Performances

• Pastures of Plenty presents an exciting evening of dance & music inspired by the “father of the American folksong revival,” Woody Guthrie. This full concert work, created by Bill and Livia Vanaver is a celebration in music, song, and dance of Woody Guthrie the balladeer, and Woody Guthrie the man. We hitch a ride with Woody, "from California to the New York island," from the Dust bowl to the California orchards, from the miners' shanteys to the outlaws' trail. We hear the instruments and musical styles of Woody's America: "Old Timey" and Bluegrass banjo; Carter Family style autoharp and harmonies; Southern, Western, and New England style fiddling; along with Leadbelly's 12 string guitar style.
  
  We feel the rhythms and the moods of Woody's people in their dances: Southern Appalachian Clog Dancing; Western style squares and Virginia Reels; New England contra dances; Harlem's Savoy Style Lindy Hop; urban "stomp dancing;" along with New York's modern, interpretive styles.
  A variety of workshops and master classes can accompany this concert presentation, including "A Woody Guthrie Musical Biography," a presentation called "Woody's Roots," as well as workshops on any of the instruments, music styles and dance styles featured in "Pastures of Plenty."
  
  Pastures of Plenty can be excerpted and included within our other programs. CD available from cdbaby.com. Special guests on the CD include: Martin Carthy, Frank Vignola and Peter Ecklund.
  
  This show available for booking by Siegel Artist Management - click HERE
  
  To see photos of this show click HERE.
  
  
  
• Earthbeat - An evening of traditional and original dances from around the world. Focus is on the rhythms that different peoples have evolved to express their need to harmonize with the earth. This exotic yet accessible program includes Rumanian stick dances, English “Rapper Sword,” French Canadian and Cape Breton step dancing, Appalachian Clogging, South African Gumboot Dance, Philippine Igorat Sun Dance, dances from Bulgaria, India, Brazil, and Spain, original stick dances, body percussion and stomp dances.
  
  To see photos of this show click HERE.
  
  
  
• America: A World in a Nation comprises dances and music from around the world that have come to live here in America, reflecting the vision of America as a home for all peoples. Some of the dances are: Chinese Ribbon Dance, Georgian (Caucasian) suite, Philippine, Indian Gujarat stick dance, Irish reels, English wooden soled clog dance and Native American.
  
• American Heritage in Dance & Music includes selections from Appalachian Medley, and adds other traditional North American dances, such as French Canadian Step dancing, Native American dances & Lindy Hop, and “relatives,” such as African boot dance and Irish step dancing. CD available.
  
• Festivals of Light is a colorful holiday show, celebrating the various customs with which peoples of the world bring light into darkness,such as Christmas, Chanukah, Midwinter Solstice, Kwanzaa, & Diwali Dances & music featured is determined by the sponsors' as well as the communities' needs. This program might include: Christmas Carols Chanukah Suite, Chinese Festival Ribbon Dance, Philippine Igorat Sun Dance, Rapper Sword Dance from England, Diwali (India) and Kwanzaa (African-American) celebrations, Lucia (Sweden) and solstice songs and dances, Rumanian Calusari, and holiday songs from virtually anywhere in the world. Whenever possible, we've featured local community performers and/or children in this enchanting seasonal revelry.
  
• Appalachian Medley features high powered Southern mountain clog dancing and “down home” banjo & fiddle music. The reels , songs and foot-stomping good fun brings audiences worldwide to their feet. Appalachian Medley premiered at the New York Dance festival (Delacorte in Central Park,NYC).
  
• Streets of Gold A music & dance review, with a series of vignettes based on stories about immigrating to America and New York City. “Streets of Gold” includes traditional and contemporary dance & music, and is dynamic, poignant, humorous and uplifting.
  
• P'nai El is the story of Jacob & the Angel in symphonic music and dance. Beautifully costumed and beautifully choreographed by Livia Vanaver to Bill Vanaver's stirring modern music, the exotic symphonic tone poem features the blowing of a “Shofar” (Jewish ritual ram's horn) and liturgy sung in middle Eastern style. This piece can be presented live with a full symphony orchestra & singer, or with a recording by the Moravian Philharmonic, which includes the masterful Bulgarian vocalist, Tatiana Sarbinska.
  
• Denishawn:
  • 5 American Sketches These other works were choreographed in the 20's by Ted Shawn as part of the suite which includes “Boston Fancy: 1854.” Around the Hall in Texas, A Gringo Tango, Danse Americaine (about a mill town dude), and Pasquinade are all based on comedic & historical American “slices of life”
  • Boston Fancy: 1854 Originally choreographed in 1924 by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn, this dance was especially recreated for the Vanaver Caravan by Jane Sherman, youngest member of the Denishawn company in the 1920's. Based on pantomime and New England contra dancing, with beautiful period costume s, this comical dance farce is set at a formal party on Boston's Beacon Hill. Its modern premier was at Jacob's Pillow. This dance can be included in a full company program of American Heritage Dance & Music as well.
  • Tillers of the Soil (a duet inspired by a day in the lie of 2 Egyptian peasants) & Bakawali Nautch( solo Indian inspired dance choreographed by Ruth St. Denis in 1916) Both dances recreated for the Company by Jane Sherman.

Workshops:

• Banjo style demonstration, symposium and/or teach-in
• American Folk instruments (banjo-guitar picking-autoharp-fiddle)
• Leadbelly 12 string guitar style
• American ballads and songs
• Southern and Western, and New England fiddling
• Old timey and bluegrass banjo styles
• Autoharp - Carter family style
• "Old Timey Music" - Carter Family, Uncle Dave Macon, Charlie Poole, etc.
• American ballads
• International
  - Greek and Balkan singing and/or music
  - Sephardic Jewish music
  - International songs for children
  - Ethnic rhythms and styles for musicians
• Lindy Hop & Charleston

Dance Workshops

• Body percussion - World Percussive Dance Styles
• Clogging and Innovative Step Dancing
• Greek and Balkan Dances (class)
• International Dances (Class)
• International Dance evening
• Contemporary Dance, using traditional rhythms and styles, with eclectic music