Community Dances (single event)
Celebrate special occasions and events including dinner dances, fundraisers and potlucks. Experienced callers Hannah Namain or Bill Russell together with live music bring school communities together for a fun evening of simple to learn traditional circle, square and contra dancing including traditional danses Canadiennes.
Family Dance with Hannah Naiman caller (as trio or quartet)
Harvest Hoe Down with Bill Russell caller with Anne Lederman (as trio or quartet)
La Bastringue with Bill Russell caller with Anne Lederman (as trio or quartet)
Cinderella in Muddy York with Puppetmongers (Ann Powell & David Powell)
Grades: Grade K to 8 | audience maximum 250 | primaries only, max 200 | Available January 2018
Social Studies: Heritage & Identity, People & Environments / Citizenship Education
History and fun are integrated in this inventive retelling of the classic fairy tale that engages students’ imaginations. Puppetmongers set the story in 1830’s Upper Canada, just as “Muddy” York is to be renamed Toronto, where the very Canadian Cinderella is expected to cater to every whim of her newly-arrived stepmother and sisters. The play is ingeniously staged with a traditional marionette theatre that transforms, as the story unfolds, to create scenes evoking the wilderness, pioneer life and early Canadian society.
Contra and Square Dance with Hannah Naiman (as a duo or trio)
Grade 5 to 8 | 2-3 classes/session, maximum 3 sessions/day
Social Studies: Heritage & Identity, People & Environments / History & Geography / Health & Physical Education: Active Living, Movement Competence, Healthy Living
Contra and Square dancing go together like peas and carrots! Contra dancing is like square dancing, but in longer rectangular shapes. Students and teachers learn basic dances to live music in this fun and cooperative dance experience. These workshops will cover diverse styles of dancing, ranging from Tennessee and Kentucky, to New England. Available as a single visit as well as a 5-day residency where students will learn a few new dances daily, and at the end of the 5 days they’ll put them all together and have a dance party!
Jug Band And Folk Songs with Ken Whiteley (as a duo)
Grades K to 8 | Maximum 350
Social Studies: Heritage & Identity, People & Environments / History & Geography
Jug band music is the coming together of Appalachian folk with blues, zydeco and early jazz and of course is best known for its novel, do-it-yourself instrumentation: jugs, brooms, combs, buckets, spoons etc. The inherent playfulness of these instruments and the rhythmically bouncy music brought people from miles around in the day, and continues to lend itself to informal, spontaneous, music making. In this robust and delightful, music-filled performance students participate by playing jugs, combs, washtub bass and spoons joining Ken’s jug band!
Singing Dances with Hannah Naiman
Grades 1 to 4 | 1 class/session, maximum 3 sessions/day
Social Studies: Heritage & Identity, People & Environments / History & Geography / Health & Physical Education: Active Living, Movement Competence, Healthy Living
Hannah fosters group cooperation and physical coordination with students and their teachers through traditional rhythms, songs and dances.
The Way We Were with Mariella Bertelli
Grades 2 to 4 | 150 performance or 2 classes/session | maximum 3 sessions/day
Social Studies: Heritage & Identity, People & Environments
Original stories (created by Mariella) about Toronto, with true facts about early days in Toronto and Ontario. Stories such as The Day The Island Came To Be, about the formation of Toronto Island; Annabelle’s Doll, a time travel story.
World Fiddle Day Toronto featuring Anne Lederman
Grades 4 to 12, 4-day series | maximum 1 class/session | maximum 3 sessions/day
Social Studies: Heritage & Identity, People & Environments / History & Geography
In this 4-day workshop series, Anne Lederman along with emerging fiddlers and string players, share their passion for diverse Canadian and World fiddle traditions for students in Toronto’s school music string programs.