Earlville Awesome House “Dancing In The Streets” Workshop for All Ages

One of the dances from the 60s that created the largest craze was The Twist, debuting, as the decade began, on the Dick Clark Show. The Twist originated with the song of the same name…The movement was simple: place one foot forward and twist it back and forth while rotating your hips from side to side.

The Earlville Awesome House has a new week-long workshop for all ages in July! “Dancing in the Streets” is performance skills workshop that teaches singing, dancing and choreography skills starting on July 21. “Dancing in the Streets: A Performance Workshop in 60s Rock & Roll” runs from Mon-Fri, July 21-25 from 1 pm to 6 pm and is for ages 5th grade and up! The EOH workshop taught by Susan Schoonmaker with Charlie Campbell-Decock and Eliza Nolen will help young people develop singing, dancing, and performing skills by presenting a set of rock songs from the 60s. Participants will work together as performance teams then present their work in front of a live audience. Participants will improve their performing abilities, learn about the sixties, and have fun working together at the same time. Individual coaching time is included. Dancing in the Streets will showcase the performers’ talents at the Earlville Opera House on Friday, 7/25, at 7:30 pm. On Sunday, July 20 from 3 pm to 5 pm we’ll host a special orientation/audition session to break the ice and get teams organized. Details and registration forms are online under workshops at http://www.earlvilleoperahouse.com Tuition is $165, $150 EOH members.

Susan currently works as the Musical Director of the D.R.E.A.M. Freedom Revival Project, an interactive community theatre troupe sponsored by Imagining America at Syracuse University. She runs the Summer Musical Theatre Intensive Program in Fabius, NY. and continues to direct musicals, perform, teach private students and work as a Shakespearean rhythmic speech coach.

Susan Schoonmaker graduated from Oberlin Conservatory and College with a degree in Expressive Culture and Performance then moved to Boston to begin a career as a professional jazz singer. Here, she pursued graduate studies at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With her International License in Dalcroze Eurythmics and Vocal Pedagogy, Susan began teaching vocal music and performance in local private schools. She directed award winning choirs, musical theatre productions, and summer performance programs for inner city youth, including special performance workshops on the music of the sixties. Upon moving to central New York, Susan worked as the vocal music teacher and artistic director of the theatre program at Hamilton Central School and received an MAT in Theatre as Moral Education from Colgate University. Susan currently works as the Musical Director of the D.R.E.A.M. Freedom Revival Project, an interactive community theatre troupe sponsored by Imagining America at Syracuse University. She runs the Summer Musical Theatre Intensive Program in Fabius, NY. and continues to direct musicals, perform, teach private students and work as a Shakespearean rhythmic speech coach. Susan is thrilled to be working at the Opera House with Eliza Nolen and Charlie Campbell-Decock and can’t wait to go “Dancin’ the Streets” this summer!

Eliza Nolen is a sophomore at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia studying to be an elementary teacher while majoring in studio art. Throughout high school Eliza was involved with Hamilton Central School Masquers as the dance captain in “The Music Man” and starring as Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls.” Eliza danced at Joy’s Dance Studio for eleven years, assisted dance classes and is thrilled to be “Dancin’ in the Streets” this summer!

Charlie Campbell-Decock was actively involved with Hamilton Central School Masquers during high school, playing leading roles and assisting with choreography for numerous productions. A sophomore at Bowdoin College, he continues to perform regularly and is looking forward to choreographing songs and dances from the sixties this summer. The Earlville Opera House (or Awesome House for kids) is located at 18 East Main Street in Earlville, located just off Route 12B. For more information, please call (315) 691-3550.

EOH events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.

Jesse Lege and Joel Savoy – Fiery, Cajun Music

Kelli Jones Savoy joins Jesse Lege and Joel Savoy, putting the Country back in Cajun music…digging into the deep roots of the genre to find beautiful, rare songs, and the rousing dance hall sound of the honky-tonks of Louisiana and East Texas.

The Earlville Opera House main stage presents the fiery, soulful Cajun music of Jesse Lege and Joel Savoy on Friday, July 19 at 8 pm.  The penetrating soulful singing of Jesse Lege and his fiery accordion is matched by the poetry of Joel Savoy’s fiddling. They are a combustible combination.  Kelli Jones-Savoy joins them with equally compelling vocals, fiddle and guitar.

