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Country Dance and Song Societyat Timber Ridge
Barbara Dyskant's Family Week 2007 Photo Gallery
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Country Dance and Song Societyat Timber Ridge
Barbara Dyskant's Family Week 2007 Photo Gallery
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Schedule & Fees
Registration Info
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Class Descriptions & Schedule
Descriptions & Schedule for children
Program Description: [Back to Top]
Timber Ridge camp is in the countryside of Wild Wonderful West Virginia, but only 90 minutes from Washington, DC. In our third year of melding an adult English & American dance week with a Family Week program, we are definitely starting to see the benefits to both of the combined program at Timber Ridge. Not only can we have a larger staff than is usual at CDSS weeks, but because of the greater space and variety of venues at the camp, we have one of the most extensive and varied programs of any CDSS week. We have multiple dance forms, music, singing, art, nature walks, storytelling, camp gatherings and more, in parallel tracks for adults, kids and mixed age classes. We have many dance and class spaces, some blissfully air conditioned, as well as great recreational facilities -- pool, river, tennis and basketball courts, and space to walk, hike, and lie in the grass. We have a great venue for late night activities that has already been the scene of several legendary honky-tonk, cabaret and dance extravaganzas. At Timber Ridge everyone can pursue their individual interests and also come together for festive times.
| Adult Program Description: Look up our Adult Programs for some general information; here is more detail about this particular program and staff. You are invited to join us in a very special week of dance and music at Timber Ridge Camp where English & American and Family Week programs join forces in a way that seeks to preserve the strengths of each and to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Following is a brief overview of what you can expect as an E & A camper. There is a full day of dancing, from English country and American squares and contras to couple dancing, morris and clogging, plus dance band and singing for the musically-inclined. David Millstone, dynamic caller from New Hampshire, is offering three classes of English country dance, including one focusing on new choreography. Cis Hinkle and Janine Smith, both energetic and spirited callers, will teach new American dances, favorites, classic contras and rousing squares. Demystifying the art of tango and bringing new skills and approaches to waltzing and swing dancing is the charismatic and powerful dance leader, Matthew Duveneck. He will teach a morris class as well. Emphasis on partnering skills and dancing with the music are his hallmark. Abby Ladin is a crackerjack teacher of clogging, and Suzannah Park, hailed for her teaching skills and vibrant presentation, will teach singing in four parts. Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Anna Patton and Ralph Gordon will run a dance band, split the players as needed to work on rhythm, harmony and melody, and prepare them for playing for the all-camp gatherings. Their class promises to be great fun as well as very edifying. The Timber Ridge program offers some unique advantages because of the E & A / Family Week combination. Because of the extra-large staff and facility, we can offer an art class run by the creative and outrageously funny Sam Bartlett and daily nature walks with Leslie Jeanne Milbourne. Cis will do a daily Tai Chi wake-up class, and Debe Stagmer, new to these weeks, has some wonderful approaches to storytelling. There is as well the infectious youthful energy of younger children and teens, some with families and others on crew, who have been learning these dancing and music traditions along with the importance of community values. There are times in the day, besides classes, when adults have their own time together. A Gathering midmorning led by the playful and irrepressible Karen Axelrod will include some stimulating presentations by staff about music and dance, as well as improv games, stories, jokes and camper offerings. It was very popular last year and great fun for everyone. During the daytime workshops, children have their own separate classes, while adults from both programs have a bountiful selection of dancing to choose among. Evening dance parties begin at 8:30p.m. and are inclusive of children as young as 10 until 9:30 when the 10-12 year olds go to bed. Dancing most nights continues until 11 or close to that. Parties after the evening dances are like those of any adult-week camp with singing, couple dancing, cabaret and auction night with lots of socializing. The Rec Hall, with its strings of lights and stage, its dance floor, canteen and kitchen is a perfect place to hang out at the end of the full day. The staff of musicians is exceptional: Karen Axelrod and Dave Wiesler on piano, Sam Bartlett and John Devine on fretted instruments, Anna Patton on clarinet, and four fiddlers, Naomi Morse, Steve Hickman, Mary Lea and Ethan Hazzard-Watkins. Walking the bass lines will be our great WV state treasure, Ralph Gordon. Such an array of talent foretells stimulating daytime classes and exciting evening dance parties, and promises after-hour jamming and more dancing for late-night partiers. Midweek, campers take over running the evening dance by drawing from their ranks the necessary callers and musicians. Campers are invited to dust off their skits or poetry reading skills or their dance routines for the cabaret night. Other gatherings take place before or after dinner or around the pool. After the evening dances there is a camp auction one night, song swaps and honky-tonk other nights. If it exhausts you just to contemplate this activity, make sure to bring your beach chairs for poolside, your summer reading books, swim suits and ear plugs and be sure to remind yourself that this is your vacation. For adult dancers who want a full-bore dance program and who have a keen interest in sharing their dancing experience with future bearers of the tradition, this camp is a perfect place to spend the week. Hope to see you at TR next summer! -- Mary Lea, Program Director |
