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F D A |
Folk Dance Australia FDA OBJECTIVES:
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After spending seven weeks in Bulgaria, Budapest, Turkey, Germany and Israel, it was lovely to come home to a Serbian workshop with Djordje Nikolic, with his passion for dance and inspiring teaching. It was a very happy feeling seeing everyone again.
A couple of days before, Helmut and I were at Sedenka, celebrating our return with Stefan, Chris and Ray (whom we had not met since Belco's seminar in Varna).
We have so many fond memories of our time there. After leaving Varna, Helmut and I travelled by train across Bulgaria, along the Balkan Range, a wonderful journey to Kjustindil, where, of course, we danced Kjustindilsko Horo, talked to many donkeys and horses in carts, and sheep and goats (all of whom spoke Bulgarian!). Sunflowers, corn, fruit trees, REAL tomatoes, mountains, gentle hills, trees, rich soil, cool clear springs, rivers, houses which complemented the earth, gentle faces, smiling with years of history ….
May the dance of life live on.
| Sandra Bassetti, President |
CONGRATULATIONS…
GRADUATE SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT
Stage 3 of the Recreational Folk Dance Teacher Training Course was run from Sunday 27 September through to Saturday 3 October 1998.
This ends the third course to be run by Folk Dance Australia's Graduate Sub-Committee after the initial courses conducted by André van de Plas in Sydney and Melbourne.
With the completion of the current course, the sub-committee will turn its attention to achieving accreditation of our course under the Interim National Competency Standards. These new standards were published in September 1998. Christine Battisson, the subcommittee facilitator, was a member of the Reference Group for the establishment of these new standards so that the sub-committee could have early access to their development.
The current course documentation is broadly in line with the new Competency Standards and above the level of a Certificate in Dance Teaching (Australian Qualifications Framework Level 3). We have been advised that only a minor extension of the course would be necessary to bring it to the level of a Diploma in Dance Teaching (Australian Qualifications Framework Level 5). The major additional requirement we see as necessary is to develop tests for the competence of the students in the areas of Professional Practice and Safe Dance. Up to now we have restricted our competence testing to the students ability to teach and to dance.
Once the competency testing of Professional Practice and Safe Dance have been developed and accredited, the sub-committee will be able to both offer an abridging course for earlier graduates wishing to upgrade and have a formally recognised Certificate/Diploma and offer these aspects of our course to the wider community of dance teachers.
The sub-committee has also been active in the translation of the documentation used for the Dutch course, upon which our course is based. We have finished translating the "Raamleerplan Volksdansleider" (a 28 page summary) and are advanced with the "Leidraad" (the full documentation standard, 100 pages). These documents contain all the bureaucratic elements of the Dutch course that we may need to help with the accreditation of our course.
| Christine Battisson, facilitator. |
MORE CONGRATULATIONS
to FDA member, Ann Young, who has received an honorary life membership of AUSDANCE in recognition for her contributions in its formative years. Ann held several Ausdance committee positions from 1979 to 1985. Her main role was as honorary Dance Week organiser for four years and convenor of the Ausdance subgroup Dance Association North Side. She is also a foundation member of AHD and teaches bush dancing for the Bush Music Club (see What's on Where, page 7).
CIFDA UPDATE
CIFDA (Canberra International Folk Dance Association) have elected Shannon D'Arcy (Co-ordinator), Gill Atkin (Secretary) and Diane Whitehead (Treasurer) onto their new Committee.
FOLK ON THE WEB FDA mail received:
Hi, It uses IE dynamic html. Please feel free to copy the format. --------------------------------------------------- Greetings have been received from Steve Babinczky of the QUJ Artistic and Managerial Service. They are a Hungarian dance theatre group based in Melbourne who would like to become a member of Folkdance Australia.
