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FiddleKicks performers
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Amy Dwyer “Tap dancing in 2nd grade
was a long time ago for me - I really loved the shoes!”
When Amy lived in Florida 26 years ago she took Appalachian
Clogging lessons at the local adult school. In that place
and time, you could go to a local bar and clog. It was great
fun and you didn't have to make your husband dance with you!
Amy has lived in this area for 16 years now. The church she
belongs to sends a youth mission team to Appalachia to help
"make homes safer, warmer, drier" with the Appalachia
Service Project and Amy often has chaperoned groups there.
When her church was planning their annual talent show to raise
money for the trip Amy began thinking about how great it would
be to have a clogging group perform. She looked online and
found FiddleKicks. “Who knew I would find a clogging
group right here in my own back yard!” She has been
dancing with FiddleKicks since February 2002 and enjoys every
minute of it! |
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Annsley Hillman “Hey
Ya'll!” Annsley is originally from Atlanta, GA. When
she moved to Philadelphia she decided to pick up a winter
sport. Knowing she loved live fiddle tunes, she thought she
would try her hand (feet?) at clogging. She never expected
to be in her second year of performing nor loving it as much
as she does. She has found her passion among wonderful friends
in Appalachian style clogging. |
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Bill Quern is a dance musician
and has played for FiddleKicks since 2003. His father filled
the house with instruments for his 10 siblings to explore,
so Bill developed into a multi-instrumentalist. Fiddle, banjo,
concertina, mandolin, harmonica and bodhran became his selection
as an adult. He has a degree in Fine Arts from MA College
of Art where he studied performance, sculpture and instrument
making. He plays for Contra and Square dances, English Country
dances, teaches Morris dancing (at Saint Peter's School in
Philadelphia) and Scandinavian dancing. He dances with Kingsessing
Morris Men (7 time winners in the Philadelphia Mummer's Parade)
and plays for English Rapper and Longsword dance teams. Other
performances include; Enscaded Festival in Holland, on Chinese
television, the New England Folk Festival, the Butterball
Dance Festival, and the Heritage Dance Festival. |
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Chloe
Maryam Maher has been involved in the traditional
dance and music community her whole life. Beginning with Scottish
country dance, she has subsequently enjoyed English country,
contra, clogging, rapper sword, and morris. Singing has also
long been a hobby for Chloe, and she became an avid shape
note singer while at Oberlin College, an activity that culminated
in co-editing (with Charles Wells) and publishing Oberlin
Harmony, a compilation of songs sung and enjoyed at Oberlin.
Chloe has lately been enjoying playing piano for English,
Scottish, and contra dances. She plays with many great musicians,
but one of favorite groups is The
Contraptions with Bill Quern and Nora Smith. She is on
the board of the Country Dance
and Song Society and is President of Germantown
Country Dancers. Chloe likes to travel and is interested
in religion and gender studies, particularly of North Africa.
She also cares deeply about public transportation, public
education, and libraries. |
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Clare Maher As a 6-year old,
Clare’s parents sent her to Scottish Highland dance
classes in Chicago, IL. (Her mom didn’t like the idea
of making numerous ballet, tap or Irish dance costumes.) Clare
had great fun for the next 6 years, dancing more than just
Scottish – such as the Mexican Hat dance, English waltz
clog, Scottish social dances and a Cape Breton style “Irish
Jig” with Vaudevillian fist-shaking. Clare studied cello
for many years, and continues making music one of her favorite
forms of recreation. After years of doing very little dance
she got involved in American traditional music and dance,
took up the fiddle, and played for and danced in local square,
international and contra dances. She also attended many dance
and folk arts weekends and camps, enjoying Appalachian and
English clogging. Thus when she found Fiddlekicks, it didn’t
take long before she was happily part of the group. She also
enjoys English rapper sword dancing, and is a member of a
local group that sometimes performs with Fiddlekicks. |
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Donna Hunt has been an avid
dancer for 20 years, enjoying the dance styles of Contra,
Square, Irish Set, Cajun, Swing, and Waltz among others. She
has always been interested in clogging but did not have time
to pursue it. She moved to Philadelphia in 2003, met the FiddleKicks
Cloggers, and got hooked! She joined the group in 2004. Donna
is an accomplished dance caller/teacher and has taught numerous
workshops including Contra Dance style, beginner Swing, Waltz
variations, and Schottische variations. She is often seen
dancing and calling at the Thursday
Night Contra Dance at the Glenside Memorial Hall. Come
join us! Donna lives with her wonderfully supportive husband,
Chris (another avid dancer) and their non-dancing cat Eddie,
in Oreland, Pa. |
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Eileen Hayes has been dancing
with FiddleKicks since 2003. She grew up in Rhode Island enjoying
Irish music and dance, and later became involved in social
dance when friends introduced her to contra dancing in 1989.