CDSS Week at Timber Ridge August 10 - 17, 2008 Program Directors: Staff: * Advisors, plus: |
Family Program Description: Look up our Family Programs for some general information; here is more detail about this particular program and staff. What makes a great dance camp? The staff and the campers! Timber Ridge will have both. We definitely have the staff: some of the most accomplished and most FUN dance teachers, callers, musicians, singers and activity leaders around. First the core, the heartbeat of family week: Steve Hickman and John Devine -- playing for dances, hamboning, the Pied Piper taking the little ones to bed; it doesn't get more Family Week than this. DeLaura Padovan -- leading the younger kids in songs and games, calling dances for everyone, spreading joy and laughter. Rounding out the family, Olivia Padovan-Merhar grew up at this camp, now she's helping the youngest campers get into the swing of things. Leslie Jeanne Milbourne -- naturalist, earth educator, puts us in touch with the environment around us. She'll be sharing her knowledge and vision with the younger kids. Kappy Laning, our wonderful Camp Director for many years, will share another side as she leads the older kids in rapper. Sam Bartlett -- tunesmith, musician extraordinaire, artist and free spirit. Whenever the occasion presents itself, Sam will also teach from his unfathomably broad repertoire of stunts: pointless, pleasurable games and techniques to amaze and annoy nearly everyone: the human table, napkin balancing, circumnavigating a chair, etc. etc. Abby Ladin -- would have been clogging at family week as a little girl except family week hadn't been invented yet. Now she makes up for lost time by teaching clogging, steps, body percussion and hopefully she'll have time to play the bass too! Suzannah Park is steeped in the traditions: she literally grew up at contra dances. Now she's a bearer of vocal traditions, a veteran singer and song leader. She's a treat for young and old and will teach songs, games and activities. Debe Stagmer will delight us with her twisted fairytales, stories of her childhood and more. She will also teach us how to create and present our own stories. This amazing staff will inspire, educate and entertain the two to twelve year-olds in morning and afternoon classes each day. In between, there's swim time, free time and a variety of other activities (see schedule below). We'll also have morning and evening gatherings at which we come together for stories, songs, stunts, skits and more. We have a community dance for all each evening, ending with a bedtime story before the Pied Piper leads the younger kids to bed. The 10-12 year olds join the adults for first part of the evening dance before their bedtime. But that's just half the story. Adults can enjoy a full day of dancing American contras and squares, English country dancing, tango, swing and clogging with a brilliant staff of callers and musicians (see adult program description). For parents who love to dance, this week offers more adult dance options than any other Family Week program. There is an assortment of non-dance classes and activities, some open to older kids or kids with adult supervision. There are also the late-night adult activities -- honky-tonk, cabaret, song swap and more. Besides the classes, we'll feature impromptu camper-led activities throughout the week. This is an opportunity to share your interests, skills, music, dance, crafts, jokes and ideas. For adults, the daily handiwork and oral history sessions by the pool are a favorite. And if this isn't enough, Timber Ridge also features a pool, river and tennis and basketball courts. At the end of the week, we'll have the traditional dress-up parade, show-and-tell and farewell party. So now, all we need are the campers. Family Week is an opportunity to enjoy music and dance, but especially to help our children discover and enjoy the traditions that we love, and see them mature and enter the wonderful music and dance community that we enjoy so much. Family camp is all about community and this camp has a long history and a wonderful, warm and welcoming family community. We have no doubt that the tradition will be upheld this year. Please come join us! -- Joel Bluestein and Michal Warshow, Program Directors |
Karen Axelrod plays piano for English, American and Scottish dance and has been on staff at numerous dance events around the country for many years. She is highly regarded for her creative and rich piano accompaniment. She also plays accordion for the renowned longsword team, Orion Longsword and piano with the bands Foxfire and Woodlark. A professional dog walker -- with a PhD in dog walking from a highly respected internet correspondence school, Karen occasionally appears with the comedy improvisation troupe, the Villa Jidiots.
