Adina Gordon finds an outlet for her loves of travel, music, dance and silliness by calling and dancing throughout the U.S. and Canada, facilitating joy and minor chaos wherever she goes. Combining a voice that makes you WANT to do what she says with a commitment to using that power for good and not evil, Adina calls dances both old and new that cause spontaneous eruptions of joy on the dance floor. She counts it as a job well done whenever anyone says,
Gaye Fifer is an accomplished caller from Pittsburgh, PA. An active dancer herself, Gaye understands the subtleties of making dances particularly satisfying for dancers. Her instructions are clear and concise, as she was a teacher by profession. An easy smile and delightful sense of humor are part of Gaye’s relaxed, pleasant style at the microphone. Gaye calls contra and English dances throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is also an enthusiastic advocate and instructor of contra-style waltz.
Some of Chris Bracken’s earliest memories are of falling asleep to the sounds of a pub sing around her. A reluctant singer at first, she now raises her voice regularly from morris choruses to shape note conventions. She also organizes singing events including Youth Traditional Song Weekend, and participates in community conversations about racist and misogynist content in traditional songs. A morris dancer for over twenty years, Chris currently dances with the Marlboro Morris M in Western Mass.
In chronological order, Armand Aromin is a queer Filipino American musician, percussive dancer, singer, and violin maker now enmortgaged in Riverside, RI with his partner, Benedict Gagliardi. More importantly, if you can say “Arm & Hammer” you’re pronouncing his name correctly!
First taking up Irish fiddle and tin whistle in his early teens, then swiftly followed by uilleann pipes, and 5-string banjo, and, ukulele and, and… Armand had no other intention to learn anything else until two things happened: pre-diagnosed ADHD (hindsight is 20/20),
Gillian has been teaching and performing sword dancing on both sides of the Atlantic since 2004. Hailing from the vigorous folk scene surrounding Boston, MA, she also indulges in morris, pub singing, percussive stepdance, and social dancing of many stripes. Her teaching has been described as “engaging, high energy, and accessible”. She currently leads Orion Longsword and dances with Candyrapper VSOP and Muddy River Morris. In her copious free time she enjoys social singing,
Julia Friend sings pub songs, sea shanties, ballads, and more. She loves the power and vulnerability of the human voice. She performs here and there but is happiest swapping songs and blending harmonies in community. She co-authored CDSS’s folk singing starter kit, helped launch Youth Traditional Song Weekend, and cheers for singing in all its genres. She lives in Brattleboro VT, where she hums incessantly and plays melodeon for Morris dancing.
Dance, Music, & Song Camps