She has also performed English ritual dances with Handsome
Molly and Shandygaff Longsword of Princeton, NJ. Eileen notes
that "Clogging feels like coming home. It’s wonderfully
American and is danced to dynamic, joyful old-time music.”
She loves to watch Irish step dance but old time music really
moves her – to dance, especially to clog! She also enjoys
exploring the other percussive styles that FiddleKicks has
promoted!” Eileen also has been involved in organizing
contra and other social dances in Highland Park and Princeton,
NJ. |
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Jan Smith joined FiddleKicks
in 2006. Prior to dancing with FiddleKicks she studied Irish
step dancing with Rosmarie Timmoney. Her favorite place to
dance however is on Broad Street on January 1st where she
has marched with the Goodtimers Comic Division for the last
decade. She plays the cello and performs on piano and accordion
with Aunt Jean's Band. She has been an active member of the
Philadelphia Juggler's Club for ten years and clowns around
in her spare time. Tango and contra dancing have been a big
influence on her, and she's found wonderful teachers in all
of these spaces. |
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Kathy Talvitie made her dance
debut at the age of five as a tap dancing starfish. Dancing
and playing music have filled her life with joy ever since.
Her path as a dancer has led her to ballet, tap, international
and modern dance. For the past 20 years she has been active
in the Delaware Valley Contra Dance and English Country Dance
community as a dancer, musician and composer. In addition
to playing guitar with the band Raise the Roof, she plays
piano with Hold the Mustard and A Joyful Noise. “After
playing for just one FiddleKicks performance I knew it was
time to dust off those tap shoes." |
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Libby Harman grew up in Atlanta
and was first introduced to clogging in Mountain City, Ga.
She has always been passionate about dancing, whether it be
rock ‘n roll, international folk, salsa, swing, or jazz.
Her love of the percussive nature of clogging led her to join
FiddleKicks in 2003. (An added incentive was that her partner
had become addicted to playing old time music on the banjo
and mandolin.) By day, Libby works as a nurse practitioner
in women’s health—her other passions are: mothering,
human rights, quilting, playing tennis, gardening and doing
sudoku puzzles. |
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Meg Hawkins has been clogging
with FiddleKicks since 2000. Seeing the group perform at Rose
Tree Park in 1999, she was inspired to join by the rhythmic,
energetic footwork, enthusiastic dance movements and great
company. She has experienced Morris Dancing at college in
North Carolina and Scottish country dancing in Kathmandu,
Nepal and square dancing in Oxford, England. Clog dancing
to live old-time music seems a natural combination of all
good things, especially with a couple of English dances thrown
in. In her other life she is an elementary school librarian.
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Pat McGrath, co-director,
joined FiddleKicks in 1998. With extensive tap training as
a child, it wasn’t long after joining the group that
she began collaborating with Peggy to lead and develop FiddleKicks,
especially artistically. Pat is always on the lookout for
new dance forms and concepts that she can bring to FiddleKicks.
Most recently Pat has expanded FiddleKicks repertoire with
gumboot, body percussion and advanced Cape Breton dancing.
Since joining FiddleKicks, she has studied dance at Augusta
Heritage Center in West Virginia for Appalachian Clogging
and Flatfooting, Pinewoods in Massachusetts, The Gaelic College
of Celtic Arts and Crafts, Cape Breton, the Swannanoa Gathering
and an independent study dance class at Penn State Abington.
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Peggy Leiby, co-director,
was a founding member of FiddleKicks in 1996. Upon assuming
a leadership role in 1998, she envisioned that FiddleKicks
could be taken from its informal community dance roots to
a quality performance troupe, whether in a concert setting
or community hoedown. She has extensive experience in the
Philadelphia folk dance and music community as an events organizer
and dance performer in various forms of dance, and thrives
in developing concepts for events and outreach programs. She
brings skills of her past experience as a co-owner of a magazine
publishing company to her passion and drive for traditional
dance and music. Besides spending as much time dancing as
she can, she helps to run Mostly
Waltz, teaches waltzing and other couple dances, plays
recorders in early music ensembles and for English
country dances, handles bookings for Simple
Gifts and manages phillydance.com. |
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Rebecca Northrop grew up in
a house filled with music and dance. Her folk musician father
and southwest Virginia-born mother ran the North Elk Coffee
House during her childhood. Departing from the folk tradition,
Rebecca pursued a career in ballet and modern dance, dancing
with Dance Matrix and the Russian Ballet Theatre of Delaware.