Sam Bartlett is an irrepressible mandolin, banjo and guitar player, known to dancers across the country for his fine musicianship and philosophy of Stuntology. His original music has been profiled by NPR's All Things Considered and Sing Out! magazine declared him a member of "the rhythm players hall of fame." The inventor and most distinguished practitioner of stunotology -- Sam will amaze and delight us with his latest discoveries.
Joel Bluestein is a fiddler and dancer and has been helping to organize the Chesapeake Spring Dance weekend for over 25 years.
John Devine is much loved by the Family Week community as the Pied Piper and as a solid mountain of rhythm guitar for all styles of country dancing from English to New England to Southern, with a not-so-secret leaning toward swing songs and joy. He has one of the most beautiful voices you'll ever hear. He brings a gentle power to all that he does, whether playing guitar, singing songs or tending his farm just over the ridge in northeast West Virginia.
Matthew Duveneck, now living in South Portland, ME, grew up dancing. He started waltzing when in his mother's womb, clogging when he was eight and morris dancing when he was 13. Matthew manages to find a fine balance between his passion for morris dance, forest fire ecology and Argentine tango. During the last ten years he has focused much of his creative energy on couple dancing and can often be found at tango milongas in various cities of the U.S., Canada and beyond. Over the years Matthew has been a member of four different morris teams and currently dances with the Marlboro Morris Men. During the last few years he has taught dance at the Stanford Waltz Week, Bates College Argentine Tango Club, Pinewoods, John Campbell Folk School, Augusta Dance Camp and Timber Ridge. He is also the cofounder/director of the informal music dance party Ciderfest.
Ralph Gordon, on cello and bass, has knowledge of and experience with many styles of music. He has worked with many bands over the years and is one of the best all-around bass players in the dance world. With numerous recordings to his credit, Ralph has graced many a concert stage, dance camp and festival here and abroad. He moonlights at camp as an ace Master of Ceremonies during late night parties.
Ethan Hazzard-Watkins growing up in Amherst, MA, began dancing and playing his fiddle for contra and English dances at an early age. He attended Macalester College where he studied just about everything other than music and graduated in 2001 with a degree in Political Science. Since then Ethan has traveled extensively, playing music for dancing and listening audiences far and wide, and developing an exciting, expressive and versatile approach to traditional music. He currently resides in the musicians' ghetto of Brattleboro, VT, where he enjoys tending a weedy overgrown garden, hiking up and down mountains and playing backgammon.
Steve Hickman is a world class fiddler, a passionate historian, a family homesteader, a master hambonist, organic farmer and a late night weeder. He has been the backbone of untold numbers of mid-Atlantic dance bands and has taught several generations of Family Week campers to hambone. He has toured internationally with groups including Childsplay. Watch out for his transformational, paradigm shifting English fiddling.
Cis Hinkle has delighted contra and square dancers since 1985 with her skilled teaching, welcoming manner, playful enthusiasm and masterful selection of dances. She is in great demand at music and dance festivals all over the U.S., England and Denmark, and is currently coordinator for Dance Week at the Augusta Heritage Workshops in Elkins, West Virginia. When not on the road, Cis teaches tai chi classes in her native Atlanta, GA.
Abby Ladin came of age at music and dance camps where she and her sister were often the only kids. Abby has taught thousands of people of all ages shapes and sizes the fundamentals and possibilities of Appalachian clogging. She has performed nationally for 20 years, and has most recently been seen clogging around her living room with her 1 year old twins.
Kappy Laning was first struck by the dynamism and fun of rapper in the late 80s, danced with Frayed Knot in Charlottesville, VA for 8 years and has been with Charm City Rapper in Baltimore, MD for the last 6 years. She has taught rapper to children and adults at several dance camps in Florida, Kentucky and West Virginia. She enjoys working with all levels of experience and, especially, making this dynamic dance accessible for children. She has also been CDSS's peerless Camp Director for many years at Buffalo Gap and Timber Ridge camps.
