Country Dance and Song Society

Celebrating our 75th year at Pinewoods Camp

Campers' Week at Pinewoods
August 16 - 23, 2008

As of June 3, this week has a short wait list.

Timber Ridge	Pinewoods			Ogontz
English & American Family	Early Music Folk Music Community Dance Leaders Family Teachers	English Dance American Dance & Music Contra Dance Callers	Campers' English & American Square Dance Callers	Family Week 1 Family Week 2 Teachers

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Staff

Class Descriptions & Schedule

Campers' Week at Pinewoods
August 16 - 23, 2008

Program Director:
Kathy Talvitie

Staff:
Mary Cay Brass
Susan Conger
Andy Davis
Robin Davis
Sarah Henry
Scott Higgs
Susan Kevra
Valerie Kosednar
Robin Kynoch
Matthew Olwell
Tim Shaw
Erik Talvitie *

* Advisor, plus:
Sheila Debrunner
Steve Howe
Lisa Marshall

Program Description: [Back to Top]

Look up our Family Programs for some general information; here is more detail about this particular program and staff.

Campers' Week offers an opportunity for children and adults of all ages to join together to create a truly unique community. Campers are drawn back year after year as much by the memories of shared traditions as by the anticipation of the new and the unexpected. While traditional music, dance and storytelling make up the heart of the program, a wide and intriguing variety of activities will fill the schedule. In addition to the staff-led program, there will be many opportunities for campers to offer classes and to share their own special talents.

With so many activities to choose from each day, it is wonderful to know that our paths will intersect as a community at each morning and evening gathering. Together we will share songs, stories, dances, riddles and rhymes -- passing on old traditions and starting new ones.

Our professional teaching staff will lead daily classes for kids from 3-12. The teens will have their own staff-led class again this year and, as usual, will be welcome to join any of the adult classes.

Get ready to dance, dance, dance! We are delighted to have outstanding dance leaders on staff this year. Scott Higgs returns to teach English country dancing and Susan Kevra makes her first appearance at Campers' Week to teach contras and squares. They will each teach a daytime class and will join together to lead the evening dances. Mary Cay Brass, also new to Campers' Week, will lead a Family Dance every afternoon. Sarah Henry and Tim Shaw will be back this year to bring you rapper and Cotswold morris. Before the week is out I'm sure we will have had a taste of many other dance styles. In the past the list has included: tango, salsa, hambo, Portuguese stick dances, waltz, border morris, English and Appalachian clog, swing, international, Scottish country and more.

The days and nights will be filled with singing and music. Add your voice to the Community Sing or the song-swap on the camphouse porch. Bring your instruments! Camper and staff musicians are welcome to play for daytime classes and the evening dances. Last year sacred harp, madrigals, barbershop and recorder consort were all on the schedule.

Leave time in your schedule for swimming, crafts, storytelling and hanging out. Catch your breath during the day, because there is more to come before your head hits the pillow. The evening activities begin with an all-camp gathering. After the pied piper leads the youngest campers (8 and under) off to bed we'll share a few more songs and stories, and then we're off to the evening dance party. You might want to pace yourself so you don't miss the after-dance events -- both planned and unplanned. Of course, you may choose sleep instead and wander off to bed humming a tune you learned or remembering a cherished moment from earlier in the day.

There is magic at Campers' Week -- the kind of magic that happens when people of all ages come together to share something that they love. We are never too young or too old to teach or to learn; to honor the past or to discover the new. Campers' Week is an adventure to be shared by all -- whether you've been coming for years or planning to come for the first time. I hope to see you this summer!

-- Kathy Talvitie, Program Director

Staff: [Back to Top]

Mary Cay Brass conducts three choruses in southern Vermont and western Massachusetts focusing on community-based music from many lands. She has worked for the past 15 years for the Vermont-based summer singing camp Village Harmony and last summer led a group of 30 campers to Bosnia where they learned secular and sacred music of that country's various ethnic groups. Using traditional music to create community is her life-long passion and commitment. Since the early 1980s she has been playing for traditional New England contra dances all over the country. On both piano and accordion she has the rhythmic drive and energy that make her a much sought after musician.

