Post-Session Notes for

Central Arkansas AOSA

Saturday, October 28, 2011

University of Arkansas

Conway, AR

I am on my way home to a foot of snow in

Vermont after a balmy two days in Conway.

Many thanks to all of you for your enthusiastic

participation for the whole five-hour stretch of

the workshop; I had a wonderful time will all

of you. Many thanks to Dr. Paige Rose for

setting up my visit and for taking care of so

many details both before and during the workshop

so thoughtfully. Thanks to Tracy for joining Dr.

Rose and me for a great conversation-filled

dinner Friday night, to Carol Wooly and Sarah

BanLaan for taking me to a wonderful Italian

restaurant (recommended by Ryan) last night,

to Carol again for driving me to the airport this

morning, to Ryan Fisher for helping out during

the day, to treasurer Scott Basshan, and to

Lance Turner for helping out with sales.

We apologize that Mary Alice could not make

it because of her flu. She sends her regrets.

Your homework is to go dancing. Here is information

on dancing in the greater Little Rock/Conway Arkansas

area:

The Arkansas Country Dance Society holds Friday Night Dances at 3520 John F Kennedy Blvd, North Little Rock, AR 72116. The The dances begin at 7:30pm. Generally, Contra dances are the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Fridays, Scottish is the 2nd Friday, and English Country Dance is the 4th Friday. You can get more information at

http://www.arkansascountrydance.org/

* * *

To get on the Amidon mailing list (notices 2-3 times

a month on upcoming music teacher workshops,

choral singing workshops, new publications, and

new choral arrangements (both treble voice and

SATB), please send an email to

amidonpeter@gmail.com

saying you would like to be on the Amidon mailing list.

* * *

MEET OUR BOYS:

Stefan, percussionist, with his band “The Sweetback Sisters”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcYcWcz6XHE&list=PL106068EE434419C7&index=10

Stefan (on the far right, with his a cappella singing group “The Starry Mountain Singers”

(Skip to 1 minute 54 seconds into the clip to get to the singing):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh7ttrKcDhg&list=PLF80E3F26B8C0F9DD&index=3

Sam the fiddler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R19BBsMvwQk

Sam the singer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELmpdAGU1g&list=PLBF1D051B02002C09&index=37&feature=plpp_video

* * *

AMIDONS SUMMER WEEK-LONG 3-CREDIT COURSE

RICH TRADITIONS AND NEW CREATIONS: DANCE, SONG, STORYTELLING AND LITERATURE IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM

(or “Everything we know”)

We do this every summer. Our next course is

Monday - Friday, July 2 - 6, 2012.

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

* * *

AMIDONS’ SESSION NOTES FOR

Central Arkansas AOSA

Blaydon Races (p. 10 in handout)

in NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection

I 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.

I did this is a mixer, but you can also do it with

younger children without changing partners.

We often call this at weddings. I always start

teaching this, as I 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. 12 in handout)

This is our favorite new instant singalong for

group harmony singing. Mary Alice and I are

longtime fans of Cindy Kallet’s singing. You can

hear her singing this on her CD “Heart Walk”

http://www.cindykallet.com/music/1568

You can hear a recording of the Amidon

arrangement by going to

http://amidonmusic.com/store/downloads.html

Double click on “SATB Secular” and scroll down

to find “My Heart is Ready”.

Tree Song (p. 3 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’ (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.

Going to Alberta (p. 2 in the 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.

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.

La Bastringue in NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection

Music: I used “Martin O’Connor” from NEDM’s “Other

Side of the Tracks”. You can also, of course, use the

“La Bastringue” cut from “Chimes of Dunkirk” CD, or

any other reels, especially French Canadian reels.

http://www.amidonmusic.com/LaBastringue.pdf

From the Seed in the Ground (p. 8 in the handout)

This is on our CD “Song in My Heart”. When I taught

you my dance to this song I used a recording of my

SSAA/piano children’s choir arrangement, which you

can hear (and purchase if you are interested) by going to

http://amidonmusic.com/store/downloads.html

This is one of our all-time favorite songs for children.

Here is my choreography to the song:

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.

Shake Them Simmons Down (p. 4 in the handout)

This will be included in NEDM’s forthcoming “I’m Growing Up:

Singing Games and Finger Plays for Young Children”.

Sing a Song of Sixpence (p. 6 in the handout)

This will be included in NEDM’s forthcoming “I’m Growing Up:

Singing Games and Finger Plays for Young Children”.

