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“As always, Bruce is creative and helps us all to better appreciate what good dance is really like — he’s a treasure!” — camper at Mendocino English Week 2003 Bruce will teach an ECD Basics Class, ECD: Becoming A Dancer, and a Callers’ Workshop. ECD Basics will give you a solid grasp of the fundamentals -- musical rhythms, figures and steps -- using simple, popular dances. A great introduction to English country dancing, a chance to go back and learn thoroughly things you have picked up, or just a fun way to get questions answered. ECD: Becoming a Dancer will focus on developing good skills and habits, rather than on new dances. We’ll explore listening and responding to music, seeing the other dancers as people, dealing with mistakes (yours and others’), carrying yourself lightly and moving with grace and power, and finding perfection in simple figures. These are big subjects, so the class will merely open the door to these. Exploring the territory beyond is your challenge for the next decade!
The Caller’s Workshop will help you make the shift from teaching dances to teaching people. If you’re already there you can get useful feedback and hone your skills. Some of the topics include: giving and receiving feedback (many say this is the most valuable part of the workshop), the psychology of groups (how can you be in charge when the dancers are the customers?), brevity, working with a band (how to keep them happy and be comfortable yourself), and what callers need to know about dance music. You’ll also get practice time with forgiving dancers. - - - - - |
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“Wildly popular caller from Philadelphia” — CDS Boston summer series Joanna will teach Scottish (country dance) as a Second Language and ECD in Performance. Scottish as a Second Language will give you a gentle introduction to this cousin of ECD or a chance to dance in a relaxed setting if it’s already in your dance repertoire. Experience the strength and elegance of Scottish strathspeys and the high energy and sense of flight of the jigs and reels. You’ll learn the basic footwork and styling to get you moving (without a lot of drill) and dance, dance, dance. ECD in Performance will look at transforming English country dance from a social dance form into a performance piece. We’ll explore figures and dances that show well in various settings, what audiences like, and what patterns they can see. We’ll perfect some dances for performance and create some fun and entertaining dance medleys. - - - - - |
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Brooke
FriendlyBrooke Friendly, returning for her second year as English Week program director, is known for her warm yet commanding personality, her ability to convey directions concisely and clearly, her creativity and her sense of humor and whimsy. She has a strong sense of what makes for a good community and she makes the learning experience fun and relaxing. Brooke leads a weekly English and Scottish Country Dance in Ashland, Oregon and calls at dances around the US. She was on staff at the BACDS English Dance Week at Mendocino in 2003 and at the BACDS Fall Dance Weekend in 2006. An internationally recognized dance choreographer, she will soon publish Impropriety II, a second book of dances written in collaboration with her husband, Chris Sackett. Brooke recently finished her second term on the board of directors of the Country Dance and Song Society. “I learned a tremendous amount in her class and I felt that it carried over into my dancing at other times of the day. I really love Brooke’s drive and clarity.” — camper at Mendocino English Week 2007 Brooke will teach an Advanced ECD session focusing on the more challenging dances from Impropriety volumes 1 and 2. She will also do some ECD for all during 5th period ECD and Beyond Grab Bag. - - - - - |
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Judy EricksonJudy Erickson is foreman of the groundbreaking dance troupe Orion Longsword. Her compelling longsword choreographies combine traditional steps and figures with innovative elements including Appalachian stepping, jazz and other American styles. In the step dancing world she is an accomplished dancer, choreographer and teacher, blending elements of Scottish, Appalachian, English clog and now French-Canadian step dancing to develop her own steps and styles, both structured and improvisational. In recent years her step dance choreography has been an integral feature of Boston's Christmas Revels. Judy is also a past foreman of Muddy River Morris. “What an excellent teacher! Her belief that styling and ‘position’ are inseparable makes for great results and much satisfaction among newbies and experienced alike.” — camper at Mendocino English Week 2007 Judy will teach Longsword and a traditional Scottish hard shoe step dance for all. The Longsword will be In The Good Old Way, an English style longsword dance for 6 dancers to a vigorous hymn tune. It is moderately aerobic and does not include any human pretzel moves (such as double overs). If you’ve never done longsword, this will be a great introduction. If you are on a team, this is a chance to learn from the best. Come experience this inventive longsword choreographer and fabulous teacher. Open to all dancers. Wear sticky shoes. The King of Sweden is a Scottish Step Dance in a hardshoe version. Originally notated as a ladies’ step dance (soft shoes), it clearly has elements of the older hardshoe styles. Judy’s version has been revised as a hardshoe dance, with adjustment of some of the steps to reflect hardshoe styling. This will be a good introduction to hardshoe stepping as the steps range from basic to technically challenging. It has a lovely tune with a great story. Judy will also lead an ECD movement/style session (teaching country dancing like she teaches sword dancing) during the 5th period ECD and Beyond Grab Bag.
