Nov
7
8:00pm
Flatfoot Dance Basics with the Highsteppers
By The Handmade Music School
Saturday, November 7th at 3:00pm EDT
The Handmade Music School Presents:
Handmade at Home - A Virtual Workshops Series
Flatfoot Dance Basics with the Highsteppers
*Suggested donation of $20
The first of a series by the Highsteppers (Andy Smith and Brett Morris), this 1-hour workshop will focus on the fundamentals of traditional Appalachian mountain dancing. It is geared towards the beginner so we will break down a few simple steps that we will do along with you to live music. We will also show you a few clips of dancers that have influenced our styles over the years. No experience necessary!
This series of monthly workshops on traditional Appalachian mountain dancing will be team-taught by the Highsteppers, based out of southwest Virginia. As with all folk styles, flatfooting should be “caught, not taught”, so repetition is key. Musicality is also essential, so we will have live music! Our goal is to get more folks up and dancing, building confidence in their own personal style, so we will play it by ear as to how we progress each month.
Andrea Smith is a dancer, choreographer, musician, educator, and arts advocate. She began her professional career in 1979 with the Green Grass Cloggers, touring extensively and performing at major music festivals throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. She has placed at numerous fiddlers’ convention contests, served as a dance judge for the Appalachian Stringband Festival (Clifftop), and has taught at The Swannanoa Gathering, Ashokan, Augusta Heritage Festival, Wheatland, and the Appalachian Stringband Festival. She later returned to her concert dance background when she joined the dance faculty at Queens University and Agnes Scott College. She joined the dance magnet faculty at Atlanta’s North Springs High School in 2003 and co-directed what would become the largest and one of the most diverse public school dance programs in Georgia for 17 years. She was the original bass player with Ralph Blizard and the New Southern Ramblers, played with Atlanta’s Georgia Crackers, and now plays bass and banjo with her husband in their SW Virginia-based band, the Burnt Mountain Benders.
Brett Morris is a traditional flatfoot dancer and musician from Grayson County, VA, where her life has always been intertwined with mountain music. She has been dancing since childhood at fiddlers conventions throughout the region. In 2017 and 2018, Morris was first place winner in the flatfoot dance competition at Galax Old Fiddlers Convention. Now the Executive Director of Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM), the parent organization for more than 50 after school programs, she is dedicated to passing along the tradition to the next generations.
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