English Country Spring Dance Weekend

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Joanna Reiner Wilkinson has taught English dance for over two decades. In addition to being one of the leaders of the Philadelphia-based Germantown Country Dancers, her calling has taken her from Amherst to Ann Arbor, from NEFFA to Hey Days, from St. Croix to Vancouver, and other points abroad, including many sessions for the Country Dance & Song Society (CDSS) and CDS Boston Centre at Pinewoods Camp. While known for her clear calling and instruction, Joanna loves teaching workshops for ECD callers, and workshops that explore ECD technique, new dances, and how people learn and remember dance choreography.

Brad Foster has been dancing and teaching English country, contras and squares plus morris and sword for over 50 years. He loves to share the the joy of dance and has taught throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, including at Pinewoods, Mendocino/Hey Days, John C. Campbell Folk School, Christmas Country Dance School, Augusta Heritage, and many more. He is a founder of the Bay Area Country Dance Society as well as co-founder of their Mendocino English and American Dance Weeks; he is also Director Emeritus of both the Country Dance and Song Society and BACDS. Brad was honored with CDSS’s Lifetime Contribution Award in 2015. Brad first visited the Folk School on a trip across the country in 1977, and was first on staff in the early 1980s. His last time was at Spring Dance Weekend in 2017.

ABOUT THE BANDS:

Fire Crest with David Wiesler, Paul Oorts, and Ben Schreiber.

Pianist Dave Wiesler (Newark, DE) discovered playing for folk dancing in the early 1990s, and felt that the job description had been written specifically for him. In the three decades since, he has become highly regarded for his strong rhythm, his technical skills, and his deep knowledge of many genres—ranging from contra dance, English and Scottish country dance to Viennese waltz, couple dance, jazz, and sacred music. Dave has played at festivals and dance and music camps across the country, as well as in Canada, Scotland, England, and France. He appears on over two dozen recordings, many of which feature his compositions. Dave’s teaching experience includes private piano lessons, week-long courses with CDSS and the Boston Harbor Scottish fiddle school, and numerous classes and workshops given at dance events.

Belgian-born Paul Oorts performs on harp guitar, 10-string cittern, mandolin, and musette accordion most often with his wife, hammered dulcimer player Karen Ashbrook. He is very active in the world of English, Contra, and Vintage dances in the DC-Baltimore area. With the trio Goldcrest he has made two recordings and performed at dance events all over the US. Paul plays first mandolin and directs the Rigatoni Trio (and Quartet) that specializes in old-time Italian American music. He performs locally with the Americana band “Song Riot.” As a teacher or staff musician, he has been on faculty at many week-long camps like the Augusta Heritage Center (WV) the Swannanoa Gathering (NC), Common Ground on the Hill (MD), Kentucky Music Week, Pinewoods (MA), Timber Ridge (WV), Hill County Acoustic Music Camp (TX), Hey Days (CA) and the Volksmuziekstage in Gooik (Belgium). Before his recent retirement Dr. Oorts taught French and Italian at Loyola University in Baltimore.

Ben Schreiber, a fiddler and tune writer rooted in the contra dance scene, brings a diverse musical palette influenced by his Midwest upbringing and years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Having started with the Suzuki method at an early age, Ben’s musical journey has been enriched through exploration of folk music. While best known for his contributions to contra dance bands like Uncle Farmer, the Dam Beavers, Offbeats, and Potent Brew, he also performs with the newly-established chamber-folk trio, Long Story Short. Ben’s musical experience also extends into English country dancing, where he is a regular presence at local ECD dances in addition to playing for workshops at various camps and weekends. Beyond music, he enjoys cooking, running, coding, and digital art/design.

Betsy Branch is a contra and English country dance fiddler from Portland, Oregon. She teaches fiddle privately out of her home. Betsy also plays in several dance bands, including Campaign for Reel Time and Fine Companions. Her fiddling can be heard on a number of recordings - most recently Midnight in Montague - a collection of fiddle duets with David Kaynor. Betsy is committed to making the art of dance fiddling accessible to anyone who wants to try.

Owen Morrison has been playing guitar for dancing for more than 25 years, anchoring some of the genre's most popular bands during that time. He got his start playing with his father and brother in the Morrison Brothers Band, and soon became a mainstay on the circuit with bands such as Elixir, Airdance, The Figments, Night Watch, House Red, Eloise & Co., Supertrad and now the Faux Paws. Owen's playing combines powerful rhythm with evocative chord progressions and fluid flat-picking, making him a favorite among dancers and fiddlers alike.

As a flutist, composer, and educator, Carrie Rose’s diverse musical pursuits include wailing out avant-garde music, unfurling luscious classics with orchestras, grooving for folk dances, and playing while hanging from tree branches. Breathing In Nature concerts on YouTube feature Rose playing in streams, meadows, flower gardens and up in a tree. She also performs radical operas with the IN Series company, and was a featured soloist on the Telemann Suite in A minor with the Paragon Philharmonia. Rose produces the Origins Concert Series (a hub for adventurous music-seekers) in Silver Spring, Maryland, and in DC’s City Paper, she was named a “favorite local composer”. Throughout the country, Rose plays for English Country and Contra Dances, and even inspired feet to move on St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Rose is an enthusiastic private flute teacher in Takoma Park, Maryland and co-directs Flute-a-rama Summer Camps. http://www.rosearts.org