After overuse injuries forced her to abandon that career,
she decided to go to school for classical guitar. After picking
up a banjo, however, she left her classical guitar behind
for old-time music and Appalachian dance. |
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Sarah
Gowan was raised in a household where art, music,
dance, and performance were as much a part of daily life as
breakfast. Some of her earliest memories are of the lively
old-time fiddle music and spontaneous clogging sessions in
the yard of her great-grandmother's house nestled in the Smokey
Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. A performer at the
age of six; she studied piano, cello, singing, and ballet.
She fell in love with the stage when, in a local production
of Oliver!, she was given a one line solo because she could
sing louder than the rest of the 80 kids in the cast. In her
teens, Sarah rediscovered the traditional music of her youth,
leading her to international, square and contra dancing. Sarah
also performs with Mixed Pickles Vintage Dancers, plays guitar
and English concertina with several dance bands, teaches traditional
couple dancing, and composes the occasional tune. She lives
with her two terrific teenagers, Garrett and Emma, who almost
never complain about the clogging, squeezeboxes, and banjos,
although the cats often do. |
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Sarah Thomas joined FiddleKicks
in 2005 when she was ten years old. She performs various dancing
styles in the troupe’s repertoire, including Appalachian
Clogging, English Waltz & Sword, South African gumboot
and Cape Breton. Sarah came to FiddleKicks after five years
of classical ballet. She also enjoys playing the violin in
the Main Line Youth Chamber Orchestra, cooking, and soccer.
Sarah has been homeschooled since kindergarten. |
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Sharon Charles has been dancing
with Fiddlekicks since 2005. Her interest in clogging was
sparked when she participated in some free-style clogging
during a vacation in Tennessee. When she came home, she discovered
Fiddlekicks online and has been dancing with the group ever
since. She has taught aerobic dance and exercise for 17 years
and has always loved music and movement, and especially enjoys
playing the rhythm with her feet. She plays the fiddle and
the piano, and teaches private keyboard and piano lessons.
She is also a registered yoga teacher, and enjoys hiking and
mountain biking.
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Susan
Anderson is an active dancer, singer, musician,
as well as organizer in Philly’s international folk
dance community. As the leader of the International
Folk Sounds orchestra, she sings and plays many instruments
including gaida (bagpipe), balalaika, violin and tambura.
She is currently President of the Folk Dance Council of the
Delaware Valley, a docent at the Elmwood
Park Zoo and on staff at Mainewoods
Dance Camp. Susan performs with Svitanya,
a women’s a cappella ensemble that specializes in the
music of Eastern Europe, and runs the weekly
Beaver Folk Dance group group. “FiddleKicks is a
blast!!” |
Regular guests
We tailor our shows to best meet the needs of an audience and
participants by choosing from a pool of guest artists to present
the most suitable entertainment.
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Bill
Dooley has been a perennial favorite in the Philadelphia
folk music scene since the 1970s. In addition to his skills
on guitar, banjo, and harmonica, he is a warm, engaging singer
with “A talent for reaching into his vast repertoire
of traditional and vintage songs to pull out an unknown gem.”
(City Paper). Bill is highly regarded for his arrangements
of jazz and popular standards for solo guitar as well as Hawaiian
“slack-key” guitar. He is an adept songwriter,
skilled old-timey musician, and is known for his unique repertoire
of songs and tunes “from the hills and Bob Wills to
doo-wah-ditty and back to the city.” |
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Bob Butryn is a professional
musician and dancer who specializes in sax, clarinet and flute
in addition to being a theatrical social dance performer.
He has a B.S. in Music Education from Temple University. Bob’s
main project is a music and dance show called "Crazy
Rhythm, Fancy Feet". This diverse show includes dance
routines of tap, swing, disco, the Charleston, a Fred &
Ginger style foxtrot, salsa, and a routine that mixes swing,
hip hop and break dancing. Also included in the show are musical
performances on sax, clarinet and flute as well as humorous
skits and singing. In addition to performing and teaching
nationally, Bob is a member of the New Music group Relache.
