Rose Jackson came up in the rich folk scene of western Massachusetts, discovering contra dance at the age most kids encounter The Beatles, and Morris not long after. She studied under fiddler Becky Tracy (Nightingale, Wild Asparagus) from whom she inherited a wide repertoire of music from Quebec and New England, a deep love for old tunes, and the unshakeable sense of rhythm and danceability which infuses her playing. From multi-instrumentalist Pete Sutherland (Pete’s Posse) and Young Tradition Vermont,
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Sophia Donforth is a singer and community organizer in Burlington, VT. She has performed in duos, trios and large choruses and loves tuning really crunchy chords. After years of organizing local contra dances and music camps for children, she’s excited to put it all together at Agassiz Village. Sophia especially loves the inter-generational nature of family camp and looks forward to singing, dancing and playing with folks of all ages.
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Sarah Hirsch is an artist, writer, and teacher living by the sea in Wickford, Rhode Island.
Sarah grew up contra dancing and being underfoot, and is now a dance organizer as well. She also loves swimming, singing, gardening, biking, critters, and dabbling in fiddle. Sarah has written and illustrated a few children’s books, and has a poetry book coming out soon.
Sarah teaches children and adults and everyone in between.
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Dan Coppock grew up in Cincinnati under the malign influence of his folk music playing parents who introduced him at a young age to contra dancing, sacred harp singing, traditional Irish fiddle, and morris dancing. They even took him to a camp one year in a place called Buffalo Gap. Since leaving home, he has continued along the paths he was set, dancing with Braintrust Morris and later with Midnight Capers in Vermont,
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Matthew Olwell is a performing and teaching artist whose work blends traditional and original music, songs, dances, and stories from the folkways of Ireland, Brittany, and the United States. Currently an apprentice “fluthier” at Olwell Flutes, Matthew began his professional career touring for nearly a decade with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, including a run in the original London production of Riverdance. He has been a featured performer and teacher at numerous festivals and camps,
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Luke Donforth loves sharing the joy of traditional dancing and has been doing so all over North America by writing dances and calling for over a dozen years. Luke brings a warm and welcoming presence to any stage. He draws from classic and new compositions to match the occasion from family dances to advanced weekends. His non-calling jobs include working at science museums, teaching physics at college, and writing a board book about contra.
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Roger the Jester started his professional life on the streets of Boston in 1976 after studying at Celebration Mime Theatre with Tony Montanaro for six months. Before that he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Photojournalism and Psychology from Syracuse University. Since then he has left a trail of laughter, smiles and memories scattered throughout 25 countries. He continues to hone and expand his skills as object manipulator, magician, musician and silent comedian to heal the world through laughter.
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Sarah has been committed to artistic expression for many years. She has taught art and yoga, Create for the Sake of Joy, and bookmaking classes. Honoring nature has been her recent focus in her daily practice of journaling and sketching.
She was a doula and now offers private care for elders, honoring the end of life process.
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Lily Kruskal Leahy grew up attending Family Week at Pinewoods, starting at age 4! The skills she learned there resulted in a lifelong love of music, dance, and community. She has been teaching longsword, morris dancing, and other traditional dances and songs to children for the last 20 years at CDSS Family Camps, and for various other organizations. She also had the privilege of being Program Director for Family Week at Ogontz for 3 years.
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Dave Wiesler (Newark, DE) began his musical journey as “the guy who could figure out the chords” in his high school garage band. Nearly 20 years later he discovered playing folk music for dances, and felt that the job description had been written just for him. At home in a wide range of styles, Dave is in demand for contra, English and Scottish country dancing, swing, waltz and vintage dance; and his music has taken him across the country and into Canada,
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Dance, Music, & Song Camps
