March Break Workshop General Information

March Break Workshop 2010

MARCH 12, 13, 14, 15, 2010

The Gaelic College in St. Ann's will be conducting a regular March Break Workshopbeginning Friday, March 12th registration and continuing until the 15th; with three full days (Saturday, Sunday andMonday) of classes.

To quickly navigate our March Break Workshop page, please click on the links below:

• Disciplines & Instructors
• Workshop Fees
• Assembly
• Rules
• Discipline Level Guidelines
• Registration Methods
• Campus Registration Times
• Download Application Form and Brochure

Disciplines & Instructors

Please note: Roster is tentative and subject to change.

Workshop Fees (Tax Included)

YOUTH (Age 5-18): LIVE-IN STUDENTS - (Tuition, Room-Dormitory Only & Board) $272.00. Towels and bedding provided.

DAY STUDENTS: (Includes Tuition and Lunch) $190.00.

ADULTS: LIVE-IN STUDENTS (Includes Tuition, Room & Board) Double: $310.00. Single: $377.00. Towels and bedding provided.

Live-in students receive an evening meal from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm the Friday of registration (March 12); A limited number of meal tickets will be available for non-students.

Assembly

Assembly is at 8:30 am Saturday. Attendanceof all students and instructors is requested. "On-site" applications will be accepted providing space is still available.

Rules

Rules pertaining to student conduct and curfew timeswill be in effect during the workshop. Any student who does not adhere to theserules will be required to leave and the fees, etc. WILL NOT be refunded. TheHouse Parents, School Supervisor and the Executive Director will supervisestudents.

Discipline Level Guidelines

The following are levels offered in each discipline for 2010 March Break.

BAGPIPES: Beginner 5, Advanced Beginner 4, Intermediate 3
BODHRAN: Beginner 5, Advanced Beginner 4
CB FIDDLE: Beginner 5, Advanced Beginner 4, Intermediate 3, Advanced 2/1
CB STEP DANCE: Beginner 5, Advanced Beginner 4, Intermediate 3
GAELIC LANGUAGE & SONG: Beginner 5, Advanced Beginner 4, Intermediate 3
HIGHLAND DANCE: New Beg 5, Adv Beg 4, Novice 3, Intermediate 2, Premier 1
PIANO: Advanced Beginner 4, Intermediate 3
PIPEBAND DRUMMING: Beginner 5, Advanced Beginner 4, Intermediate 3

Please refer to the following guidelines before making level choice.

BAGPIPES: BP5 New Beginner - no experience necessary; BP4 Advanced Beginner - Beginning to blow on pipes, have learned fundamentals (doublings, triplets, grips, burls), basic sight reading skill, beginning to play common mass band tunes on pipes; BP3 Intermediate - on pipes for 1 or 2 years, ability to play mass band tunes by memory, competing at Grade 4 level with some exposure to Grade 3 competition, ability to play competition 2/4 marches, strathspeys, reels and jigs. Limited number of practice chanters in classroom.

BODHRAN: B5 New Beginner - no experience necessary; B4 Advanced Beginner - basic jig and reel rhythms or have taken courses at the College before, some basic variations of the rhythms. Student to provide own instrument.

CAPE BRETON FIDDLE: F5 New Beginner - No experience necessary. No official or very few lessons taken; F4 Advanced Beginner - student should be able to play tunes at a slow to moderate pace. Reading music is an asset but not a prerequisite; F3 Intermediate - student should have a good knowledge of tunes in the keys of A, D, G, E, with minors in each key. Student should have some sight-reading or ear-training ability. Student should be able to play tunes at a moderate pace; F2/1 Advanced - student in this level should have the ability to read music, play in all keys and to play in 3rd position. Student should be able to play at a medium to advanced tempo. Instructors at this level will be focusing on bowing techniques, ornamentation, phrasing, learning tunes by ear as well as by note, and placing sets together in terms of complimentary keys. Student to provide own instrument.

