Andrew
Shaw
Andrew was dragged kicking and screaming to
his first country dance as a teenager in the 60s. Initial reluctance overcome,
he was quickly attracted to the dances and their music and went on to gain a
basic grounding from some of the more fearsome instructors of the day. But it
was not until many years later, inspired by his friend and mentor Tom Cook,
that the pleasurable social activity was to develop into an enthralling
interest in and enthusiasm for the history and performance of the English
Country Dance. As an interpreter and exponent of these dances he teaches at
weekends, festivals and other courses at home and abroad. For a list of his
forthcoming engagements, click here.
In 2001 Andrew inaugurated his own annual
dance weekend at Halsway Manor in Somerset. The first series, entitled “Wit
& Mirth: Or, Pills to Purge Melancholy”, after the 18th century
song collection of that name, ran for 6 years and featured music from Paul
Hutchinson, initially with Paul Sartin and latterly with John Hymas. A complete
list of the dances taught at these events by Andrew and his guest callers is
available here. Late-night song recitals by
Liz Park, accompanied by Tony Battilana, illustrated the link between the song
and dance tunes of the period, which was an underlying theme of the weekends. A
recording of a selection of their songs is now available: click here. A second series of dance weekends, entitled ‘For the
Furthur Improvement of Dancing’,
commenced in 2008.
Andrew’s interest in the dances of the late
17th and early 18th centuries, especially those composed
by Nathaniel Kynaston, has resulted in the publication of three dance
collections to date:- Mr. Kynaston‘s Famous Dance in 2000, The She
Favourite in 2002, and Emperor of the Moon in 2006, this latter also
throwing light on the activities of the little-known dancing-master Richard
Motley. The recordings accompanying these collections all feature Paul
Hutchinson on accordion, on the first two in association with Paul Sartin on
violin and oboe as Belshazzar’s Feast, and on the most recent in association
with John Hymas on violin and viola.
In-between
times, in 2004, Andrew also edited The Dances of Brian Wedgbury, in
memory of this fine dance composer and near-neighbour who died in 2002. The
book and accompanying CD by John and Sue Stapledon on English concertina,
keyboards and violin contain the notation and music for all 22 dances written
by Brian.
The books and CDs
are available from:-
Derek & Ann
Appleing Folk Sales (Tel:01242 692243; email: Derek-Ann@folksales.freeserve.co.uk)
Alternatively,
they may be obtained directly from Andrew (Tel: 0161 941 2289; email: s-a-shaw@hotmail.co.uk)
Mr.
Kynaston’s Famous Dance book £ 5.00 (new reprint now available)
The
She Favourite book £ 6.50
Double
CD (both of the above) 2xCD £14.00
Emperor of the Moon book £7.00
CD £14.00
The
Dances of Brian Wedgbury book £ 6.00
CD £14.00
All plus post & packing
In America:
All except Emperor
of the Moon are available from Country Dance & Song Society
Tel: 413 268 7426, email: sales@cdss.org
Emperor of the
Moon is available from Susan Murrow, 17 Riverview Farm Road, Ossining, NY
10562-1912
Book:
$14 CD: $26 (postage included)
Tel: 914 762-8619
Email:
joyfuldancer@verizon.net