WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE!

 SUMMER'S ALMOST GONE--HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Although the autumnal equinox, summer's official end, isn't until September 23, for most of us summer is over when school starts. For our Albuquerque friends, school begins on August 11 and Denver schools have already started. I hope those schools are air-conditioned! I hope everyone's school year starts happily.  A wonderful way to start the season is with any of the dances, music games, and movement activities on our CDs and DVDs, especially the community-encouraging mixers like "Sasha" and "I Let Her Go-Go," in which kids can meet and greet their classmates, and everyone is included. Most of these are  very adaptable for many levels of learners. 

CELEBRATE YOUR STUDENTS' HOLIDAYS

A friendly way to connect with the cultures of children in our classrooms is to learn about their holidays and celebrate with them.  Every country honors independence from some other power, just like the U.S. Independence Day on July 4th. 

It's easy to search for national holidays.  Some autumn Independence Days include those of Vietnam, Sept. 2; Honduras, Sept. 15; Mexico, Sept. 16 (NOT Cinco de Mayo!); Chile, Sept. 18; Uganda, Oct. 9; Zambia, Oct. 24; Turkey, Oct. 27; and Poland, Nov. 11. There are many more.  And be aware of the important Jewish, Islamic, and Hindu holidays in September and October.  Your students and their families will so appreciate your interest and respect for their cultures.

SANNA'S UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

I'll be teaching an all-day inservice on Aug. 17 in Boyertown, Penn., then a workshop for Chicago publIc schoolteachers for the Ravinia Foundation on Aug. 19.  In October, I'll have the pleasure of presenting at the Sierra Nevada Orff chapter in Reno on October 9, and at a combined Orff and Kodaly chapters workshop in Lexington, Mass., on Oct. 23.  And we're very much anticipating the Pourparler, Sept. 23-26, in Shepherdstown, W.Va.  See below for details, and contact us for more information, or click on "Workshops" above.

SANNA IN CHINA AND TAIWAN

We're very excited to be teaching in Nanjing and Dongguan, China, and to return to Taiwan for another workshop.  Professor Zhuoya Xu of the Pre-school Education Research Institute and Pre-school Education Department at Nanjing Normal University invited me to give workshops in November.  And our friends from the Orff Music World in Taipei asked us back (I taught there in early 2004), as long as we will be "so close."  I will start a blog about this trip very soon. 

DANCE WITH SANNA ON THE PEARSON EDUCATION WEBSITE

A longtime author and clinician of the Silver Burdett music education series, Sanna was asked in November 2008 to be the "dance partner" of Pearson Education, publisher of Silver Burdett's excellent Making Music K-8 textbooks.  Check out www.pearsonschool.com/music2008 to see how to download one of her dances.    

            IF YOU ENJOY TEACHING WORLD DANCING OR ANY DANCING, YOU WOULD LOVE THE POURPARLER WEEKENDS! 

If you teach traditional/ethnic/folk/creative dance in schools and communities, please join us at our annual Pourparler gatherings to share dances and discuss common concerns. We dance and sing to live and recorded music, we talk about mutual issues, we offer suggestions and support, we network with our colleagues from all over North America, and we laugh and play joyously.

Our next Pourparler meets in Shepherdstown, W. Va., Sept. 23-26, 2010.  Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for info, or www.NFO-USA.org.

DANSEZ EN FRANCAIS, new in the STEP LIVELY series

Marian Rose's newest CD/book, full of lively and accessible French dances in Marian's inimitable style. You can order it now from this website.