Fiddler Joel Savoy has been a driving force in the Cajun renaissance of the new millennium. Founder of the multi-GRAMMY-nominated label Valcour Records and the acclaimed Red Stick Ramblers, Savoy is equally at home playing the old twin-fiddling of Cajun masters like Dennis McGee, as he is playing swing or honky tonk.

Kelli Jones-Savoy is the lovely and highly talented wife of Joel Savoy and daughter of Carl Jones. She combines old time and Cajun fiddle with extensive touring, dancing, singing and teaching experience.

Jesse Lége is one of the most admired Cajun accordionists and vocalists from Southwest Louisiana. Beginning with Cajun accordion at age 16, Jesse has been playing traditional Cajun music for over 35 years. He has garnered numerous Cajun French Music Association awards, known as the “Cajun Grammys”: Traditional Band of the Year, Accordion Player of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Band of the Year, and for “Memoires Dans Mon Coeur,” Song of the Year. He was recently inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame, and he’s written songs that have become standards in the traditional repertoire.

“Jessie sings in the traditional high pitched, emotional style reminiscent of the late Iry LeJeune and plays the accordion with equal power and conviction..” -Arhoolie Records

“Lége’s soaring voice resonates with … piercing, yet beautiful heartache . . . [he] possesses one of the truly great voices in contemporary Cajun music. Listeners who do not experience frissons hearing him sing …had better check their pulse.” -LSUE Office of Public Relations

Jesse Lege and Joel Savoy have partnered on a number of projects including Cajun Country Revival “putting the Country back in Cajun music.”  In their debut release, Jesse Lége, Joel Savoy & The Cajun Country Revival dug into the deep roots of Cajun music, looking not only for beautiful, rare songs, but also for a commonality between the rural dance halls of Louisiana and the honky-tonks of East Texas. As Cajuns poured out of the South in the 1930s and 40s looking for work on Gulf Coast oil rigs, Texas honky-tonk became a newfound passion. It’s no coincidence that Hank Williams’ mega-hit “Jambalaya” was based on the Cajun song “Grand Texas,” a sad ballad about leaving a loved one to go to Texas.  Led by elder Cajun musician, Jesse Lege, the Cajun Country Revival also features Cajun fiddle wunderkind Joel Savoy…”

The first release of the project The Right Combination drew this review:  “…these tracks are a reminder of what a powerhouse performer Lége really is, not only in his barreling rides but also in his emotive, gut-wrenching vocals (“Debut Dans La Porte”). He’s a throwback to an era that has long since vanished and probably is the ultimate deciding factor of why this Cajun-country concept works so well. For Cajun and old-time country music aficionados alike, The Right Combination is an instant underground classic.” Driftwood Magazine on WordPress

Fiddler Joel Savoy has been a driving force in the Cajun renaissance of the new millennium. Founder of the multi-GRAMMY-nominated label Valcour Records and the acclaimed Red Stick Ramblers, Savoy is equally at home playing the old twin-fiddling of Cajun masters like Dennis McGee, as he is playing swing or honky tonk.

Savoy has a new project this spring with Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round …”Musically compelling from first note to last, Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round is a swinging, upbeat confection that reminds us we can pay our respects to time-honored American roots music while also having one heckuva lot of fun.” Offbeat.com

Don’t miss the red-hot Cajun experience of Jesse Lege and Joel Savoy playing at the Earlville Opera House on Friday, July 19^th. General admission is $18 and $16 for EOH members and students are discounted to $13.  Premium seating in the first 4 rows is an added $5. The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift.

During your visit, take advantage of the exhibits in the three EOH Art Galleries, the Artisan’s Gift Shop featuring New York artists and the EOH Arts Café!  Delicious refreshments will be available before the show and during intermission, including hot and cold drinks.  For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com.  The Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY.

More about these artists

http://www.jesseandjoel.com/JesseandJoel/Home.html artist website

http://www.jesseandjoel.com/JesseandJoel/Music.html music link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAR3PXDTzUA in the Cajun Country Revival features Jesse on accordion and vocals and Joel on fiddle