Press Notes: from MMDG
June 26, 2007
MUSIC APPRECIATION CLASSES FOR CHILDREN
By: MMDG
For press inquires, contact William Murray, 212.254.1357.
Beginning this fall, The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center will offer Music Appreciation Classes for children. Reflecting the spirit of the Mark Morris Dance Group in its celebration of dance and music, The School believes the study of various dance forms and music is essential to a child’s education and development. MMDG's Music Appreciation courses will complement The School’s existing schedule of more than 50 course offerings including Creative Dance, Modern Dance and Composition, Ballet, Jazz/Hip-Hop Dance, and Tap Dance for children and teens (ages 4-17).
Music Appreciation will introduce students to musical periods from the baroque to the present. Instruments of the orchestra, exercises in rhythm, solfegge, ear training, and basic harmony will be covered. Students will also sing selections from the musical theatre repertory. The goal is to introduce the student to a wide array of material to pique his/her musical curiosity. Dance experience is not required.
The course will be taught by one of the resident accompanists at The School, William Wade. A professional composer, lyricist, pianist, arranger, coach, and conductor, Wade's compositions include: Warsaw, Alice (musicals); The Empty Pot (a Chinese fable), Mole Music, Madeline at the Circus, and Snow White (ballets); and chamber as well as concert music. Broadway credits include Fosse, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, and The Look of Love. Wade has taught at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Eckerd College, and the Professional Musical Theatre Workshop at Manhattan School of Music.
Other classes added include: a Mark Morris Dance Group Repertory course for children and teens (ages 12-17) and taught by former Dance Group member, Mireille Radwan-Dana; and a dance based developmental movement class incorporating music and instruments entitled Movement Class for Babies, Moms, Dads, and Caregivers taught by Ferris Kneile.
Fall 2007 - Spring 2008 Session begins the week of September 10, 2007. Registration begins in August with the exception of Movement for Babies, which is ongoing and available on a drop-in basis now.
Read more about The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center.
Yamaha is the official piano of the Mark Morris Dance Center.
