Sometimes with folk dance, it can be difficult to think through how to teach this to your students. Luckily, there are the New England Dancing Masters. Andy Davis, Mary Cay Brass, and Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are all expert callers and dance teachers and have created a repertoire of dances for use in the school and community.
The books and recordings they publish are all fantastic resources for finding dances for your students. Recently, they have also started a YouTube channel where you can see how to teach some of their more popular dances. The dance below, "Sasha," is one of my students' favorites!
Skills you can teach/reinforce with "Sasha":
- AB Form
- Duple meter
- Moving safely in the classroom
- Finding a partner without teacher assistance
- Eighth note - eighth note - quarter note (Ti - ti Ta, Du - de Du)
- Major/Minor
- Russian music & culture
Happy dancing!
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