Mary Lea has been playing violin and viola for dancing since 1977. She plays English with Bare Necessities, contras with Yankee Ingenuity and Crazy Quilt, South American music with Paradiso and a little of everything with Dark Carnival. She has performed at many dance camps and festivals and made numerous recordings over the years. Besides music, Mary loves gardening, following the vicissitudes of current events and keeping an eye on global warming!
Leslie Jeanne Milbourne, our earth educator and Nature Goddess, is an environmental educator who relishes exploring, discovering and learning how the earth works, and helping discover the natural beauty around us. She has worked extensively in her field for over 15 years with preschoolers through college students. We are never separate from nature; Leslie helps us to open our senses to the world in which we live. With daughter, Chenaya and husband, John Devine, she lives just down the road where she and John operate their own nature and music camp.
David Millstone, from Lebanon, NH, started contra dancing with Dudley Laufman in the early 1970s, and it's been downhill ever since. A caller for some 30 years, he has taught at dance camps and festivals from New Hampshire to New Mexico, Atlanta to Winnipeg. In addition to English country dance, his repertoire includes high-energy, recent contra compositions as well as traditional New England dances. One of the founders of the Strafford (VT) Ball, in recent years he has also taught English dance in Prague and Copenhagen. A dance historian and a videographer, he has completed detailed documentaries about Bob McQuillen, Dudley Laufman and Ralph Sweet.
Naomi Morse grew up surrounded by music and dance in the folk communities of New England. She is known for her energetic and driving fiddle playing for both contra and English dancing in many bands, including Night Watch, Housetop and the &mega-fiddle-band& Childsplay. She has toured extensively with the world-music ensemble, Northern Harmony, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she sings professionally.
DeLaura Padovan is a Family Week mainstay and an irrepressibly joyful presence around camp. She is a family dance leader, singer and organic farmer as well as one of the pioneers of living life the best way possible, which includes singing, calling, signing and creating one thing out of another. She will light up the days for the lucky 2-3s in the morning and the 6-7 year olds in the afternoon with song, dance and crafts as well as impromptu contributions throughout the day.
Olivia Padovan-Merhar has grown up at CDSS camps. She is currently a sophomore at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where she helps call and organize a monthly contra dance. Besides physics, she loves rapper dance, ultimate frisbee and fire spinning. Eldest of three sisters, she is a kid-magnet, and promises to dazzle and delight our youngest campers at Timber Ridge.
Suzannah Park comes from a family of four generations of ballad singers and storytellers and has been performing Appalachian folk music most of her life. Her interest in the performance and study of traditional music of all kinds has taken her from music-filled kitchens to concert halls across the U.S. and Europe. She performs and tours with Village Harmony and is known for her powerful voice and striking harmonies, as well as her ability to inspire others with her love of music and sparkling personality. She is a delightful force at camp.
Anna Patton plays dance tunes on the clarinet with great verve, clarity and harmonic whim. Besides English and contra dance tunes, her repertoire includes Balkan dance tunes, Brazilian choros and early jazz. Based in Brattleboro, VT she has spent much of her young life on tour around the U.S. and abroad, singing and playing for dancers, concert goers and pedestrians. She also enjoys teaching music to kids and adults and writing arrangements.
Janine Smith calls square, contra and family dances in the Washington, DC area. She shares her humorous and infectious (OK, sometimes goofy) style and passionate love of music and dance with dancers from Glen Echo, MD to Seattle, WA and specializes in singing squares and just generally whoopin' it up. She is one of the &Hot Square Babes,& a quintet of callers who throw a monthly Square Dance Party in College Park, MD. Come on and get your hoedown on, darlin'!
Debe Stagmer, lifetime storyteller, friend of many, mother of two, wife of one. Debe has been a preschool teacher and camp counselor for more than 30 years. She tells stories from her childhood and life experiences as well as twisted fairytales. She performs and teaches family storytelling at schools, libraries, festivals, fairs and Scouting programs.
Michal Warshow was introduced to dancing over 20 years ago and was immediately hooked. She spends a lot of time with children, both her own and at the preschool where she teaches. She has helped to organize the Chesapeake Spring Dance Weekend for more than 15 years.