Susan Conger grew up playing classical violin, but as an adult was drawn to the fiddle tunes she heard while contra dancing. In 1987 she followed the tunes and dances to western Massachusetts, where she's been living ever since. Susan teaches fiddle and classical violin, and plays for contra, English and Scandinavian dancing. She is the editor of Along the River, a collection of modern New England dance tunes, and has been on staff at various dance camps and festivals from New England to Seattle.

Andy Davis is an accomplished accordion and piano player, elementary music teacher, dance caller and song leader. He tours with the group Nowell Sing We Clear and is a founding member of New England Dancing Masters -- publishers and presenters of traditional dance to schools and community groups.

Robin Davis, a retired professional baker, is now in her fifth year teaching preschool and is working on her teaching certificate. She loves gathering children and adults together to do art. She sings with the Emerald Stream Chorale, a traveling group directed by Mary Cay Brass, and a hospice singing group called Hallowell. She has led community art and children's classes at Pinewoods, Ogontz and Lady of the Lake family weeks.

Sarah Henry has been active in ritual dance for almost three decades. She is an active member and teacher of Half Moon Sword, NYC's renowned women's sword team and producers of the annual Half Moon Sword Ale, and of Ring o' Bells, the oldest women's Cotswold side in North America. She will bring her high-energy enthusiasm back to Campers' Week, offering a rapper class for all levels.

Scott Higgs has been composing and teaching contra and English dances for over 25 years. He returns to Campers' Week this year to delight us with sparkling English dancing. Scott has a special knack for making the mysteries and beauties of English dances accessible to all. His sessions make everyone welcome: offering nuances to engage experts, with a light-hearted approach that helps novices feel comfortable and successful.

Susan Kevra, who lives in Nashville, TN, teaches and plays for contra and English dance. She began calling in 1991 and quickly became a fixture in the New England dance scene, appearing at dance camps and festivals throughout the US, Canada and Europe. She spent 2000 - 2001 in France and traveling throughout Western Europe teaching contras, squares and English country dancing -- and learning French dances. Susan teaches French and American Studies at Vanderbilt University, where she has developed a new course, American Social History through Dance.

Valerie Kosednar grew up in a musical family and has been a music educator for nearly 20 years. She feels happiest and most at home when immersed in a group of children sharing ideas, laughing and making music together. An accomplished singer and performer, Valerie currently tours with the ensembles Emerald Stream Chorale (led by Mary Cay Brass) and House Blend. She also sings in Hallowell, a group that provides bedside singing for hospice patients and their families. Valerie currently teaches at two wonderful elementary schools in Vermont and conducts the community-based Main Street Children's Chorus.

Robin Kynoch has been playing tinwhistle for contras, English and ritual dancing for over 25 years, and has been playing at Campers' Week for almost that long. She also plays at Irish sessions and ceili dances, and is a member of several Irish musical groups in the Boston area. Robin also knows lots of tinwhistle tricks and is currently learning how to play the Irish button accordion, a "truly humbling" experience. Robin will be coordinating the musicians for daytime classes.

Matthew Olwell has been dancing and playing music for nearly 20 years. He has studied with some of the finest teachers in traditional dance, including Donny Golden, Eileen Carson, Benoit Bourque, The Fiddle Puppets Dancers and Liam Harney. He danced for nine years with the Maryland-based Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, with whom he toured nationally and internationally. Matthew now lives in Virginia, and started Good Foot Dance Company in 2006.

Tim Shaw has been going to Pinewoods since 1979, and to Campers' Week every year (but one) since 1983. He grew up morris dancing in children's classes and watching his father morris dance with the Greenwich and Foggy Bottom Morris Men. After a brief period dancing with Foggy Bottom (and going to England for a tour) after high school, Tim took a hiatus from morris. Finally, after moving to Brooklyn, he joined the Bouwerie Boys Morris Dancers in 2003 and fulfilled his destiny as a morris dancer. As one of the BBMD's "Young Turks", he holds the title of Tour Master Supreme For Life (TMSFL), arranging and coordinating days of dance in New York City. He has also danced over the past few summers with the American Travelling Morrice in upstate New York and again in England. In his non-morris life, Tim works for the City of New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission. He still resides in Brooklyn, and, by the time Campers' Week rolls around, will be a newlywed!

