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New England Dancing Masters LIVE!
Building Community With Dances, Songs, and Stories October 19, 2024 9:00 am to 1:30 pm |
Workshop Description: New England Dancing Masters’ (Andy Davis, Mary Cay Brass, Peter & Mary Alice Amidon) workshop will focus on the community building power of traditional dance, song and storytelling in the schools. They will engage participants in singing games and dances they can immediately use in their music classrooms while getting a feast of teaching tips, a handout with all dances done in the workshop, and a discussion of how to make dance a positive and integral part of school life. They will tell at least one folktale and discuss and demonstrate how to use storytelling as a powerful teaching tool. They will share some of their favorite songs while discussing starting and sustaining an all-school sing. Participants will get a handout with all the dances and songs done in the workshop. The New England Dancing Masters quartet are master teachers steeped in traditional music, dance and storytelling; they hope that this workshop will help music teachers transform their schools into singing and dancing communities
Clinician Biography: "New England Dancing Masters produces books and recordings of traditional social dances and singing games from North America and the British Isles. Our materials — which are specifically geared to dancers of diverse ages and abilities — are being used by thousands of teachers, recreation leaders and dance callers. NEDM recordings are made with some of the region’s finest traditional musicians and recreate the excitement of dancing to the live music of a New England contra dance."
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Back When
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Still Making Music Together!
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Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are versatile and widely respected as performers and teachers who have dedicated their careers as artists to traditional song, dance, and storytelling. They are in demand throughout the United States as clinicians leading Orff and Kodaly elementary school music teacher workshops on traditional dance, song and storytelling. The Amidons have been headliners at several AOSA and OAKE national conferences and are honored to be members of the AOSA Advocacy Council. The Amidons' choral arrangements for adults and children are being sung by choruses throughout the United States and the UK. The Amidons are both former elementary school music teachers.
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Andy plays accordion, piano, banjo and calls dances. He taught music in the public schools of Vermont for 32 years where he integrated dance, drama, storytelling and Orff Schulwerk in his teaching. His Intergenerational Chorus combined choral music with community service learning. Andy has appeared as a dance musician, caller and singer at many well-known traditional music and dance camps throughout the United States. Andy’s calling of square and contra dances is often for the benefit of community dances where dancers of all ages and levels of experience are encouraged to join in. For thirty years Andy performed throughout new England with Nowell Sing We Clear, a concert of mid- winter carols, with Tony Barrand, John Roberts and Fred Breunig. The group specialized in traditional songs and instrumental dance music and customs from Christmas and mid-winter traditions. Andy lives with his family in Brattleboro, Vermont.
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Mary Cay worked for 8 years as a classroom music teacher in public and private schools in southern Vermont. She now, leads a highly successful community choir, co-leads a hospice choir with Peter Amidon, and works as a musician doing community dances around New England.In the 1970’s she spent two-and-a-half years in the former Yugoslavia studying traditional song and dance on a Fulbright Scholarship. She has put out two recordings and song/dance collections of this music entitled Village Harmony and Balkan Bridges. Since the early 1980’s she has been playing for traditional New England contra dancesall over the country.On both piano and accordion she has the rhythmic drive and energy that make her a much sought after musician. She has a number of CD’s of traditional dance music to her name, available on her website. “In Mary Cay’s classes every student participates with their complete spirit, expressing joy in each song or dance and working together on a very high level. She is a master music teacher. Within a few hours students are singing with gusto. The final performance is magical and brings great enjoyment to both the audience and performers. Mary Cay is an extremely skillful and creative teacher with an impeccable sense of timing which keeps the group focused at all times.” (Claire Oglesby)
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