Pianist Dave Wiesler began his musical journey as the &guy who could figure out the chords& in his high school garage band. Nearly 20 years later he discovered playing folk music for dances and felt that the job description had been written just for him. At home in a wide range of styles, Dave is in demand for contra, English and Scottish country dancing, swing, waltz and vintage dance, and he has played at festivals and camps across the country as well as in Canada, Scotland, England and France. He is a prolific composer of tunes and songs and is also a capable guitarist and singer. He presently lives in Newark, DE with his wife, children and two beloved cats.
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Timber Ridge Tentative Class Schedule: |
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| 7:45 - 8:15 Breakfast | |
| 8:15 - 8:45 Movement Improvement through Tai Chi with Cis Hinkle | |
| 9:00 - 10:00 | |
| Morning children's classes, divided by age group | |
| English Breakfast | David Millstone |
| Contra Flavors of Today for All | Cis Hinkle |
| Clogging: BASICS BASICS BASICS! | Abby Ladin |
| 10:00 Refreshments | |
| 10:15 Two Gatherings | |
| 11:00 - 12:30 Swim and relax time, Bookstore staffed | |
| 11:15 - 12:15 | |
| Experienced English: The Art of Choreography | David Millstone |
| Waltz/Swing | Matthew Duveneck |
| * Harmony Singing | Suzannah Park |
| 12:30 Lunch | |
| 1:45 - 2:45 | |
| * rest time | for all who will |
| Square Dance Party | Janine Smith |
| Morris | Matthew Duveneck |
| * Dance Band | Anna Patton, Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Ralph Gordon |
| * Bartlett's No Talent Drawing Salon/Community Art | Sam Bartlett, DeLaura Padovan |
| * Nature Explorations | Leslie Jeanne Milbourne |
| * Songs and Stories in the Dollhouse | Debe Stagmer |
| 3:00 - 4:00 | |
| Afternoon children's classes, divided by age group | |
| Mindbending Contras, Squares and More | Cis Hinkle |
| Tango | Matthew Duveneck |
| 4:15 - 5:15 | |
| English Country Garden | David Millstone |
| Create your Own Stories | Debe Stagmer |
| 4:15 - 6:00 Swimming | |
| 4:45 - 5:45 Bookstore staffed | |
| 5:30 Sing For Your Supper | |
| 6:00 Dinner | |
7:15 - 7:45 Community Dance |
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7:45 - 8:15 All Camp Gathering |
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| 8:15 Pied Piper / Bedtime for children 9 and younger | |
| 8:30 - 11:00 Evening Dance Party | |
| 9:30 Bedtime for 10-12 year olds | |
| 11:00 Optional after-dance activities/parties | |
| * May include younger campers | |
Class Descriptions (for campers age 13 and up unless otherwise marked) [Back to Top]
Morning classes (9:00-10:00)
Morning children's classes, described below
English Breakfast -- David Millstone / Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Karen Axelrod, Anna Patton
English dance first period in the morning -- what better way to start the day? This session will include instruction on basic figures and styling, making it an ideal opportunity for those new to English dance, those who'd like a review and those simply eager for more opportunities to explore the wide variety of moods and formations of the English dance repertoire.
Contra Flavors of Today for All -- Cis Hinkle / Mary Lea, Dave Wiesler, John Devine
Each morning we'll explore the ideas and approach of a different contemporary contra dance choreographer. From each author, we'll sample dance compositions for different levels of dance experience. We'll look at the design and flow of their movement choices, and offer styling tips to make the most of them.
Clogging: BASICS BASICS BASICS! -- Abby Ladin / Sam Bartlett
Explore the power of feet hoofing in unison and shuffle step step step your way to a solid and funky rhythmic experience. If you already clog, Abby will challenge you with syncopation and playing with the beat.
2nd Morning classes (11:15 - 12:15)
Experienced English: The Art of Choreography -- David Millstone / Mary Lea, Karen Axelrod, Ralph Gordon
From Nathaniel Kynaston in the early 1700s to Pat Shaw in the 1970s, to many choreographers writing today, this session will look at the work of these talented individuals. Many days the class will focus on a single individual, including some current prolific composers. It is assumed that dancers who take this class will be familiar with the basics of English country dance, thereby allowing more class time for exploring less familiar and sometimes more complex compositions.
