RSCDS - Twin Cities Branch Presents:
A Scottish Country Dance Weekend Workshop
13-15 November 2009
Minneapolis, MN
Instructor: Terry Harvey
Live Music by Ken Steffenson (fiddle) and Lynn Dixon (piano)
Workshop
Description and Schedule
The RSCDS Twin Cities Branch is pleased to offer a weekend workshop featuring
instructor Terry Harvey
(DE) with live music by Ken Steffenson (fiddle), Xander Nielsen (fiddle),
and Lynn Dixon (piano). Dancers
at the intermediate level and above are enthusiastically invited, i.e. familiarity
with the most basic steps and formations will be assumed.
The weekend will kick off with an informal social dance on Friday night
featuring live music by Ken, Xander, and Lynn. Workshop classes will
be held on Saturday morning and early afternoon and Sunday morning, with live
music by Ken and Lynn on Saturday. Relax Saturday evening at a potluck party
(bring musical instruments and voices).
More details to come soon.
Workshop Schedule
(subject to slight change) |
| Friday, 13 November 2009 |
| 7:00 p.m. - about 10:30 p.m. |
Social Dance (casual) |
| Saturday, 14 November 2009 |
| 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. |
Check-in/Registration |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10-15 a.m. |
Technique/Critique Class |
| 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
General Class |
| 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. |
Lunch (soup and sandwich buffet) |
| 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
General Class |
| 6:30 p.m. - ? |
Potluck dinner and Party |
| Sunday, 15 November 2009 |
| 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. |
Coffee & Bagel Breakfast |
| 10 a.m. - 12 noon. |
General Class |
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Instructor and Musician Bios
Terry Harvey started dancing in the Delaware Valley in 1983 while a student at the University of Delaware. He took his Preliminary exam and began teaching in 1987, married Line Farr (whom he met in the exam class) in 1988, and received his "full certificate" in 1993. In 1989 he and Line started a Scottish class at Swarthmore College, which he still teaches weekly. He has also taught various other basic, intermediate, and advanced classes around in the Delaware Valley. Line and Terry live with an energetic Bull Terrier named Puffin and a parrot, Jasper. Terry teaches Computer Science at the University of
Delaware (the same place he started dancing in 1983).
Terry describes his dancing and teaching philosophy as follows:
My dancing philosophy is that the main point of dancing is enjoyment (typically, fun). Of course, enjoyment varies by perspective: one person's enjoyment of executing a leap in bar four of six hands round might be seen as impeding the enjoyment of five who wish to enjoy sublime synchrony. Therefore dancers must agree on general guidelines for the form of the dance to enable enjoyment for all. I endeavor to dance and teach within the guidelines provided by the RSCDS.
My philosophy of teaching dance is that teaching technique (including teamwork, phrasing, handing, carriage, sociability, and footwork) is the way to ensure dancers' maximum enjoyment of the dance. Different dancers have different capabilities, but all of us can reach to become better dancers. Improvement leads inevitably to increased enjoyment on the dance floor.
Furthermore, it is my goal to present all these aspects of technique in ways that are fun, exciting, and challenging for as many people and in as many ways as possible.
Ken Steffenson has played for RSCDS balls and dance parties for over a quarter century with Thistledown, a Twin Cities-based ensemble. He is a multi-instrumentalist who finally settled down to fiddle in mid-life, but also plays mandolins, guitar, banjo, harmonica, and occasionally vocalizes. Ken is half of Amarylis, a celtic-folk duo which has released several recordings. He plays regularly at Tapestry Folkdance Center with 4 currently- active bands, and finds outlets to play out at festivals, coffee houses, house concerts, weddings, and farmer’s markets. He has been even known to inject Scottish tunes into old-time fiddle jams with varying degrees of success.
Lynn Dixon’s musical endeavors reflect varied and intrepid interests. She has accompanied ballet classes and theatre troupes, taught music classes in public schools, recorded Carter family-style vocal duets with husband Bob, written and arranged choral music, tickled the ivories in various Contra and English Country dance bands, and also played guitar, fiddle, and bass with The Aging Boomer in coffee house concerts. This workshop represents her first real baptism into Scottish dance music.
Ken and Lynn's musical friendship has grown over 9 years to the point that they are now in about 3 or 4 bands together . . .and still friends.
Xander Nielsen (joining Ken and Lynn
for the Friday night social dance) met Ken at Danebod folkarts camp when he
was 7 and has been absorbing fiddle tunes like a sponge ever since. Now 13,
Xander has performed with the American Swedish Institute, and attends Tapestry’s
Young Fiddlers Association. He has traveled over two summers to Ireland and
Sweden as part of a young fiddlers exchange program, which spawned a performing
group called The International Fiddle Conspiracy (IFC). IFC performed recently
at the Twin Cities Irish Festival. Xander has accompanied RSCDS dancers at the
Renaissance Festival. This will be his first indoor experience with Scottish
dance.
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Cost, Location and Other Logistics
| Fees: | | Up to Nov 5th | After Nov 5th |
Full Workshop Weekend |
$65 |
$70 |
| Note: Full workshop weekend includes all instruction,
the Friday night welcome dance, the party on Saturday night, lunch on Saturday,
and breakfast on Sunday. |
| Friday Evening Welcome Dance only | $10 | $10 |
| Partial workshop registration options | Contact the Workshop Chair |
| Scholarships may be available. For information,
contact the Workshop Chair |
| Location: |
The Friday Night Social Dance will be held at The Celtic Junction, located at 836 Prior Avenue in St. Paul.
All workshop classes will take place at Tapestry Folkdance Center, located at
3748
Minnehaha Avenue South in Minneapolis.
The Saturday night potluck at party will be at the home of Jamie Berg in
south Minneapolis (directions available at the workshop or from Jamie, email:
jamiebergm [at] yahoo.com). |
| Accommodations: |
Hospitality in the homes of local dancers or hotel accommodations are available for workshop participants coming from out of
town. Contact the Hospitality Coordinator, Jamie Berg (email: jamiebergm [at] yahoo.com) for information. |
A workshop registration form is available online.
Get your registration to us by NOVEMBER 5th to pay the lowest rate.
If you would like to order an embroidered Branch shirt
to pick up at the workshop, you must get your shirt
order form and payment in by OCTOBER 19th. |
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Friday Night Social Dance Program
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Contact Information
For general information contact:
Dan Friedman~Shedlov, 612-819-9440, email: friedmanshedlov [at] gmail.com
For information on hospitality options, contact Jamie Berg, 651-367-4884, email: jamiebergm [at]yahoo.com
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Last updated 21 September 2009 | webmaster [at] rscds-twincities.org