Program: Class Descriptions 2023
ECD: Impropriety for All
For dancers of ALL abilities
Brooke Friendly with Roguery (Anita Anderson, Dave Bartley, Shira Kammen, Jim Oakden)
Enjoy an immersion in the dances of Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett, published in Impropriety volumes 1-6, and perhaps some new, unpublished dances. Come dance to the great tunes—old and new—that have inspired the figures, phrasing, progressions, and nuances that are the signature of this duo’s work. Along the way we'll explore many aspects of dancing well.
ECD for All: Lyrical to Boisterous, Silly to Sublime
For dancers of ALL abilities
Brooke Friendly with Dave Wiesler, Dave Bartley, Shira Kammen
Experience the wide variety of music, texture, and mood as well as the qualities of movement and phrasing distinct to English country dance. We will focus on intermediate-level skill building, including interesting variations of basic figures, phrasing, dancing in different ways, various kinds of stepping/footwork, and learning, recovering, and helping.
ECD (Advanced): UK Choreographers
For SKILLED and ACCOMPLISHED dancers
Louise Siddons with Anita Anderson, Jim Oakden
There is a rich exchange of English dance and music across the Atlantic, and yet many British choreographers remain relatively unknown to American audiences. We will take a deep dive into dances which hit that peculiarly British sweet spot of brilliant flow in mildly mindbending geometry. Featured choreographers may include Hilary Herbert, Colin Wallace, Victoria Yeomans, Colin Hume, Hazel and Robert Moir, Alan Davies, and more.
This session is for skilled and accomplished dancers who enjoy precise timing and thinking holistically about dance patterns. You'll need a strong sense of orientation, be able to learn a dance of moderate difficulty with just a couple of walkthroughs, and able to recover quickly. You should be comfortable with all standard figures and any rhythm.
The Line of Beauty: 18th-Century ECD for All
For dancers of ALL abilities
Louise Siddons with Dave Wiesler, Anna Patton, Betsy Branch
Throughout the eighteenth century, British philosophers, artists, landscape designers, and choreographers were all participants in a wide ranging, international conversation about beauty that centred on elegant lines. Often intended for or originating at the theatre, eighteenth-century choreography took both dancers and spectators into consideration. We’ll experience the beautiful lines of eighteenth-century dance in that cultural context, enjoying not only the patterns we create on the floor, but also the lines we draw with our heads, arms, and torsos, the structure of the music, the tools used to describe and publish dance choreography, and more. New and experienced dancers alike will have the opportunity to refine and nuance their approach to the dances of this most delightful century.
ECD for All: Transitions (Getting Gracefully from A2 to B1)
For dancers of ALL abilities
David Macemon with Anita Anderson, Anna Patton, Dave Bartley
ECD is rich with wonderful dances that include beautiful figures. Often hidden in the dances are transitions from figure to figure, or from the end of one round of the dance to the beginning of the next round. We'll have a look at some newer dances as well as old favorites to understand how identifying transitions between movements and focusing on timing and dance style can add additional depth to the dances and the individual's dance experience.
Callers Workshop: Teaching the Whole Dance
For callers of ALL abilities and experience
Brooke Friendly with Rebecca King
Develop your proficiency using global/positional language to teach and call English Country Dance. Explore strategies for refining your preparation, teaching, and prompting. We will workshop rethinking dances that are more challenging to teach without gender or role-substitution terms—bring your questions and dance suggestions to play with. We’ll also discuss program planning and a variety of social aspects and techniques to promote inclusiveness. You will gain both food for thought and practical strategies for teaching and calling. Whether you have already started to teach with global/positional language, or you want to learn how, this is a great opportunity to build and refine your skills.
While not required, we strongly recommend reading Brooke’s booklet Dancing the Whole Dance: ECD, prior to attending. It is available as print or digital copy through CDSS. At the Open Mic class facilitated by Louise Siddons you have the opportunity to put what you learn in this class to practice.