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WOW (Women of the West) promotes the ancient art of women's dance. Carnivale started with wonderful spring weather and so many activities celebrating Australia's cultural diversity through the arts. Our dancers' participation in many events were praised as colourful and lively and we've been invited to dance at many more festivals throughout Sydney. Recently, we tallied up the number of public performances WOW has given since the performance group started in 1995 and we surprised ourselves - over 20! Congratulations and thanks to all our 'pioneer' dancers who went willingly throughout Sydney and beyond (even 'at sea' on a boat), inspiring communities everywhere with an appreciation of this beautiful and powerful women's art form. We've had much praise, including being dubbed "The Goddesses of the Dance". Come along to our "The Bellydance Experience", FREE, 10 am, at the Randwick Literary Institute, 60 Clovelly Rd (near Centennial Park), Sydney – includes drumming and dancing participation and performance. For more information, contact Vera Myronenko on (02) 9665 9713. |
| COMING EVENTS |
Sandra Bassetti and Chris Wild have returned from Bulgaria brimming with excitement about their excursion and anxious to share some of the beautiful dances they learned. Join them for a morning's workshop of dancing followed by singing of Bulgarian songs and moving to gentle dances in the afternoon.
| When: | Sunday, 22nd November | |
| Morning Session | 10 am – 12.30 pm | |
| Afternoon Session | 1.30 pm – 3.30 pm | |
| Place: | "The Edge", cnr King & Bray Sts Newtown (Sydney) | |
| Cost: | $12 (half day) $20 (full day) (concession for FDA members) |
Contra Dance, October 98
- in aid of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (NSW section)
Come and dance the early American Contra style to the music of "Pastrami on Ryebuck" celebrating 20 years of playing traditional music. All dances taught and called by Julie Bishop. Experienced, learners and first-timers all welcome.
| When: | Saturday, 31st October 98 8pm - Midnight |
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| Where: | Granville Town Hall Carlton St, Granville | |
| Cost: | $15 ($12 concession) |
"Dracula meets the Sultan" - November 98
Spend a moonlit night (full moon!) in Transylvania with excursions to Turkey and beyond.
Enjoy performances and participate with the Transylvaniacs Hungarian Band and Kengugro Hungarian Dance group, well-remembered from the National folk Festival, with dances led by Gary Dawson and Attila Turcsanyi; listen to Sabahattin's Turkish Classical music and bellydance with WOW (Women of the West), a vibrant bellydance group.
Plus: Guest performances, prizes and surprises.
Dress up in your finest Gothic style; bring your dancing shoes, a cushion would help (if you can stop dancing) and a clove of garlic (just in case).
Bowral Residential Workshop, 1999!
The dates will be 23/24/25th July, 1999 and the venue will be Annesley Guest House again.
Brochures will be sent to all folkdance groups early next year, and also to the 77 people who stayed at Annesley this year. 'Book early' (with the brochure!) will be the way to go!
| INTERNATIONAL EVENTS |
China – Performing Arts Tour 99
Kim Dunphy will lead this fully escorted tour. She is an experienced dancer, dance writer and teacher.
The tour is being scheduled for April/May of 1999 and will cost approx $3,900 AUS
Kim will share her love of performing arts as you experience traditional Chinese mime and dance, and explore the rich history and culture of this diverse country.
Enquiries: Kim Dunphy on 03 9555 0654 or InterAsia Tours on 03 9523 6555.
Netherlands & Bulgaria Tour; Jun 99
Spend 2 weeks or so from June 14 on The Netherlands & Bulgaria Dance Seminar / Folklore tour, with Jaap Leegwater & Nina Kavardjikova as your native tour leaders.
Experience the folk dance scene, the people and the attractions of the Netherlands and Bulgaria in one trip! Get involved with a Canal boat trip, flower exhibition, master classes, ethnic picnic, village visits and dancing and much more…
For more information, write to Jaap Leegwater & Nina Kavardjikova at Folklora Balkana, 2214 Gateway Oaks Drive, #370, Sacremento CA 95833-3207, USA.
Coming from a background as a professional dancer and choreographer for many years, I can only say that, having completed the Teacher Training Course with Folk Dance Australia, it has enhanced all aspects of my dance experience.