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Ellie Grace: Singer, multi-instrumentalist,
songwriter, and percussive dancer, Ellie grew up traveling
across North America performing professionally as part of
her family band and now carries on her family's musical tradition,
touring and teaching nationally and internationally (frequently
with her sister, Leela)! Ellie has done extensive recording
and studio work and several years ago released a celebrated
CD with her sister. Not long ago, Ellie left Columbia, Missouri,
where she was running her own school of music and dance and
headed east to her new home in the mountains of Western North
Carolina. Recent years finds her performing as a member of
The Dirk Powell Band, being on faculty as a percussive dance
instructor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville
and touring overseas. website |
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Jo Wright is the Director
of Alive
& Kicking, based in Exeter, Devon. Formed in 1989,
A&K performs music and dance at folk festivals and events
throughout the UK from the Appalachian Mountain region of
the USA. Based on the traditional steps of Appalachian clogging,
A&K have developed their own distinctive and exciting
style of Appalachian clog dance, using dances choreographed
by members of the team. In 2003 the group visited Philadelphia
as guests of FiddleKicks, who made a return visit to the UK
in 2004. Since then, Jo has returned to the USA regularly
as a guest performer with FiddleKicks in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and West Virginia. Back at home, Jo provides foot percussion
for the Old Porch Band, an Exeter based string band performing
American and UK music, and also performs solo flatfooting
and Cape Breton step dancing at folk clubs in the area. |
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John Devine & Steve Hickman
are seasoned dance and performance musicians from VA &
WV in the Washington, DC area. Both have been members of popular
traveling bands and are in great demand as a performance duo.
These folks know mountain, old time, folk, and swing music
AND how to work together to create a spirited and "with
it" sound. Steve is an unsurpassed fiddler renowned for
his driving energy, superb
hambone, and great humor. John plays crisp back-up guitar
that invites dancing, toe-tapping and singing along. |
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Matt
Brown is a talented performer of traditional
Appalachian music. He has a varied solo show in which he
sings and plays banjo, fiddle, and guitar. He is a musician
with the percussive dance ensemble Rhythm
in Shoes and has made guest appearances with Uncle Earl
and the Wilders. In addition to performing, he teaches private
lessons, workshops and at dance and music camps nationwide.
He has learned from some of the best in the genre including
Bruce Molsky, Dirk Powell, Paul Brown, Ginny Hawker and
Tracy Schwarz. His debut album, “Lone
Prairie,” features Paul Brown and Beverly Smith
and has been highly acclaimed. He has an instructional recording
of fiddle tunes, Old-Time
Fiddle Lesson Vol. 1 that was released in June, 2007.
His upcoming recording, "My Native Home," will
be available in 2008. |
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Rik Bourne plays fiddle,
melodeon, harmonica and guitar. He is a member of folk music
trio, The Coyotes (with Bill Dooley and Wendi Bourne), and
is also the musician for The Kingsessing Morris Men. When
not playing with his regular groups, Rik can be found playing
at square dances with his wife, Wendi, and as a dance musician
in other bands. Rik’s performances include The Philadelphia
Folk Festival, The Philadelphia Mummer’s Parade, and
a Tour of England with the Kingsessing Morris Dancers. |
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Rusty Neithammer started playing
old-time music on the fiddle while in college in the 1970’s,
after hearing it on radio station WXPN, at the Philly Folk
Festival, and at some southern fiddle contests. Over the years,
he also took up the mandolin and guitar. Soon after college,
he was drafted to dance with the Mill Creek Cloggers. Rusty’s
playing has been strongly influenced by the fiddling and banjo
playing of Tommy Jarrell. Besides playing in various band
configurations for Fiddlekicks, Rusty plays fiddle with the
Bow Rockers, an old-time band based in the Philadelphia area.
He also plays guitar with the Cliffhangers, who have recently
released a series of CD recordings. |
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Tom Schaffer has been playing
guitar, bass, or fiddle in the old-time music scene regularly
for close to forty years, playing dances, jamming and joining
up with many many pickup bands at down-south festivals. There
have also been some forays into more organized settings, as
guitar player with power trio, the Sly Dogs alongside Mark
Simos and Michael Gallagher; and with The Amazing Rhythm Kings
including Bob Carlin, Ernest Tedino and Sol Kohen. Tom has
also been found occasionally in collusion with The Hix, The
Sandia Hots and The Piedmont Pepsteppers.Recently retired
from teaching, there's more time for music now; in addition
to FiddleKicks appearances, Tom currently plays bass with
Run Of The Mill Stringband
and with The Bow Rockers, both solid old time dance bands. |
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Wendi Bourne plays guitar
and sings. She is a member of swing bands Girls
from Mars and Swing City as well as The Coyotes. She is
the coordinator for a week-long music & dance “camp”,
Swing Week at Augusta. She has been playing for square dances
with Rik since their marriage in 1978. She has taught guitar
and voice at numerous music camps, and has performed at The
Annenberg Center, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, Bethlehem
Musikfest and at swing dances up and down the east coast. |
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