2022 Workshops
| Pacific Time | Saturday, April 30, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Noon – 1 PM | Yves Moreau & France Bourque-Moreau – Traditional Dance of Québec & Beyond |
| 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Michele Simon – Singing |
| 5 PM – 6 PM | Polly Tapia Ferber – Drumming |
TRADITIONAL DANCE OF QUÉBEC & BEYOND
Presented by Yves Moreau & France Bourque-Moreau
Yves Moreau lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and is recognized as one of North America’s foremost exponents of Bulgarian dance and folklore. He has travelled to Bulgaria almost annually between 1966 and 1986 to research dance and to record music in all regions of the country. He has also lectured and conducted workshops throughout North America as well as on numerous occasions in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Slovenia, Hungary, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.
From 1972 to 1988 he directed Les Gens de Mon Pays , a Montreal-based amateur folk ensemble specializing in Bulgarian and French-Canadian folklore which toured widely in North America and represented Canada at several international folk festivals in the U.S.A. , France, Greece, Italy, and Bulgaria. Yves has also choreographed several stage suites of Bulgarian and French-Canadian material for various professional and amateur performing groups in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
From 1975 to 1985, Yves was special projects coordinator at the Canadian Folk Arts Council and also worked with Folklore Canada International , a private organization which coordinates cultural exchange programs and produces several international folk festivals in Canada. From 1986 to 2000, he was the coordinator of FCI’s annual Heritage International folklore workshop in Lachine (Quebec) and Cornwall (Ontario).
Yves who speaks Bulgarian has been a regular contributor to various folk music and folklore programs for Canadian radio and television. He has supervised recordings of Bulgarian folk music on the Balkanton, Worldtone, XOPO, Gega and BMA labels and has presented several papers at various conferences on ethnomusicology and folklore in America, Asia and Bulgaria. In 1980, Bulgaria awarded him with the Order of Kiril & Metodi (1st degree) for his work popularizing Bulgarian folk culture in North America.
Yves teaches mostly non-choreographed village material which he has collected during his many field trips. His teaching method is clear and thorough yet relaxed. A special emphasis is put on regional styles and background information. Above all, Yves wants to share his love for Bulgarian folklore and communicate the fun of dancing. Yves has also introduced and teaches folk dances of other Balkan countries as well as dances from Brittany (France) and his native Québec.
Among the popular dances introduced by Yves over the years are: Pinosavka, Dobrudžanska Râka, Gjuševska Račenica, Četvorno Horo, Dospatsko, Bičak, Sandansko Horo, Sadi Moma, Vlaško Horo, Sitna Zborenka, Panagjursko Horo, Kulska Šira, Dobra Nevesto, Vidinsko Horo, Sâbrali sa se sâbrali, Idam ne Idam, Dimitrija, Krivo Ihtimansko, La Bastringue, Les Saluts, Le Laridé, An Dro Retourné and Gavotte d’Honneur.
Yves has produced five (5) DVDs and matching audio CDs of his repertoire and has also released 3 CDs with some of his Bulgarian village recordings (1966-1972) on the BMA label. He also produced in 2003 a 2-CD collection of tunes by the legendary Bulgarian accordionist Boris Karlov (1924-1964) and just released (Sept. 2015) a new CD compilation dedicated to the famous Thracian clarinetist Georgi Koev. Yves is married to France Bourque-Moreau, an internationally-recognized specialist in children’s folkdance and music. They have three children. From 1998 to 2001, Yves was on the Board of Directors of the East European Folklife Center (EEFC) which organizes the annual Balkan Music and Dance Camps in the U.S.A. In 2006, Yves was the recipient of the of the San Antonio College (Texas) Folk Dance Festival Award and in 2007, of the «Preserving our Legacy Award» given by the National Folk Organization U.S.A. (NFO) for a Lifetime of Work and Achievement in Folk Dance and Folk Arts. In the summer of 2008, Yves celebrated his 60th birthday and 40 years of teaching Bulgarian Folk Dances and received the Presidential Medal and letter of congratulations from Bulgarian President Georgi Pârvanov. 2016 marks his 50th year of promoting Bulgarian folklore around the world.
France Bourque-Moreau lives in Montreal, Quebec and for the past thirty-five years has been active in Canada and abroad teaching folk dances for children and conducting special seminars to train school teachers in this field. Her current repertoire includes hundreds of dances and rounds from all parts of the world especially designed and adapted to various age and experience levels. Ms. Bourque-Moreau also puts emphasis on the French and French-Canadian repertoire which is widely used in the Canadian school curriculum. She has been a regular consultant to the Montreal School Board. She was also actively involved with Montreal’s annual Children Festival ( La Fête des Enfants de Montréal ) as coordinator of the «Entrons dans la Danse» participatory workshop.
