|
|
Educational and Residency Programs
FiddleKicks provides educational and residency programs
tailored to every age and proficiency level. Narration, included
in most performances, gives the historical background of the dancing
and music.
 |
FiddleKicks is on the roster of Young
Audiences of Eastern Pennsylvania and regularly performs
in schools. Assembly programs are presented to K-12
students in 45-60 minute sessions. Programs are interactive,
include explanatory narration and a post-performance Q&A
session. Volunteers can be invited from the audience to learn
and demonstrate clogging steps. A comprehensive “Study
Guide for Teachers” is sent to schools to prepare students
beforehand. |
|
Our after-show audience participation segment is
the audience’s chance to learn a few clogging steps
and a short routine. FiddleKicks’ musicians provide
lively old-time music, while participants experience the fun
and magic of an activity that is part of our country’s
history. The session can segue into an old-fashioned square
dance, with FiddleKicks teaching and calling the moves. For
children ages a simple circle dance is taught. |
| |
In our clogging toys workshop, children learn about
clogging and its origins through exposure to a variety of
toys. The limberjack is a charming, old-fashioned percussion
instrument/toy that simulates a very limber (and hence the
name) person clogging. Other toys such as spoons, bones and
whammy diddles can be included. All of these activities help
the children to hear the rhythms of the music. The target
audience is children ages pre-school to middle school,
but all are welcome, including adults. 
|
|
For seniors, an interactive chair dance is taught
by three dancers. The audience is divided into three sections
and asked to clap hands or stomp feet in rhythmic patterns
and sequence. Another favorite activity is to arrange sing-alongs
that invoke nostalgic memories. |
|
FiddleKicks regularly teaches workshops and master classes
that can vary in length (from an hour to a week) for all ages:
schools, recreational and semi-professional groups, college
dance and theater departments and professional companies.
Activities can include exploration of how dance patterns fit
into the structure of music selected. Workshop material is
custom designed for every proficiency level. Hand-out material
is provided. |
|
Ongoing
classes follow a curriculum of clogging steps and
short routines rotated over a period of weeks. |
|
