Cascadia 2017 Schedule
Everyone is welcome; no charge for Cascadia registrants; $10 for others.
Get juices flowing and brains awake with interesting dances—some new, some old—to great music. Memory and skill challenges will dot the landscape, and opportunities to move a dance from "it works" to "it sings."
We'll start with how to be a sought-after partner and grow from there. How flexibly and generously do you relate to the other couple(s) in your minor set? To the minor sets on either side? What about the line behind you? And there are a dozen more, if you can expand your awareness bubble that far. The challenge is great and I'll set the bar high, but this is your own work—stretch only as much as you want, when you want.
Some people like their dances smooth and luscious. Some like them fast and vigorous, with tricky wrinkles. There is joy and satisfaction to be found in each of these, but you have to look for it in different places. We'll explore those places, using dances of each type and some dances that are both.
This is the ice cream and desert to your all-day feast of learning from Grand Master, Bruce Hamilton. Instead of focusing on the dance, we will focus squarely on the music. Each dance tune feels different, but why? Tempo, meter, key ... these all play a role. But the mode of the music creates mood. During this session we'll look at what comprises the common musical modes and how they feel when we dance to them. No test when we're done; just assorted flavors of delicious ice cream to top off our day.
4:30-8:00 — Dinner BreakWe encourage you to dress up for the Saturday night dance, but it's not a ball. Dress to have a fun evening!
Our attention to figures is typically strongest as we start them. Then we cruise through, enjoying the path, the interactions and the music. As the phrase comes to an end, our attention turns, properly, to the next figure. But there are treasures to be mined in the way we end the current figure—what we do with our bodies, with our momentum, with our hands. These things often benefit other dancers rather than ourselves, so we don't notice them, but they make a big difference to the dance.
The last dance of a fabulous weekend. This is your chance to say goodbye to old and new friends and enjoy the last dances of the weekend with all your partners. Share this time with both Erik and Bruce!