Workshop Notes
American River Orff Schulwerk Workshop
April 24, 2010, Sacramento, California
CREATING A DYNAMIC LEARNING COMMUNITY WITH DANCE, SONG AND STORYTELLING
Dear AROSA Participants,
Thanks very much for your enthusiastic participation in our workshop yesterday; Mary Alice and I had a marvelous time. Particular thanks to the many folks who made this possible; we do not have all the names, but certainly to Jeremiah Jacks, who was our contact and took care of many of the details of the workshop, and to your treasurer Sue Fullmer who has agreed to get up quite early to drive us back to the airport and has done much more to help us out.
Below is your homework, meet our boys, announcements, and notes on the workshop:
HOMEWORK
Go dancing:
Go by yourself or with a friend (but ask more experienced dancers there to be your partner). There are plenty of contra dances and English country dances in your area:
- Sacramento area dances:
http://www.scds.ca/ - Bay area dancing:
http://www.bacds.org/ - California dance website
http://www.contradancelinks.com/schedule_CA.html - and go to
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/
for dances in other parts of the country.
Tell stories to your students: Tell them stories from your life, or tell them your favorite folktales. We brainstormed a few, including The Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, The Little Engine That Could, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Bears, the list goes on and on.
MEET OUR BOYS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Week long 3-credit course for music teachers taught by Peter and Mary Alice Amidon
Rich Traditions and New Creations: Dance, Song, Storytelling and Literature in the Music Classroom
(or “Everything we know”)
Mon - Fri, July 5 - 9, 2010
9 am - 5 pm each day
Hartt Summerterm
West Hartford, CT
- general info:
http://harttweb2.hartford.edu/summer.php - our course listing:
http://harttweb2.hartford.edu/downloads/2010/summertermbrochure.pdf
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. We will sing and dance through a rich repertoire of old and new songs, dances and singing games that you can take back to the classroom, discuss how to make dance a successful, dynamic, ongoing experience for you and your students, and learn how to organize an evening of dancing for the school community as well as an all-school sing. The Amidons will share their discoveries of the power of connecting music and literature: telling stories, creating songs from poems, introducing songs with stories, creating a performance from a folktale, song writing, and bringing picture books alive with music. Each participant will write a song and tell a folktale. Limited to 24 participants
Contact: Dee Hansen * 860-768-4128 * dehansen@hartford.edu
Sign up below for monthly updates on workshop opportunities,
new publications, and Amidon touring information.
WORKSHOP NOTES
Blaydon Races - p. 15 in handout
in NEDM’s Chimes of Dunirk collection
We used “Blaydon Races” from the forthcoming
CD (June, 2010 release) of Chimes of Dunkirk,
2010 Revision.
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.
Tree Song - p. 6 in handout
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”. Lorraine Hammond, who composed this wonderful singing game, is a songwriter and musician, and the best known Appalachian dulcimer player in the country. She is in the greater Boston area. The piano arrangement on the CD is Peter’s, and will be available on the Amidon website within the next few weeks (“sheet music downloads”) We find this to be a calming, centering dance, both for the children and for ourselves.
Knees Up Mother Brown
not in the handout
Young children love this.
Strolling in the Park.pdf
Instantly engaging for young children.
Shake Them Simmons
Wonderful for young children. Here are the music and instructions:
A few of the Amidons’ Dance Teaching Tips
p. 11 in handout
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. 17 in handout
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. It is a great dance to teach before teaching “Simple Square” (Chimes of Dunkirk collection) as that both dances have the corner (neighbor) allemande left, partner dosido, corner allemande left, partner promenade figure.
Here are your dance teaching tips
I did not edit or rewrite them much, so you might need to add a little remembered context of the discussion.
- * Spatial awareness cards for different formations: (circle, longways, randomly spaced, etc.) This can be an activity on its own (practice
making different formations). - * Using expression “prepare” before putting
on a CD. - * Girls make circle in middle, boys around outside, Girls move into spaces between boys; non-threatening simple, easy, successful way to get children into partners, especially if they are not used to dance.
- * Music teacher/physical education teacher collaboration or having parent volunteer help in dance activities; one can monitor students, other can operate CD player.
- * The mitten - holding hands - “If I take “Beth’s” hand it does not mean she is my girlfriend…” Desensitizes children to holding hands.
- * Keeping comments positive and recognizing specific behaviors: “See the way Sammy did that dosido.”
- * Letting children practice being quiet and sitting still: “The Quiet Game”, sitting still for 60 seconds and then asking “What did you notice?” First it is hard but then they will request it.
- * Drawing attention to posture and body awareness. Asking children “Please help me remember about good posture because I tend to forget.”
- * Staying calm when things go wrong rather than being reactive.
- * Peter’s dance teacher Mrs. Shaw: she repeated dances over four years, assumed we could do adult dances.
- * Strategize how to keep yourself fresh and happy throughout the teaching day.
- * “Teach as if they will.”
- * Older students love to choose singing games and dances they did when they were in younger grades. Let that be a reward activity.
- * Importance of community/group singing.
- * Balance between novelty and repetition (ritual) Mary Alice used poem with made up motions:
“The sun is in my heart
It warms me with its power.
It wakens light and life
In bird, and beast, and flower.” - * Being encouraging when you see something good happening and using the students’ names so the feel “seen” and acknowledged.
- * Training students to clear a classroom for dancing in 30 seconds.
