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Andrew Shaw

Andrew was dragged kicking and screaming to his first country dance as a teenager back in the 60s, but has got over that and is now one of the most sought after and respected English Country Dance leaders at home and abroad, highly regarded for his detailed knowledge, high standards and precise, good-humoured instruction.

At home he has run the Lemmings Reprieve dance club for 40 years, and his annual Kyndred Spirits course, dating back (under different names) to 2001, attracts an international group of country dancers. Although he can sometimes be found teaching modern dances in the same style, 17th and 18th century ECD is his passion, formed under the influence of his friend and mentor Tom Cook. He researches, reconstructs, then teaches these dances, not as museum pieces, but in a way that will appeal to the dancers of today.

He is uncompromising in his belief in the value of dancing well: that doing so can raise the dancer to another level, that dancing, like singing, is one of life’s redeeming pleasures, that lemmings may indeed be reprieved.

He has published six collections of dance reconstructions to date, the most recent entitled The Irish Howle – its accompanying CD recorded in California by Persons of Quality (Rebecca King, Jon Berger and Jim Oakden). The books contain a wealth of information on the social and historical context of the dances, on little-known dancing-masters like Nathaniel Kynaston and Richard Motley and on bibliographical aspects of ECD publications, such as his Guide to the editions and volumes of The Dancing-Master.

In-between times, he also edited The Dances of Brian Wedgbury, in memory of this fine dance composer and near-neighbour, who died in 2002.

Bruce Hamilton

Bruce Hamilton is a well-respected teacher of English and Scottish dancing with 50 years’ experience across 5 countries. He has launched classes, trained teachers, programmed camps, coached performing groups and adjudicated festivals.

A retired research scientist, Bruce is always looking for new ways to understand and present ideas. He tries to weave many threads besides technique and choreography into his lessons. Music, sociability and physiology are his current favorites. People often say they come away with things to think about and ways to grow. His weekend teacher’s class also draws high praise.

Bruce lives in Menlo Park, California with his wife Jo and as many dogs and cats as her rescue operation happens to have on hand. He runs a biweekly English dance class, and is a past president of the Country Dance and Song Society. With invitations to teach at many festivals and dance camps each year, he has taught workshops all around the United States and in the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Australia.

Musicians for the Ball and Sunday Dance

Persons of Quality

Persons of Quality are three talented musicians performing English Country Dance music with a refreshing mix of loose improvisations, a wide variety of instrumentation, and beautiful melodies. They have recorded four CDs to accompany books of 17^th and 18^thcentury tunes and dance reconstructions by Andrew Shaw. POQ have performed widely in the US as well as in Italy and the UK.

Rebecca King

Rebecca’s great-grandfather, living in a small pioneer town in the west, moved his log cabin from his farm into town to be closer to play the fiddle for the town dances. Playing for community dances runs deep in her soul. Rebecca King is a mainstay in the SF Bay Area dance communities, known for her piano playing and tune compositions. Her interpretations breathe strong, rhythmical energy and deeply moving grace. Rebecca has performed and taught workshops at many balls and dance camps across the US, as well as internationally in Italy and the UK. In addition to her recordings for Andrew Shaw, she has played on the Greenery CDs by Sharon Green, the solo piano CD Nearer & Farther, and others.

Jon Berger

Jon has been playing violin (and occasionally button accordion) for English, contra, and morris dancing for over 40 years. He started playing violin in the fourth grade, but didn’t find out about folk music until, while working as a stage technician for the Palo Alto Youth Theater Workshop, he was asked to learn some Irish fiddle tunes to play in the background during a production of Brendan Behan’s “The Hostage.” He is also a former and current member of the Celtic rock band Tempest. Jon plays regularly for the dance weekends and weeks across the country and across the pond, as well as at our Sebastopol English country dance.

Jim Oakden

Jim went to college on a music scholarship, but was disillusioned with the music scene until stumbling into Early Music. From there he fell into traditional dance and music, and has gone on to play with many bands in a host of styles on a wide array of instruments, For ECD he mostly sticks to clarinet, recorders, accordion, guitar, and mando. He runs community bands, camp bands, does individual and small group instruction, teaches at camps on a variety of instruments and genres, does dance programming, and has been hired for ECD events throughout the US, as well as Canada, Australia, England, and Italy—among others. Plus, he loves to dance, in many different styles.

Musicians for the Friday night dance

Charlie Hancock

Charlie Hancock, pianist and accordionist, is equally adept playing for English country, Scottish country, contras, and display dancing. Performed with brilliance, drive and clarity, his music is infused with jazz, swing, and Irish influences. In addition to playing for dancers, he currently plays in Bay Area ensembles Erica & Friends (British isles songs & tunes), The Flagstones (contradance trio) and The Bogues (an 11-piece Pogues tribute band). He has performed and recorded with Shira Kammen, Sylvia Herold, Holly Tannen, Ray Bierl, and Cathie Whitesides.

Michelle Mašek

Michelle (violin/viola) studied medieval vielle with Shira Kammen, earned a Masters in Ritual Chant & Song from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (University of Limerick), and studied music at Brown University. She has performed internationally with an eclectic variety of ensembles, including Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI, Keltia Productions, and The Boston Camerata, and Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to creating music on whitewater rafting trips. She is a sought-after musician for English country dance and contra dance events across the country. Michelle has returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, California, where she lives with her husband and eight birds.

Christopher Jacoby

Christopher Jacoby plays accordion, mandolin and guitar for Contras, English, and Scottish country dancing. He has performed in many bands and combinations over the years, but you might have seen him with: Audrey Jaber (and others), Wind Weavers, Ground Lift, Switching Protocols, Phoenix, and Last Exit. He can be heard on “Last Exit’s Greatest Hits (by Last Exit)”, and the recently released “Remember Restaurants…?” by Audrey & Christopher. Christopher’s non-dancing related hobbies include (but are not limited to): singing, sourdough and fermenting, Digital Audio & Audio Engineering, training computers to understand music, and workshop facilitation. He would be more than happy to talk to you about any of those things, should you end up at the same lunch table!

Musicians for the ball workshop

Lisa Doyle

Lisa Doyle is a violinist and fiddler with years of experience in music performance and education. She grew up in England and was a student in the Royal College of Music’s pre-college program. After attending the University of Bristol, she made California her home. She has performed with many local orchestras and ensembles, including the Berkeley Symphony, Amaryllis Piano Trio, and RosArts string quartet. She has played for weekly RSCDS classes for the past 10 years and for many English and Scottish country dances on the West Coast. In 2019, she traveled to Europe with Flindrikin, performing at dance festivals and Highland Games and playing for classes in Prague. She is passionate about encouraging others to participate – as musicians, dancers, or listeners; in any way that brings them joy.

Gary Thomas

Gary Thomas is a musician and caller of Scottish dance forms and English country dance, as well as a composer of tunes and of dances in both genres. He has played in several bands, including Wild Rose, Hood, Wink & Swagger, and his newest, Flindrikin. This year Gary is the Music Director for the summer school of the Scottish Country Dance Teachers’ Association (Canada). He is a popular caller and musician for the Sebastopol English country dance.

Question or comment about Mad Robin Ball? Contact Rosemary Murphree.