before the promenade) that makes it a great dance for 4th - 6th graders; it is not too difficult, but it keeps them engaged and the flowing B1 figures makes them feel like sophisticated dancers.

HIGHLAND GATES

(p. 5)

in NEDM’s Down in the Valley collection
This is a great dance for opening a community dance. Folks can join in the dancing as they straggle in.

ANANSI THE SPIDER: A TALE FROM THE ASHANTI

Mary Alice learned this from the book of the same name by Gerald McDermott (Author, Illustrator) which you can get at Amazon.com. She used two cuts from Micky Hart’s CD ‘Planet Drum’ - first ‘The Hunt’, then ‘Temple Caves’ - both available on iTunes.

LUCKY SEVEN

(p. 8)

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.

FIRST NIGHT QUADRILLE

(p. 10)

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 first so that they already know the grand-right-and-left figure going into this wonderful flowing square dance.

ACRES GRACE

(p. 12)

This was composed for a musical I wrote: "Truth" (script and directing by Stephen Stearns, music and lyrics by Peter Amidon) premiered by New England Youth Theatre in Vermont in the spring of 2009): Prince William, who has abandoned Princess Katherine at the altar, disguises himself as a troubador and ends up with the Acres, a farming family who, like the Copper Family, the Watersons and the Von Trapps, burst into song at any occasion. This is their grace for every meal.

LUNCH

GALOPEDE

(p.9)

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. The 2nd version of ‘Galopede’ on the 2010 revision of the ‘Chimes of Dunkirk’ CD has an extra C music at the end for the ‘eggbeater’ figure where, after the top couple sashays to the bottom the last time through the dance, each successive couple sashays down the middle, while the outside couples continue moving up towards the top of the set. Sometimes we practice this final figure ahead of time, sometimes we don’t.

FROM THE SEED IN THE GROUND

by Connie Kaldor; one of our favorite new (to us) songs for children. Later on we did a dance I’d made up to this song:

If you go 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.

You can see a sort of Flashmob version of this we did recently at a conference on teaching folk dance to children at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsKOgIE2JtI

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. 10)

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection 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.

STORYTELLING

(p. 13)

We encourage, nay urge you to tell stories, especially folktales, to your students.

MONTH BROTHERS

ACTING OUT A FOLKTALE

(p. 13)

SASHAY THE DONUT

(p. 9)

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection
Use any reels for this. I like doing it to ‘Flying Tent’ in NEDM’s ‘Other Side of the Tracks’ CD. If you use this music for the dance note that you have to call pretty strongly and rhythmically in the beginning to help the dancers define the phrase, but later on the musical phrasing gets much more clear and the dance goes great with the music.

A great! dance for 4th grade and up.

CIRCLE WALTZ MIXER

(p. 10)

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:

Thanks again to all; we had a great weekend.

Happy dancing!

Best,

Peter (and Mary Alice) Amidon