- * When you have a “train wreck” you can stop and map out on the chalk board what the dance is.
- * Moving through children, giving them verbal and physical reassurance.
- * Importance of sharing venting, ideas, strategies with colleagues.
Country Life - p. 4 in handout
on Amidons’ All I Really Need CD
This became a sort of anthem at the all-school sing Mary Alice and I led when we were both teaching music in Vermont elementary schools.
I’m Growing Up
p.5 in handout
Mary Alice wrote this for a life-cycle theme that some Poughkeepsie, NY 1st graders were doing (where she was doing a residency). It was inspired by “Hopes and Dreams” artwork and writing Mary Alice had seen on the walls
of another elementary school.
From the Seed in the Ground
p. 8 in handout
This is our favorite “new” (to us) song; children inhale it. Peter did an arrangement for treble voices and piano that will be available in the next few weeks on the “Sheet music downloads” page of their
website.
Picture Books
p. 20 in handout
Water, Earth and I
Johnny Appleseed
First Strawberries
Going to Alberta
p. 13 in handout - 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.
Lucky Seven
p. 17 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.
Choosing Partners
p. 18 in handout
Kings and Queens
p. 17 in handout
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.
LUNCH
Chimes of Dunkirk
p. 16 in handout
We start just about every community dance we do with this classic dance for children from legendary New England dance caller Dudley
Laufman. If you already have a Chimes CD and would like the revised music (a little more time for the sashay, moving up and taking hands) mp3 send us an email.
Sasha
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!’
Alabama Gal
p. 14 in handout
In NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection. We used the Alabama Gal cut from the Chimes of Dunkirk CD.
Teach this as an a cappella singing game before trying with the CD which, as you found out, goes pretty fast. With younger children I teach the cast of figure in sections. The first time through the dance finishes with just the
Gents’ line casting around to the left and back to place; then the whole dance ending with only the Ladies’ line casting to the right and back to place; then the dance ending with both lines casting and the children taking partners’ hands as they come up the middle (but no arch), then the dance ending with the BOTTOM couple making the arch while the same (exhausted) 1st couple leading the remaining dancers around under the arch, and FINALLY, the “real” way to the do dance, where the head couples finishes the sequence by leading ALL the dancers in a cast of, and the head couples make the arch for the other dancers to go under.
Zip It Up
p. 16 in handout
In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection
This works perfectly with a three-part tune: Try either the three part jig to reel Quadrille Jos Bouchard/Reel Beatrice on NEDM’s Sashay the Donut CD or Reel de Rimouski on NEDM’s Any Jig or Reel CD. You can also do it to a regular 2-part (AABB) jig or reel and have each time through the dance take up 1.5 of the tune, OR you can ignore the phrasing of the tune, let the dance take its natural course, and start the forward and back at the nearest 8-bar phrase OR OR OR if you are leading this at a community dance, after calling for a while you can stop calling and let each set find their own natural rhythm. The sets will naturally get out of synch with each other: one set will be sashay while the other is poussetting. Stop the dance by calling, at the end, a partner swing for everyone.
Now It’s Time to Go
p. 4 in handout
on our “All I Really Need” CD.
Community Dance
“Peter’s Community Dance Tips” on p. 11 of the handout includes a lot of what you need to know to expand your dance program to include community dancing. We urge you to go for it. Start small with just one class or one grade level with their parents and families. It is a real gift to your students and your school community.
Storytelling introduction to songs
Brotherhood and Sisterhood
p. 3 in handout
This will be on our upcoming CD and companion book “A Song In My Heart”.
Owl and Pussycat
p. 7 in handout.
On our “Faerie’s Gift” CD
FOLKTALE - Sir Gawaine & Lady Ragnell
Acting Out folktale
p. 19 in handout
Highland Gates
p. 15 in handout
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.
From the Seed in the Ground dance
(song p. 8 in handout):
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.
ORIGINAL DANCE:
Congratulations on a really elegant dance!
Try this with your 5th or 6th graders.
Salt and Pepper
FORMATION: Circle Mixer
(circle of couples “Pepper” on left, “Salt” on right)
MUSIC: Any three-part jig or reel:
(“Reel de Rimouski” from “Any Jig or Reel”
“Bridge of Athlone” from “Listen to the Mockingbird”
“Quadrille Joe Bouchard” from “Sashay the Donut”)
A1: All take hands, forward and back.(8)
Salt go forward and back, clap on 4th beat. (8)
A2: Pepper go forward, clap on fourth beat,
Move back ending to left of corner (who
is now new partner). (8)
All turn single right (actually works best
to start walking forward towards center
of circle and turn right, walking in clockwise
circle and going right into: (8)
B1: Circle left (8)
Circle right. (8)
B2: Allemande right partner
Seesaw (left shoulder dosido) corner.
Sicilian Vowel Dance
p. 17 in handout
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).
You should have at least 20 dancers (five groups of four)
to do this dance; 24 or more is even better.
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 go inside first.” Those pointing to the outside
say, “I go outside first.” That is the direction they start going
when they do the big, no hands, stay-with-partner grand
right and left.
Circle Waltz Mixer
p. 19 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.
Now It’s Time to Go
p. 4 in handout.
on our “All I Really Need” CD.
Thanks again for everything, and
happy dancing, singing and storytelling.
Best,
Peter & Mary Alice