Callers Open Mic: Theory Into Practice
For callers and dancers of ALL abilities
Louise Siddons with Rebecca King, Betsy Branch
Come call, come dance! Put your ideas to the test and practice what you’ve learned in Brooke's Callers Workshop. As callers, you’ll think about how to apply positional strategies to your teaching. As dancers, you’ll pick up new skills and insights into dance structure and your relationship to the other dancers on the floor. The open mic is a teaching workshop and respectful feedback will be encouraged.
If you can't attend the callers workshop, you're still welcome to sign up to call at open mic.
Rapper Sword
For dancers of ALL abilities
David Macemon with Shira Kammen
Rapper sword is a fast-paced dance from Northern England performed with 2-handled flexible swords typically danced in groups of 5 dancers. Come learn basic figures that will build into a performance-worthy routine. If you're not familiar with Rapper, here's an ancient recording (1974) of a high school group in Kentucky. You get extra credit if you can identify David in this recording. (Oh, and we will not be dancing this fast in class.)
Dartmoor Step Dance
For dancers of ALL abilities
This percussive dance tradition comes from just a few villages in the Southwest of England. Characterised by the lack of strict routines, it is usually performed on a 15-inch square board. (While not required for the class, we hope to have a few boards for folks to experiment with.) The basic steps are simple, then more complexity will be added at the levels and pace of folks in the class. With only a handful of people able to teach this style, this is a rare opportunity. Ideal footwear would be hard soled shoes (not clogs).
Harmony Singing of English Folk Songs
Open to ALL
All material will be taught by ear so you don’t need to be able to read music. Music will also be provided.
Playing for Ceilidh Dances
For musicians of ALL levels
How many ways are there to play a jig? How does a rant tune fit the step? How do you get people charging around in the joyful tumult which is a ceilidh? All of this will be revealed and much more. We’ll also learn some great tunes. You will have the opportunity to join the band for a ceilidh dance one evening in the second half of the week.
Deliver the Rhythm! Playing Dance Tunes with Oomph and Grace
For musicians of ALL levels
Anna Patton
Dance musicians - if you want to work on the rhythmic aspects of your playing in a playful, exploratory way, this class is for you. There are so many different ways to play rhythmically: even sweeping legatos can be rhythmic. How can we create more rhythmic variation? How can a melody player find a niche in the rhythm section and vice versa? How to approach dragging or speeding tendencies? How to deliver the most satisfying kinds of oomph for different kinds of choreography? How can we get creative with rhythm without losing the structure and the groove? Come explore these eternal questions and more.
ECD Tune Composition
For musicians of ALL levels
Dave Wiesler
Writing a compelling tune is a lot like writing a compelling story or poem. We’ll analyze tunes to find the elements that make them memorable, flexible, symmetric, compact, and interesting. Then we will practice writing tunes ourselves, using ideas borrowed from creative writing workshops — writing from prompts, writing as a group, using specific or arbitrary rules, writing from shapes or moods, etc. — and we’ll learn how to edit, simplify, and focus our work.
Ability to read music is helpful, and not essential.
Camper Band
For musicians of ALL levels
Betsy Branch
Camper Band class is a terrific way to connect with other musicians and celebrate the joys of being a dance musician. We will explore how to be an excellent dance musician and how to work well with others. We'll discuss harmony, backup, how to doodle with a walk-through, communicating with the caller, and how to facilitate a dancable experience for all participants. Musicians of any level are welcome. If you are not able to play a tune up to speed for a dance. we will teach you some simple harmonies so that you can play along and add a beautiful layer as well.
Care of Body and Mind
Open to ALL
Bridget Whitehead
Enjoy a daily refresher to keep you dancing all week long. Yoga, stretching and other gentle techniques to loosen tight muscles, decrease soreness, and cultivate peace of mind. No yoga background is required and multiple options will be given to accommodate different bodies. [Some yoga mats will be available, though you are welcome to bring your own.]
Dance, Music, and More Grab Bag Sessions
Open to ALL
a variety of staff and campers
A wide range of choices through the week--something different every day! Campers--you will be invited to propose sessions as part of your pre-camp program questionnaire.
Daily Gathering
Open to ALL
facilitated by David Macemon
Our daily camp gathering is a chance to entertain your fellow campers. Read a poem, tell a joke, perform a skit, sing a song…share your talents – sublime, ridiculous or somewhere in between.