Strolling in the Park (p. 7 in the handout)

This will be included in NEDM’s forthcoming “I’m Growing Up:

Singing Games and Finger Plays for Young Children”.

Highland Gates (p. 3 in the 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.

Lucky Seven - p. 11 in handout

In NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection

I used ‘The Coming Dawn’ from NEDM’s

‘Other Side of the Tracks’ CD, though you

can do this to any jig or reel.

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.

Bridge of Athlone

In NEDM’s Listen to the Mockingbird collection

This requires a 3-part tune. ‘Listen to the Mockingbird’

has a three part jig: ‘Blarney Pilgrim’ that works great

for this dance. We really like dancing it to the three-part

‘Reel de Rimouski’ on NEDM’s ‘Any Jig or Reel’ CD,

which is what I used last Saturday. We find this to

be an engaging dance for 2nd - 6th and great for

a community dance.

http://www.amidonmusic.com/BridgeOfAthlone.pdf

Sicilian Vowel Dance (p. 10 in the handout)

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection

I used ‘Golden Keyboard’ 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.

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.

Kings and Queens p. 10 in the handout.

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection

I 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 I teach this dance I 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. Then I “dub” each child a

king or a queen, making sure they have their royal posture before

I dub them. This is in the style of an historic English country dance

(e.g. dances done in Jane Austen’s time).

Old Brass Wagon (p. 9 in the notes)

In NEDM’s Down in the Valley collection

This can be an a cappella singing game, or, with the

CD (or live music) a great early dance to instrumental

music. I walk through the figures first, and then says

“Now just do whatever Mary Alice says,” and I put on the CD.

Old Bald Eagle

In NEDM’s Down in the Valley collection.

Same melody as “Old Bald Eagle Square”:

replace the words “First Couple” with

“Old Bald Eagle” and do it as an a cappella

singing game in a circle of partners. In the

“Old Bald Eagle sail around” part of the song

the designated first couple promenades around

the INSIDE of the circle, sort of visiting with

all the other couples, and back to place.

The rest of the figures are the same as

in the the square dance version:

Old Bald Eagle Square (p. 4 in the handout)

In NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection.

Andy Davis’s brilliant version of ‘Old Bald Eagle’

is the simplest square we know: a great first

square dance for young children. Try it with

the Sashay the Donut CD to Andy’s calls.

Chimes of Dunkirk (not in handout)

In NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk collection.

Use the Chimes music on the Chimes CD.

A perfect early longways set dance for young

children. I open all of my community dances with

“The Chimes of Dunkirk” and have children choose

a parent or another adult for a partner.

http://www.amidonmusic.com/ChimesOfDunkirk.pdf

Galopede p. 11 in the handout

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.

Arkansas Wagon Wheel

created 10/29/11 by Central Arkansas AOSA workshop participants

This is one of the most interesting and engaging dances

I have ever made up with music teachers; congratulations!

Please let me know if any of you do this dance with

your students.

Formation: Circle mixer

Music: Any jig or reel

I used “Broken Lantern” jig medley from the

NEDM CD “Any Jig or Reel”

A1: Gents go forward four steps (4)

Ladies go forward while gents go back (4)

Gents go forward while ladies go back. (4)

Ladies go forward (and start moving to left)

while gents go back (and start walking CCW

around outside of circle. (4)

A2: Gents walk single file CCW around outside of circle

while ladies, holding hands in inside circle, circle left. (8)

Gents turn and walk single file CW back around the circle

while ladies circle back to the right.

B1: Dosido partner (8)

All forward, clap partner’s hands on fourth beat, and back (8)

B2: All Allemande right partner once around. (8)

All look left, and allemand left the left hand person

(which is your new partner.)

Out of that allemand:

(A1) the gents go into the center (going a little to the left)

and back out, moving enough to the left to change places

with this partner.

WHILE

Out of that same allemand left the women

loop outside the circle a bit and end to the

right of where they started in order to help

change places with their new partner.

Grumpy March (p. 11 in the handout)

in NEDM’s Sashay the Donut collection. I used

the “Wizard’s Walk” medley on our “Sashay the

Donut” CD which we put there 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.

Give Me Birds at the Dawning p. 12 in handout

Altos can replace the opening F with a Bb. If you

raise this up a bit you can do it as an SAA piece.

Circle Waltz Mixer (p. 9 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. Here are some tips to

for teaching this at a community dance. Most of these

tips work also for teaching it in the classroom.

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 dancing!

Best,

Peter

amidonpeter@gmail.com