The methodology has been proven to short-circuit many complications that can arise during teaching sessions. I teach Creative Dance to children of all ages, Dance Movement to Adults, Country Line Dance to children and adults and now International Folk Dance.
I use the methodology in all of my classes and I can only surmise that the reason for the success of my dance classes over these last 12 months is relative to the positive influences of the Teacher Training Course. All an added bonus for someone who took this course just so I could teach folk dance.
| ? | Alison McLean (NSW) |
I would like to put an opposing (uncomplimentary) view. I was on this Recreational Folk Dancing Teacher Training Course. I thought it was a very poor effort and I will not be continuing.
Firstly, some background on myself. I have been teaching folk dancing since the 1960's. I am a very successful and sought after teacher, and currently am involved with live adult dance groups and a range of children's groups. I have more requests to teach folk dancing than I can possibly handle. I carry in my head the steps of between 1500 and 2000 dances, and also the music for maybe 1000 of them. I am a professional dance musician with extensive experience in the full range of folk rhythms. I am involved with five folk dance events at this year's National Folk Festival in Canberra.
At the end of the course I had serious reservations, but thought I would see if the details covered were of benefit in the real world. Since then I have done over eighty hours of folk dance teaching and attended a range of workshops in several cities. These have simply confirmed my earlier feeling that the course was narrowly conceived and poorly delivered.
My main criticism of the course is its very narrow focus. The methodology it espouses (and it only allows one methodology) is, I suppose, OK for a small class of musically aware, middle aged,. middle class females doing international dancing but it is useless in the wider dance context. The course simply did not acknowledge other teaching events, or other teaching styles.
For example, there was no discussion of how people learn. None at all. This should be basic to any teaching course. In a Dip. Ed. course they spend several months on this subject. We did not spend even a few minutes. As the only male on the course I was particularly disappointed to see that all the assumptions about how people learn were based on "female" ie intuitive learning patterns.
There was not even any discussion of "what is folk dancing?", or of the current issues of "when is a choreography a dance?", "how far can you satisfactorily remove a dance from its cultural provenance?" and who owns the steps and music of folk dances.
There was too much emphasis on learning dances, and not nearly enough on learning to teach. I was particularly disappointed to see that though there were people there with lots of dancing/ teaching experience, no opportunity was provided to seek to learn from each other. It was as if the course directors felt that they had to be seen as the source of all knowledge.
In this and the arrangement of the course, the approach of the course directors was almost fascist: "We have decided what you need to know, and how you will learn and apply it and no other matters will be allowed." There was no attempt to identify the sort of problems that people would like to have addressed. There was no attention to teaching very large or very small groups, what to do with people who are drunk or defiant, how to use live music effectively (the course assumed tapes, and most of my classes have live music) or how to overcome the problems of teaching from a fixed position at a microphone. There was no mention of team teaching, and no justification for dogmatic assertions of the "Thou shalt not count" variety. A major omission was the absence of any discussion of why people come to dance classes anyway (learning dances is often not the prime objective) and how we should respond to their many and diverse needs.
I was particularly concerned that where a written reference had been provided for a dance, the way it was taught was quite different to the reference. This is just slipshod.
In summary, too much of the course was either irrelevant, inadequate, or simply inaccurate. The course has no hope of being accredited until it develops a much broader theoretical framework and a good deal more rigour in its approach.
