Andrew Shaw
Andrew was dragged kicking and screaming to his first country dance as a teenager in the '60s. He was quickly enthralled and went on to learn from some of the more fearsome dance instructors of the day. Andrew's particular research and dance interest is the early 18th Century work of Nathaniel Kynaston; he published Mr. Kynaston's Famous Dance and The She Favourite. Andrew teaches with clarity, (British) wit, and an emphasis on style. He lives in Cheshire where he runs the Lemmings Reprieve Dance Club -- a name that oddly but neatly sums up his belief in the life-enhancing qualities of this dance form.
Chuck Ward
Chuck Ward has been on the country dance scene for more than forty years. He was keyboardist for the Berea College Country Dance Troupe in Kentucky and toured widely with this semiprofessional dance team. He has been on the staff of the Berea College Christmas School, John C. Campbell Folk School (North Carolina), Pinewoods Camp (Massachusetts), Mendocino International Folklore Camp (California), BACDS English Week (California), and numerous weekend camps throughout the United States including Alaska. He is co-founder of the Bay Area Country Dance Society and is heard on several recordings released through The Country Dance and Song Society.
Jon Berger
Jon Berger (fiddle) has played music for morris, English country, and contra dances since 1976. A former musician for Berkeley Morris, he now plays for Apple Tree Morris in Sebastopol, and in Flashpoint, a Santa Rosa-based contra dance band. He is well-known for his powerful music, and, while playing for morris, his ability to maintain a connection between the music, the dancers and the dance (not to mention his sense of humor, and grand singing voice). He is a regular musician at BayArea and North Bay English country dances and has been on staff at BACDS dance weekends and Mendocino English Week. Jon is also a former member of Tempest, a Celtic rock band that plays for an entirely different style of dancing. In his spare time between gigs, Jon is a lawyer in private practice. He lives in Sebastopol, California with his wife, famed morris dancer Kalia Kliban, and a sufficient number of cats.
Bonnie Insull
A performer and teacher of improvisational and classical music, flutist Bonnie Insull was Executive Director of the improvisation network Music for People for 10 years, as well as editor of their journal Connections. Formerly the director of Dartmouth's Collegium Musicum, Insull was also a founding member of the Apple Hill Chamber Players, touring with the ensemble during their first decade. She has performed in classical contexts as featured soloist with orchestras throughout New England as well as in concert with Julius Baker and Jean-Pierre Rampal, and in improvisational concerts with colleague David Darling. She currently plays for English country dances in southern California with Ladyslipper.
Last modified 3/22/06 by MRB webmaster