Patchwork Email
Patchwork
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We share our joy and enthusiasm with our audience. We dance to live old-time, bluegrass or Celtic fiddle music and often invited to participate and to clogg with us. We want everyone to dance! Do come to our performances, have us perform for you, join our classes, and join our team. Any question or interest email Jim Maxwell.
Patchwork's roots are as an Appalachian dance team from the "Green Grass" tradition; a clogging team that went from mountain festival-to-festival demonstrating and sharing steps and choreographing routines based on these steps. The clogging tradition is based on Celtic roots from the Irish and Scots that migrated to the Appalachian Mountains. Though the origins of clogging are difficult to trace we can contrast the existing styles of dance. The Patchwork dancers contrast a patchwork of Appalachian clogging, modern clogging, Irish, Cape Breton, and a fusion of Irish with clogging. Depending on the interests of the dancers we have also choreographed and performed tap, swing, ballet, Flamenco, and jazz. Come dance your style with us.
We serve our community by teaching dances at recreation centers, private dance studios, and in our homes. We educate the public in the art of Appalachian Dancing, and seek to bring out the dancer in all of us. Jim teaches classes at Audrey Moore and Providence Recreation Centers in Fairfax County Virginia and at the Dance Zone, just go to classes for a list of classes. Barbara also teaches and several other members have taught as well, just let us know of your interest. Patchwork rehearses every Thursday at the Hermitage in Alexandria Virginia. You are welcome to join us!
You can also learn on your own by purchasing our video teach of the Robert E Lee which include 4 performances by Patchwork of the Robert E Lee as well as teaching the steps of the routine.
You can read about the director's joy in teaching and performing in the Washington Post story
You can also access our clogging links for clogging resources and our Irish links for Irish resources.
We serve our community by performing. We perform at Celtic and national festivals, retirement homes, churches, festivals, camps, parks, picnics, and for TV. You can also see our list of all our Performances in 2001 and 2002 and our current schedule 2003. List our prior performeances in . You can also scroll through our pictures taken at prior performances. We can set up shows, teaching, and dances in a variety of ways, please email us, Jim Maxwell.
We have received a number of honors. The group received First place award for service to special audiences from the Fairfax County Council for the Arts. The following is text from that award.
"Patchwork Dancers. This group of volunteer dancers perform for a variety of audiences throughout the Northern Virginia area, showcasing the tradition and history of clogging. They travel and are accompanied by a live fiddle band. Many of the performances are for residents of retirement homes, many of whom cannot otherwise experience a live performance."
We also serve our members, we want everyone to join and stay. We develope profesional shows but none of us are professional dancers, dancing is not the main source of income for any member. Our environment is a low-keyed and low-pressured performance environment with mutual support, respect, and appreciation. We teach and share dances among our members, and develop workshops for our members. We also accommode the performer's personal schedule; no member is expected to dance in every performance and every dance during a performance.
Pathwork is paid for performing and this is Patchwork's primary income. This income is used to cover Patchwork expenses and member expenses in serving Patchwork interests. We try to make it possible for all members to be part of this organization without a large expenditure for things like costumes and rehearsal space. We think it's enough that talented performers volunteer their time without also having to add a lot of additional expenses to their burden
Jim Maxwell is the director but all dancers work together to develop a professional and entertaining show. Please call or email any member but especially Jim Maxwell, John Faulkner, or Barbara Raizen. Jim and Barbara teach dance to children and adults. So if you want to learn our routines and perform with us, just give us a call.
Jim Maxwell 703 503 9260 (home) or 202 401 3571 (work) or [email protected], John Faulkner 703 533-9752 (home), or Barbara Raizen [email protected].