Erik Talvitie has attended Campers' Week since he was six years old and in that time has hosted many a skit night and evening gathering. Last year he hosted morning gathering for the first time and managed to be awake for every single one. As a result of his perfect record, Erik will be at it again this year. He looks forward to enjoying your stories, songs and dances each morning.

Kathy Talvitie first attended Campers' Week over 20 years ago -- when Erik was six -- and has been a regular ever since. At home she is active in the Delaware Valley dance community as a player, dancer, organizer and composer. She loves to play piano and guitar for both English and contra.

Campers' Week at Pinewoods
Daily Schedule

7:45 - 8:15 Breakfast

9:00 - 9:50 Morning classes, divided by age group

10:00 Refreshments

10:15 - 11:00 Morning Gathering

11:00 - 12:00 Swimming, Bookstore staffed

12:15 Lunch

1:30 - 2:20 Quiet activities / Rest time

2:30 - 3:20 Afternoon classes, divided by age group

3:20 - 3:35 Campstore Open

3:30 - 4:20 Swimming, Bookstore staffed, classes

4:00 - 4:20 Tea

4:30 - 5:20 Late afternoon classes

6:00 Dinner

6:45 Singing Games

7:30 - 8:25 Evening Gathering

8:00 Pied Piper / bedtime for children 8 and younger

8:30 - 11:00 Evening Dance Party

9:20 Bedtime for 9-12 year olds

11:00 Optional after-dance activities

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]
Children's classes by age group -- 9:00 and 2:30
The age groupings for children's classes are tentative; they will be set after registration is complete.

Littles (age 3-4)
Robin D. will delight the little ones in the morning with singing, playing games and running away to join the circus!

Smalls (ages 5-6)
Valerie will begin each day with singing, dancing, creative movement games and instrument exploration. She offers a wonderful repertoire of folksongs and games from a variety of traditions and always gets her best ideas from kids. In the afternoon, Andy's class will be busy building instruments, telling stories and singing.

Middles (ages 7-9)
Mary Cay will start the morning with stories, singing and dancing. Afternoons with Valerie offer more opportunities for singing and creative movement. The class will use a variety of instruments to accompany games, stories and songs. Small djembe drums and a diverse collection of rhythm instruments will be provided -- or bring your own.

Talls (ages 10-12)
Start the day with Andy doing contras, squares and English dancing. Then tell a story and learn to call a dance. Come to Matthew's class in the afternoon and explore new ways to use your feet, hands and body as percussion instruments.

Teen Class
Matthew returns to lead the teen class. You can bet that there will be a whole lot of stomping going on.

Adults (ages 13 and up)
Most of the offerings will be determined by you, the campers, but here are a few highlights that will be offered by the staff. Susan K. will lead a morning class called Dancing the Story Line. She will teach a mix of dances (contras, squares, odd formations) with the aim of not just having fun and dancing to great music, but understanding the story behind the dance. In the afternoon Scott will delight you with a joyful collection of English country dance favorites, old and new. Don't miss the opportunity to do rapper with Sarah or Cotswold morris with Tim. Both of these classes will offer something for dancers of all experience levels. Mary Cay will lead a Community Sing in the afternoon sharing her repertoire of community-based songs from far and wide.

Community Gatherings and other Happenings
Each day we will come together for morning and evening gatherings. Your host in the morning will be Erik and in the evening, Andy. Bring your favorite songs, stories, tunes and dances to share at the gatherings. Another community event to look forward to will be a daily Family Dance led by Mary Cay. We will also have a Community Band, so don't forget to bring your instruments. The evening dances will be great. Scott and Susan K. will coordinate the dance and Susan C. will lead the band. Come dance up a storm, play in the band or call a dance. For one special evening we will transform C#, the big dance pavilion, for our costume ball -- to the theme Under the Big Top!