Waltz/Swing -- Matthew Duveneck / Steve Hickman, Anna Patton, John Devine
A workshop in cross-step waltz, vintage dance moves made popular by the Bay Area's Richard Powers. Particular emphasis will be on partnering skills, good leading and following. All levels welcome. Leather or suede soles necessary. Western swing has foundations from East coast swing, two-step and polka. Matthew will teach a variety of partner-based swing dance styles found on the honky-tonk dance floors of the American West. All levels welcome.
Harmony Singing (10 and up or with parent) -- Suzannah Park
In this class we will sing in two, three and four part harmony, drawing from many traditions including: Appalachian harmony singing, gospel songs, Balkan village music and songs and dances from South African. Any age singer, of any singing ability is welcome. No sight-reading skills are required. We'll hoot and holler and make great music together. Singers under the age of 10 must be accompanied by a parent.
Early Afternoon Classes (1:45 - 2:45)
Many of these classes offer a chance for families to do something together. Some are for adults only. Most have a minimum age limit and may require parental participation as well.
Napping/Resting (99 and under)
Highly respected!
Square Dance Party (13 and up) -- Janine Smith / Steve Hickman, John Devine
We'll dance squares from the Southern, New England, Western and singing square traditions, as well as other geometric dance formations. It's a Dance Party, you're invited, so come to the Playhouse and let's get down to some serious PLAY!
Morris (13 and up) -- Matthew Duveneck / Naomi Morse
Morris dances are folk dances from the British Isles that have traditions both old and new. To some people, the dances are considered to be ritual dances with connection to early ceremonies. To most modern morris dancers, the dances are a fun way to bring exercise, and community together with music. This class will focus on Bledington stick dances from the Cotswold region of England. We will focus on making a set feel like a team through connecting and being aware of each other -- and most of all having fun. All levels welcome! Bring bells if you've got them! Bring sneakers to dance in.
Dance Band (10 and up or with parent) -- Anna Patton, Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Ralph Gordon
Ethan, Anna and Ralph will lead this band class for musicians who have basic familiarity with their instruments. They'll focus on honing skills for playing in an ensemble, including learning tunes together, listening to and interacting with other musicians and finding your niche in a band. Brass and wind players are encouraged to attend; they'll have the opportunity to work separately with Anna on playing by ear and learning how to accompany fiddle tunes. The class will build up to performing together for the community dance in the evening. Note: this is not an instrumental instruction class.
Bartlett's No Talent Drawing Salon/Community Art (13 and up, 8-12 with parent) -- Sam Bartlett, DeLaura Padovan
Explore the joys of drawing shamelessly. Sam will lead participants in a number of fun exercises and get everyone drawing for the pure absurd pleasure of it, as he himself has done for the past 42 years. There will also be community art projects of various kinds throughout the week.
Nature Explorations (10 and up or with parent) -- Leslie Jeanne Milbourne
Explore a variety of ecosystems -- from the river to the woods to the fossil pit and down under.
Songs and Stories in the Dollhouse (8 and up or with parent) -- Debe Stagmer
Debe Stagmer will host a session of stories, songs, games and whatever's fun with guest appearances from other staff. A great way to slide into the afternoon. Kids under 8 require adult.
Afternoon classes (3:00 - 4:00)
Afternoon children's classes, described below
Mindbending Contras, Squares and More -- Cis Hinkle / Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Sam Bartlett, Ralph Gordon
For those who want a little more spice in their dancing experience, we'll explore some tricky moves, unexpected twists and challenging timing in a variety of dance formations.
Tango -- Matthew Duveneck / Mary Lea, Dave Wiesler
Matthew Duveneck will teach a class in Argentine tango, a dance born in Buenos Aires during the earliest days of the last century and now popular all over the world. Tango is considered by many partner dancers to be the ultimate form of creative dance. The class will compare tango to other dance forms and will explore a comfortable, joyful way to communicate through this beautiful and sensual dance. It will emphasize five dance connections: connection to music, connection to partner, connection to self, connection to the floor and connection to community. All levels are welcome! Please bring shoes with leather or suede soles.
Late Afternoon Classes (4:15 - 5:15)
Swimming (all ages)
Children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Handwork at the Pool
Once again we'll devote the shady spot at the end of the pool to those who'd like to gather and chat or sing or listen while they work on knitting, sewing, weaving or any other type of handwork. Sometimes we organize discussions, sometimes there's music, sometimes we just "jaw."