| ? | Daryl Powell (ACT) |
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Comment on the Apprentice stage and Stage 3 of Folk Dance Australia's Recreational Folk Dance Teacher Training Course:
During the apprentice stage, the students had to complete 20 hours of style workshops, 20 hours of teaching (you have to include set, partner, line and circle dancing from a range of countries), two Romanotation analyses. and an essay on some aspect of folk dance and/or culture. This made for an interesting and varied dancing year. I attended workshops from Mexican to Egyptian to South Pacific Island dancing. A two day get-together to revise dances and check up on teaching progress was held half-way through, which reinforced the learning from stage 1. Stage three is another seven days of face to face contact. We had both a teaching and a dancing exam, and further instruction in methodology. romanotation, teaching children and the elderly, running a dance class, and professional practice. I have definitely benefited from this course. Although I had been teaching Israeli dancing since I was eleven, (I am now eighteen), this course has helped me learn to look at teaching from another angle - a musical angle. In attempting to perfect this approach to teaching, I have gained skills which will enrich the learning experience of my students. In addition, some important aspects of being a folk dance teacher that can easily be forgotten (such as correct and safe warm ups, professional handling of accounts. insurance etc) were also covered. The documentation of the course was thorough and clearly presented. All in all, I felt it provided a good springboard into teaching folk dance, with lots of useful tools and grounding in the basics we will all need. Many people have contributed to the shape of the course, however Christine and Jim Battisson should be recognised, as they have put in a lot of hard work into the documentation and running of a successful course. Thank you!
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Interested in Turkish? "Anadolu", Institute of Folklore, based in Japan and Switzerland, specialises in Turkish Tours, which visit several Turkish villages and conduct dance seminars accompanied with live music. For dates, cost etc contact Hironobu Senzaki, 3-9-12 Gakuen-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-0043, JAPAN phone/fax 42-347-0898 or Bahri Ertek, Hinterdorf 31, CH-9043 Trogen, SWITZERLAND, phone/fax 71-344-1187. |
| WHAT'S ON WHERE International Folk Dancing |
(Armidale)
Thursday 7 - 9 pm. Armidale Folk Dance Group Legacy Hall, Faulkner St. Armidale. $4. Contact Bronwyn (067) 72 7065 (H) (067) 68 4756 (W)
(Blue Mountains)
Monday 7 - 8.15 pm. Beginners at Uniting Church Hall, Katoomba.
Tuesday 6 - 7.30 pm. The lounge room group. Cosy, relaxed dancing in Dianna's lounge, Leura
Thursday 7.00 - 8 30 pm and/or 8.45 - 10.00 pm. The Blue Labyrinth International Folk Dancers, Baptist Church Hall, King St, Glenbrook. Contact Jo (047) 39 6498 or Pat (047) 39 1005.
Saturday (2nd) 12 - 2 pm. The 'Kill Yourself Once a Fortnight Group' (The Horas).
Fast, difficult & performance dances.
Uniting Church Hall, Katoomba.
For above contact Bronwyn (047) 57 2441.
(Bowral)
Thursday 9.30 - 11.30 am. Southern Highlands Recreational International Folk Dance Group. Presbyterian Hall, Bendooley St. Bowral.
Beginners start at 9 am.
Contact Margaret Connor (048) 61 2294.
(Cooma)
Thursday 6 - 7.30 pm, Uniting Church Hall, Soho St. Beginners & upwards.
Contact Fran (064) 524 225 (w) (064) 533 282 (h)
(Taree)
Wednesday 5.30 - 7.30 pm. International Folk Dance Group, Church of Christ Hall,
Victoria St. Taree.
Contact Sandra Bassetti (065) 52 5142.
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Please send articles for the December issue to:- The Editor, "Footnotes", 18 Bayley Rd, PENRITH 2750, by 15 November, 1998 vvvvvvvvvvvv |
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NORTHERN TERRITORY (Darwin)
Tuesday 7 - 9 pm. International Dance (mainly European and Israeli) - Beginners to advanced; $4. QUEENSLAND (Brisbane)
Friday (2nd & 4th of month) 8.00 pm. Brisinta International folk dancing, Uniting Church Hall, (Sunshine Coast)
Monday 9.30 - 11.30 am, Lutheran Hall, Sydney St, Nambour. VICTORIA (Melbourne) Monday 1.45 pm. International Dancing, University of the Third Age, Rob Roy Rd, Chadstone. Contact Margaret (03) 530 4372 or Audrey (03) 9898 3567. Tuesday 7.30 - 10 pm. Greek traditional, popular, national & folkloric dancing at Margaritas Centre of Greek Dance & Folklore, Richmond Community Primary School, Cnr Davidson & Kent Sts, Richmond. Classes for beg/inter/advan or private lessons. Also available for teaching intellectually, sensory & physically disabled (03) 9583 1173 (all hours) or Mobile 015 821 203.