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Alistair
Brown Alistair Brown, a Scotsman, has been singing the old songs, and new songs written by people who like the old songs, since he was 15 years old. He plays anglo concertina, button accordion and harmonica, calls barn dances and has played in numerous dance bands. He has taught rapper sword and Morris dance and run courses on folk music in university and summer music camps for many years. During the many years he lived in Canada, he was active in many aspects of folk song and dance, as a recording artist, radio broadcaster, columnist, festival director, dance teacher, university lecturer, program director and folk music and dance camps, and frequent Pinewoods staffer. Now he lives in Cornwall, on England's Mediterranean coast, where he performs regularly in folk clubs, festivals, pub sessions and several ancient seasonal rituals that require the presence of accordions. “Ritual dancers leap and caper to the energetic leading of Alistair Brown. This dancer, teacher, folk singer and raconteur radiates dynamism.” — Buffalo Gap Camp “Outrageously entertaining” — John C. Campbell Folk School Alistair will teach Rapper Sword and Border Morris, lead a Scottish Sing-a-Long, and call some barn dances in the evening. Rapper Sword will be in the Newbiggen tradition and open to all dancers. This is a great opportunity to learn or review the magical sword dances of the Northeast of England. If you’ve never done rapper before and never thought you could, Alistair will get you up and dancing—youíll amaze yourself and your friends. Experienced rapper sword dancers will have loads of fun as well. Border Morris is a boisterous and energetic dance form from the border area of England and Wales. The dances are primarily stick dances, relying to a great extent on the impact of the performance. The dancers may cover their faces with colored make-up and wear costumes decorated with many ribbons or strips of material. Learn some of the newer dances that are popular among teams dancing Border Morris in England and a couple of the traditional ones as well. Join Alistair after lunch for a Scottish Sing-a-long—a half-hour of traditional and contemporary Scottish song. Not only will you learn and sing some great songs, you’ll get info on dialect words and hints on proper pronunciation.Ý - - - - - |
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Peter also keeps himself busy with teaching, recording, publishing music books, perfecting his oboe playing and crafting wooden whistles. Peter will play for ECD classes and teach Band Class.
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Jon
Berger Jon Berger has played fiddle and concertina for morris, English country, and contra dances since 1976. A former musician for Berkeley Morris, he now plays for Apple Tree Morris in Sebastopol, and in Flashpoint, a Santa Rosa-based contra dance band. He is well-known for his powerful music, and, while playing for Morris, his ability to maintain a connection between the music, the dancers and the dance (not to mention his sense of humor, and grand singing voice). He is a regular musician at Bay Area and North Bay English country dances. Jon is also a former member of Tempest, a Celtic rock band that plays for an entirely different style of dancing. Jon will play for ECD and Display classes and teach Beyond Melody.
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Doug Creighton Doug Creighton is a fine musician on the button accordion, flute and concertina. He has a wealth of experience as both dancer and musician for numerous display dance teams, plays in the English dance band Pleasures of the Town and joins in numerous contra bands. Doug is internationally known as the guru of The Button Box (a business specializing in concertina and accordion sales and repairs and organizers of the Northeast Squeeze-in) where he keeps the world safe for accordions and concertinas. He also teaches Cape Breton dance, a non-competitive, relaxed and “close to the floor” style of step dance brought by Scottish settlers to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Doug will play for ECD and Display classes and teach some special sessions of Cape Breton dance.
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Earl
Gaddis Earl Gaddis is a full-time dance musician, having played fiddle and viola for a mixture of English, Scottish, American and international dancing for well over 40 years. He plays for dance camps, workshops, balls and other dance events throughout the U.S. and abroad. Earl is a member of Bare Necessities, which has released about a dozen recordings of English country dance music so far, and of Woodlark (with Karen Axelrod and Chris Rua) and he has recorded with a number of other musicians as well. Earl will play for ECD and Scottish classes.
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Shira Kammen Shira Kammen, a multi-instrumentalist (primarily violin, vielle) and vocalist, has spent well over half her life exploring the worlds of early and traditional music. A favorite at dance camps around the country, she has performed and taught in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Israel, Morocco and Japan. A member for many years of several early music ensembles, she has also worked with the Balkan group Kitka, and the Oregon, California and San Francisco Shakespeare Festivals. She is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to performance on river rafting trips. Some of her original music can be heard in an independent film about fans of the work of JRR Tolkien. Shira performs now with several groups: a medieval ensemble, Fortune's Wheel; a new music group, Ephemeros; an eclectic ethnic band, Panacea; and Trouz Bras, a band devoted to the dance music of Celtic Brittany. Shira will play for ECD classes and teach a singing workshop—Vocal Capers: Rounds, Ballads and Madrigals. - - - - - |
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Debbie Jackson Debbie Jackson, innovative pianist from Michigan, plays regularly with her bands, Childgrove and Dr. Grangelove. In addition to English, she is also an avid dancer and musician in styles that range from Eastern European and Brazilian to bluegrass, swing and Scandinavian. Her favorite is whatever she is playing at the moment! She is also a composer of English country dance tunes, a singer/songwriter as well as a versatile harmony singer. When not playing piano for events and dance camps, she is well known for her international photography work and studio piano work. She also recently had the unique honor of playing the part of pianist Floyd Cramer (yes) in The Patsy Cline Story (luckily, no speaking part!). Debbie will play for ECD classes and teach Playing Backup. - - - - - |
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Jim will play for ECD classes as well as coordinate the back porch gathering.
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Lisa
Scott Lisa Scott, a native of Portland, Oregon, is an accomplished pianist and teacher. Coming from a musical heritage, she began her studies early and continued on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree at Lewis and Clark College and study the art of accompaniment at the University of Southern California and in New York City. Returning to Portland, she began Scottish Country dancing and soon earned her Preliminary Teaching Certificate. This led in turn to the Scottish piano and through the years she has played throughout the United States and Canada. Many years ago, she fell in love with English Country dance music and has been a favorite at workshops and balls ever since. Lisa's sensitivity to dance rhythms and her lyrical style make her music a joy for dancers. Lisa will play for ECD and Scottish classes. - - - - - |
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Nick Cuccia Nick is highly regarded by dancers, callers, and musicians for the attention that he pays to the needs of those on and off the stage. Nick is the house sound engineer for the San Francisco, Berkeley, and Sonoma contra dances and the Berkeley experienced English dance. His credits as lead or assistant sound engineer include numerous BACDS events and camps. We are delighted to have him return to English Week.
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