France is the author of Je Danse Mon Enfance (I dance my childhood) published in 1979 by FLDQ in Montreal and now in its fifth printing. The book contains some 80 dances as well as useful tips on teaching, with emphasis on rhythms, formations, cultural background and psycho-motricity. The book is also approved by the Quebec Board of Education. In 1983, she co-authored with Michel Landry La Danse d’Inspiration Traditionnelle au Primaire which suggests a pedagogical approach to teaching folk dance in elementary schools in relationship to holidays, rituals and trade guilds. It also looks at creative variations of traditional dances. Ms. Moreau is also active in the ORFF music education movement and was President of the Quebec Chapter of Orff Music for Children Canada and former secretary on the national executive.
She has conducted lectures and courses across North America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan. For fifteen years she performed with the folk dance ensemble Les Gens de Mon Pays with whom she toured Europe and North America. She has also choreographed French-Canadian material for professional and amateur dance companies in Canada, the USA, the Netherlands and Australia.
Her sessions with kids in Quebec elementary schools are eligible for funding through the Quebec Government program «La culture à l’école» (Artists in the schools) . Her widely-used CD «Danse, mon coeur danse!» featuring French-Canadian dances, rounds and songs for elementary and pre-school children has won much praise from educators throughout Canada.
Madame Bourque-Moreau and her husband Yves Moreau, also a world-renowned folklore specialist, co-direct Bourque Moreau Associés Associés (BMA Productions), a consultation and production service in the field of multicultural folk arts.
In February 2015, she was the recipient of the «Preserving Our Heritage Award» given by the National Folk Organization U.S.A. (NFO) for a lifetime of work and achievement in Folk Dance and Folk Arts.
BALKAN SINGING FOR FOLK DANCERS
Taught by Michele Simon
Michele has been involved with music all of her life, and with Balkan folk music for most of it, as a dancer, singer, drummer and teacher. She was raised surrounded by music of all kinds, including classical (especially Bach), standards (especially Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra and Ella ), and American folk music. She sang before she talked, played cello and guitar, and most formatively, enjoyed trading harmonies with her mother’s rich alto.
Michele has been inspired by countless musicians, both in the US and abroad, and has been lucky to study with, to name just a few, the late Nadezhda Hvoinova, from the Bulgarian Rhodope region; the late Esma Redzhepova, Queen of Romany music; Serbian folk specialist Svetlana Spajic; Mary Sherhart of Seattle; Jane Sharp of Berkeley; and Bulgarian master singer Tatiana Sarbinska, with whom she also trained as a teacher. Over the last thirty years she has sung with Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, as well as being steeped in the complex odd-metered Balkan dance rhythms, singing and playing percussion in folk dance bands Anoush, Brass Menažeri, Helladelics and Zabava!. She has appeared on recordings and stages across America and in Bulgaria, as well as on Bulgarian and Serbian TV.
Michele teaches private students, workshops, and camps, including the popular Balkan Vocal Technique class that has been a staple at Mendocino Balkan Camp for almost 20 years. As a singing teacher, Michele’s specialty is integrating Balkan vocal styles with American voices. With humor, warmth and patience, she focuses on placement and sound fundamentals, using innovative exercises and imagery, as well as her model skull, Bartholomew.
Michele lives in Oakland, CA
RHYTHM & DRUMMING FOR FOLK DANCERS
Taught by Polly Tapia Ferber
If you’re curious about rhythm, especially the complex rhythms of international folk dance music, join renowned percussionist Polly Tapia Ferber to learn how to hear, count, and play a variety of dance patterns. Use any hand drum available: a doumbek, a djembe, an oatmeal box, a coffee can… Your feet know what to do, invite your hands and brain to come along!
Percussionist Polly Tapia Ferber is a music educator, performer, and recording artist who specializes in hand percussion from the Balkans, the Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, and Spanish Andalucia. She is noted for her melodic style of playing on several percussion instruments including the doumbek, frame drums, the Middle Eastern tambourine, and Spanish wooden box-drum (cajon). She is a member of several bands from New York to New Mexico, playing various musical styles.
Polly has traveled to Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, Spain, Morocco, and Israel studying with celebrated teachers and performing with some of the world’s most renowned musicians. She maintains an active performing and teaching schedule.