8.00 pm, every 1st and 3rd Tuesday, International Dance Workshop, St. Michael's Church Hall, Cnr MacPherson & McIlwraith Sts. N. Carlton. Beginners start at 7.30; ongoing class 8.30 pm. Wednesday 6 - 10 pm. Pine St Hall, Pine St. Cheltenham. Contact Margarita (03) 9583 1173.
Thursday 7.45 - 9 pm during school term. Adult classes. Thomas St, Hampton.
Friday 10 am. International Dance, Council of Adult Education, City Campus, 256 Flinders St. Contact Liliana (03) 9652 0668 or Audrey (03) 9898 3567. |
St Margaret's Church Hall, Putt St. Eltham. $4 or $20 for 8 week term. Contact Ina Bertrand (03) 9439 9991. Sunday 2 - 4.30 pm. Margaritas Centre of Greek Dance. (See above, Tuesday). WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Perth) Monday Perth International Folk Dance Group, 7.30 teaching 8.30 dancing. Wembley Scout Hall, Jersey St. Contact John Whaite (09) 444 4736.
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FORMATION: Line dance with leader at right end; Left arm hooked in own belt, right arm loosely through left arm of person in front ("teapot hold").
INTRODUCTION: None
| COUNTS | RHYTHM | PART ONE |
| I -2 | S,S | 2 steps fwd (right and left) |
| 3 | S | Step to side on right foot, |
| 4 | S | Step backwards on left foot. |
| PART TWO | ||
| 1 ..3 | S,S,S | 3 steps fwd (right, left, right) |
| 4 | Q | Step back on left foot, |
| & | Q | Step back on right foot beside left foot, |
| 5..6 | S,S | 2 steps fwd (left, right) |
| 7 | Q | Step back on left foot, |
| & | Q | Step back on right foot beside right foot. |
| 8 | S | Step fwd on left foot. |
| PART THREE | ||
| I..2 | S.S | 2 steps fwd (right, left) |
| 3 & 4 | Q,Q,S | 3 little running steps fwd (right, left, right) |
| 5& | S | With a little hop on right foot, 'reel' left foot back behind right foot, |
| 6& | S | With a little hop on left foot, 'reel' right foot back behind left foot |
| 7& | Q,Q | 2 little steps in place (left, right) |
| 8 | S | Step fwd on left foot. |
This Serbian dance was presented by Djordje Nikolic at the FDA Workshop, on the 20 September, 1998.
| TRANSLATION: | Dance of the Lily". |
| FORMATION: | Line dance with leader at right end; facing centre, Line of Dance (LOD) = CCW. Style: the body is upright, steps are light (on balls of the feet and contained).
