Barn Dance lives in new guide for instructors

Champaign, IL — Teach folk dances and authentic tunes that have been performed for over 350 years. Created by Dudley Laufman, a traditional New England dance caller and fiddler, and his cofiddler, Jacqueline Laufman, Traditional Barn Dances With Calls & Fiddling (Human Kinetics, 2009) includes a DVD and two-CD package with everything instructors need to teach 53 dances to participants of all ages and abilities. Music, calls, and dance steps are included for Virginia Reel, Portland Fancy, Paul Jones, Grand March, Seven-Step Polka, Farandole, and Jefferson and Liberty and more.

This comprehensive package provides the tools for facilitating an interdisciplinary learning experience as participants learn the dances along with their historical contexts. Participants also have the option of playing the music themselves, using the sheet music, or selecting from the music CD tracks. Over time, users can learn the calls, and start calling the dances themselves.

After presenting background on traditional barn dancing and instructions on setting up and calling dances, the Laufmans organize the dances according to three traditional formations, providing detailed instruction on circle dances, square dances, and longways dances. They also cover dances in other formations and provide suggestions for including people in wheelchairs and those with varying abilities.

Traditional Barn Dances With Calls & Fiddling also presents teaching tips and tools, including historical tidbits, a glossary, poems and word search puzzles, as well as an index of dances by various categories, such as formation, difficulty, title, and music track. At the end of the book, they explain how to organize a dance to promote social dancing, music appreciation, and community.

Social folk dancing has withstood the test of time because it appeals to people's sense of and desire for community while dancing to joyful music. Traditional Barn Dances With Calls & Fiddling will help instructors build community — and skills — within the group.

For more information on Traditional Barn Dances With Calls & Fiddling, or other education resources, visit www.HumanKinetics.com or call 800-747-4457.


ABOUT THE BOOK
Traditional Barn Dances With Calls & Fiddling
Dudley Laufman and Jacqueline Laufman

Available February 2009 · Paperback with Music CD and DVD · 216 pp
ISBN 978-0-7360-7612-8 · $59.00

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

For more than 60 years, Dudley Laufman has been playing music, calling traditional New England folk dances, and recording and writing music, dance, and poetry. He has 14 books of music and dance, 75 magazine and journal articles, 22 recordings, and 10 books of poetry to his credit. His life's work is archived in the Special Collections Library of the University of New Hampshire, and in 2001 he was presented the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Folk Heritage Award for Excellence and Lifetime Achievement. Visit www.laufman.org for more information.

In 1986, Jacqueline Laufman joined Dudley in partnership and they became known as the Two Fiddles. For over 22 years, Jacqueline has played fiddle for traditional New England dances with Dudley. She holds an MEd in counseling and was a public school guidance counselor for 9 years. She has written, designed, and edited many educational books, and she manages their business, which averages more than 300 dance and music engagements per year.

Together, Dudley and Jacqueline are juried artists with the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, and they have jointly held the position of vice president for dance with the New Hampshire Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

CONTENTS
Chapter 1. History of Traditional Barn Dance
Chapter 2. Setting Up and Calling the Dances
Chapter 3. Music and the Fiddle
Chapter 4. Tips for Teachers
Chapter 5. Circle Dances
Chapter 6. Longways Dances
Chapter 7. Square Dances
Chapter 8. Dances in Other Formations
Chapter 9. Contra Dances
Chapter 10. Dances for Folks With Varying Abilities
Chapter 11. How to Run a Community Barn Dance