Stacy Rose, Dance Instructor
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Happy Everything!

12/17/2014

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Last night was the last Tuesday night class for 2014. I wanted to do something special, and with the help of Sharon and Gail, recorded some holiday music that we could dance to.
We danced to a recorded mashup of Tzadik Katamar and I Have a Little Dreidel. It was fun to alternate between major key and minor key versions of Dreidel. 
Then we danced to a vocal mashup of Ma Na'avu and Sivivon Sov Sov Sov. It was slow and beautiful.      
To liven things up, as couples we experimented with our Schottische basic step and variations set to the music of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 
Lastly, we did a contra dance to a mashup of Frosty the Snowman and Jingle Bells (audio track above). Those two traditional songs have the AABB format for a contra dance! I hope the dancers enjoyed dancing to all of these holiday tunes as much as we enjoyed recording them. Sharon opined that the amateur quality of our recordings confirmed their authenticity as folk music.  
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Dancers signed the Ciuleandra-themed card pictures above and included a wonderful gift. I am touched and immensely grateful by the thoughtfulness and generosity of the dancers in my class. I love dancing, teaching, and the people who dance with me.  
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Dancing in the pub

11/14/2014

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I love dancing at Liberty Pub. There's something about the combination of good food & drink, the fine company of friendly dancers, and dancing to lively music that fills my heart with so much joy.
 
This week, dancers in my class teamed up with two dancers from the Florence international folk dance group and the local band Cultural Ecology to present a demonstration of dances from around the world. We presented the following dances:
Hora Mare Bucovineana - Romania
Tzadik Katamar - Israel
Dashing White Sergeants - Scotland
Godecki Cacek - Bulgaria
Miserlou - Greek American
Chilili - Bolivia

Then we invited people from the audience to join us. I didn't know the dance floor at Liberty Pub could accommodate up to 20 dancers! We had LOTS of audience members come up and learn these beginning level dances:
Savila Se Bela Losa - Serbia
Zemer Atik - Israel
Sasha - Russia
Hora pe Gheata
La Bastringue - French Canadian
Waves - Hong Kong

The audience members were great sports! They were willing to step out of their comfort zone and try a new kind of dancing. The dancers in my class were fabulous - they introduced the demonstration dances, they welcomed the audience members and really took great care of them. 

The evening was a fund raiser for South Coast Folk Week, a week-long celebration of traditional music, song and dance set for October 4-10, 2015 in Coos Bay. I don't think I can move my class to the pub on a regular basis, but I can't wait until the next time we dance in the pub! 
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And then there were four...

9/1/2014

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KUDOS to Cultural Ecology, local folk dance band who performed for a recent three-week dance series with Orco Arts Guild kids! They sure keep the dancers moving -- and now we have Marty on percussion! Thanks Gail, Tom, Sharon and Marty! 
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A tremendous trio

4/21/2014

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Sharon, Tom and Gail played music tonight for a family event at a local elementary school. I taught the dances - they provided the music. The event was one in a week-long series of activities celebrating Screen-Free Week. Community dancing -- what a marvelous alternative to sitting around watching television! 

I've been advised by my dance teaching mentors - more than one of 'em - that it is better to use canned music than to use less-than-stellar live music. I've been advised that part of the children's experience of dancing to ethnic music should be hearing the music played on traditional instruments from the country of the dance - like on the recordings. 

Our tremendous trio of musicians have played together less than one year. They schlep their instruments and equipment, tonight in the rain. Musically, I hear improvement from how they sounded a year ago. They have such heart for making an enjoyable experience for the kids. You can see it in their smiles. They've helped with classroom management. At a break, they'll introduce their instruments to the kids, and demonstrate what they each sound like alone. 

These musicians have dedication to bringing live music into the school. As we wind down the Dance Around the World program, I'm thoroughly convinced that music played with dedication, heart and practice is superior to recorded music.    

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