NOTE: The phrase of the dance is longer than the musical phrase. |
| INTRODUCTION: | 16 counts |
| COUNTS | |
| 1 & 2& | 4 steps swd (ie, Step to side on right foot, step left foot behind, twice) |
| 3& 4& | 2 "hopsas" (Step to right side on right foot while arc left foot bwds, |
| Step behind on left foot while arc right foot bwds) | |
| 5 | Step behind on right foot, extending left leg forward |
| & | Hop on right foot |
| 6& | 2 "scissors" |
| 7 | Step left foot diagonally fwd left |
| & | Hop on left foot, extending right leg forward |
| 8 | Step on right foot beside left foot, |
| & | Hop on right foot, lifting left leg at back, |
| 9 | Step left foot to left |
| & | Step right foot behind left |
| 10 | Step on left foot to left |
| & | Bring right foot to left foot with a bounce on balls of both feet. |
| 2 Oct 98 | 4 days, Victor Harbor Folk Festival, SA, $70, contact Folk Festival Office: (08) 8340 1069, accommodation: 1800 241 033 (toll-free) or website: http://www.folk-sa.auslink.net.au |
| 2 Oct 98 | 4 days, Wagga Wagga Folk Festival |
| 2 Oct 98 | 3 days, Northern Rivers Folk Festival, Brunswick St Playing Fields, Lismore, $50 pre-booked, contact phone (02) 6621 7537; http://www.nrg.com.au/festival |
| 2 Oct 98 | 3 days, Traditional Australian Folk Festival, Caboolture, Qld; contact (07) 5495 4581 |
| 8 Oct 98 | 4 days, Machol Pacifica 1998, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, NZ with Shmulik Gov-Ari; contact Kathleen Osbourne, International Dancing Group, Havelock North, NZ |
| 30 Oct 98 | 4 days, Maldon Folk festival, VIC, contact Bill Brown (03) 54475 2166. |
| 30 Oct 98 | 3 days, Imbil Acoustic Weekend, Borumba Deer Park, QLD Camping contact: (07) 5484 5196 |
| 30 Oct 98 | 4 days, The 5th Celtic Festival of the Lakes, Wyong Rugby League Club, Kanwal, Central Coast (raising funds for the Salvation Army Wyong Youth Project); dance and music workshops, concerts, games, food, craft etc of Celtic influence; contact Liz McEvilly on (02) 4388 6653. (Festival Ball on Friday 30th). |
| 30 Oct 98 | 3 days, 2nd Annual Beltaine "Folk & Myth Festival", Wilberforce, near Windsor, NSW, contact Lydia 02 4572 6128 or Danielle 02 4577 6017. |
| 31 Oct 98 | Pastrami on Ryebucks presents a Contra Dance evening, at the Granville Town Hall, 8 pm – 12. $15 entry ($12 conc) includes supper. Contact Leila 0411 828 208 or John 02 9623 7551. |
| 31 Oct 98 | Dances in Living Tradition workshop, John Garden, Wongawilli Community Hall, 02 4257 1788 |
| 7 Nov 98 | "Dracula meets the Sultan", full moon participation (dancing) and performance event, 5 pm til late (or even next day) at Cattai (NSW), cost $12 ($10), contact Vera Myronenko (02) 9665 9713 |
| 30 Dec 98 | 6 days, Gulgong Folk Festival, contact Virginia Nichols 02 6372 3865 or Di O'Mara 02 6374 1350. |
| 26 Feb 99 | 3 days, Cobargo Folk Festival, enquiries http://www.sci.net.au/jimfaa or Elizabeth Kearney (02) 6493 6738. |
| 17 Mar 99 | 5 days, 14th Illawarra Folk Festival, enquiries russell.hannah@tafensw.edu.au or Yvonne (02) 4233 1073 |
| 1 Apr 99 | 5 days, National Folk Festival, Canberra. |
| 9 Apr 99 | 3 days, Fairbridge Festival, WA Theme Indian Ocean Voyage, contact (08) 9332 3652 |
| Apr 99 | China – Performing Arts tour, contact Kim Dunphy: on 03 9555 0654 or InterAsia Tours on 03 9523 6555 |
| 14 Jun 99 | 2 weeks, The Netherlands & Bulgaria Dance Seminar / Folklore tour, with Jaap Leegwater & Nina Kavardjikova, 2214 Gateway Oaks Drive, #370, Sacremento CA 95833-3207, USA. |
| 23 Jul 99 | 2 and a half days, Bowral Weekend Workshop with André van de Plas. Contact Kaye: 02 9528 4813, or watch for the brochure at your local folk dance group. |
| 24 Sep 99 | 9 days, 10th Biennial International Eisteddfod, Roodepoort, South Africa, contact International Eisteddfod '99, PO Box 738, Roodepoort 1725, South Africa; or website: www.4africa.com/iesa |
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