English Country Garden (13 and up) -- David Millstone / Naomi Morse, Dave Wiesler
English dance for all, with an emphasis on classics from the English country dance repertoire. This late afternoon session may also include some couples dances and perhaps a few early American contras. With a focus on intermediate level dances and with just enough teaching to get each dance started, the class will primarily provide golden opportunities for dancers to dance to great music.
Create your Own Stories (13 and up) -- Debe Stagmer
Debe Stagmer will help us create and tell our own stories. Debe has been telling stories all her life and greatly enjoys sharing her skills and creativity with others. Participants will create their own stories based on imagination, life knowledge and skills acquired in class through improvisational games.
Morning Gatherings
In the morning there are two concurrent gatherings. One is for all those who are attending with family members of all generations. The other is oriented to the adults who are at camp without children.
Family Gathering (10:15-11:00)
The essence of Family Week! We come together to sing, laugh, entertain each other and enjoy the amazing community that we are. Watch out for the stunts, hamboning and the unpredictable.
Adult Gathering (10:15-10:45) -- Karen Axelrod
Stimulating presentations by staff about dance and music, as well as jokes, games and camper offerings.
Special All-Camp Times
Movement Improvement through Tai Chi -- Cis Hinkle
Tai Chi, the ancient Chinese meditative martial art, is sometimes called swimming in the air. In this class, we'll make use of some of these gentle and powerful movements to enhance our dance experience with more flexibility, strength, balance and flow. You are going to feel better at the end of each class than when you came in!
Sing For Your Supper (5:30-6:00)
A community sing in front of the dining hall every night before supper. There will be a different theme and a different staff host every night. Fun, entertaining and beautiful sounds.
Community Dance (7:15-7:45)
A dance for all ages. We build community, pass on the traditions and have fun with some of our favorite easy dances.
All Camp Gathering (7:45-8:15)
This is for the entire community with mini-concerts, skits and singing together. We end with a story and the under 10 crowd following the Pied Piper to their cabins.
Special Camper-Led Events (Various Times)
This year we'll be encouraging campers to lead special classes and workshops throughout the week. Share a skill, a song, a favorite craft or story.
Children's Class Descriptions:[Back to Top]
Children attend classes by age group at 9:00am and 3:00pm, while those 13-adult attend the class of their choice. All children are expected to attend class during the age group times.
Children's classes by age group -- 9:00 and 3:00
Ages 2 and 3
Music and movin'! DeLaura Padovan will delight the little ones with songs, stories and games in the morning. Olivia Padovan-Merhar carries on the tradition in the afternoon.
Ages 4 and 5
Debe Stagmer in the morning will engage the group with stories, songs and projects. In the afternoon, Leslie Jeanne Milbourne will focus on Nature stories and related craft activity.
Ages 6 and 7
Leslie Jeanne Milbourne, in the morning, will focus on Native American stories and a related craft activity. In the afternoon: Dance and Do with DeLaura Padovan. There will be songs, games, crafts and dancing!
Ages 8 and 9
Suzannah in the morning -- "With songs and games, we will play in the rich world of many musical traditions and learn about being the bearers of tradition. Come ready to sing, play and tell stories." In the afternoon, Abby Ladin and Steve Hickman will teach simple rhythmic footwork and square dance patterns, plus hand clapping and partner play. "Cluck Old Hen" is our theme for the week, and we'll follow it wherever it takes us.
Ages 10 to 12
In the morning we will stretch this group with rapper taught by Kappy Laning with Naomi Morse on fiddle. Rapper sword is an English tradition dating back to the late 1800s. The dance is done by teams of 5-7 dancers connected to each other by flexible steel swords. The dancers work closely together to create a dynamic performance. Kappy will draw from a traditional dance and help the dancers make it a fun dance all their own. Suzannah Park in the afternoon -- "In this class we will make a lot of noise with our voices, hands and feet and fit it all together rhythmically. Songs, rounds, stomping, clapping and spoken word -- a musical adventure."
Children may also attend classes at 1:45pm and 4:15pm. These classes often have a minimum age and may require parental participation as well.
Staff
Class Descriptions & Schedule
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413-268-7426 |
Country Dance and Song Society 132 Main St/PO Box 338 Haydenville, MA 01039-0338 Office Hours M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm EST |
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