CAPE BRETON STEP DANCE: : S5 New Beginner - absolute beginner who has no training (often those who think they have learned it from someone else learn it incorrectly); S4 Advanced Beginner - confidence in 3 strathspeys, 3 reels and a few jig steps; S3 Intermediate - confidence in 5 strathspeys, 5 reels and 3 or 4 jig steps.

GAELIC: G5 New Beginner - No experience necessary; G4 Advanced Beginner - Understands basics of word order, verb "to be", common greetings and partings and vocabulary relevant to same, numbers 1 - 20, has a working knowledge of Gaelic orthography (including lenition), and pronunciation. Can read basic texts prepared for Beginner students. Can carry on simple conversations; G3 Intermediate - understands all tenses of verb "to be", assertive verb, prepositional pronouns for most common prepositions, prepositional phrases, introduced to past, future and conditional tenses of regular verbs, irregular verbs. Possesses basic repertoire of idiomatic expressions. Can read basic texts with the aid of a dictionary. Can participate in conversation and express themselves in a variety of settings.

HIGHLAND DANCE: All dancers should be taking proper dance levels. Dancers not taking proper levels will be placed in proper classes by their instructors. Dancers needing stamps should remain in their peoper levels and not be bumping up levels even if they only need a stamp or two. Dances will be worked on according to upcoming competitions. Please be in proper category: H5 New Beginner: Has NO Highland Dance experience or has only taken a week or two in the past at summer sessions. These students are not taking regular classes during the year; H4 Beginner: These dancers are taking regular lessons throughout the year and MUST KNOW at least Highland Fling & Sword Dance in full; H3 Novice: MUST KNOW: Highland Fling, Sword Dance, Seann Triubhas, Lilt , Flora. These are the required dances for this level and if student does not know all 5 Novice dances in full - they should take the H4 level; H2 Intermediate: MUST KNOW: (At least) Fling, Sword, Seann Triubhas, Lilt, Flora and should have some good knowledge of the Barracks,, Laddie, Jig and Hornpipe; . H1 Premier: MUST KNOW: At least the same as above. MUST be competing in the Premier Category competitively.

PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT: All piano students must have the folloiwing: Basic piano experience - solid knowledge of notes and scales; knowledge of most rudimentary major ad minor chords (particularly (Major) A, C, D, E, F, G; (Minot) A, E (otherwise students should be willing to memorize or become familiar with them outside of class; familiarity with the types of Cape Breton Fiddle/Bagpipe tunes is an important asset but not entirely necessary; it is not necessary to have experience reading music or chord charts; any ear training experience is a highly valuable asset for any class in Cape Breton piano accompaniment. P4 Advanced Beginner - (Basic knowledge; all criteria for all piano students). Teaching basic chord patterns and techniques, introducing the 1-4-5 and 1-3-7 chord patterns and beginning ear training for impromptu accompaniment; P3 Intermediate - Building on the basic chord patterns and rhythms from P4, the Pd class refines basic rhythms and introduces the funamental playing techniques for Cape Breton piano accompaniment (ie. jig and reel patterns; bass lines and 'runs'; chord inversions and substitutions). Limited number of pianos in classroom.

PIPEBAND DRUMMING: D5 New Beginner - no experience necessary; D4 Advanced Beginner - has the fundamentals (singles, doubles, rolls, etc.), hold sticks properly, introduced to basic scores; D3 Intermediate - play on drums, know mass band scores, Grade 4 level competition standard with some exposure to Grade 3 competition, plays jigs, reels, 2/4 marches; Limited number of drum pads and sticks available.

Methods of Registration

Online:
We recommend using our Online Registration as the quickest and safest method. After filling out the form and clicking the "Submit" button, you will be directed to the Gaelic College Craft Shop, where a $40.00 (Canadian) fee is required for processing your application. After fee processing is completed on our Secure Server, a receipt with be sent to you via e-mail. Soon thereafter you will receive a registration package.

Telephone: You may register by telephone (902-295-3411). Please download the March Break Workshop Application Form below and have all information and credit card ready before placing call.

Fax:
You may download and print out the March Break Workshop Application Form below below and Fax (902-295-2912) the information to us.

Regular Mail:
Please download and fill out the March Break Workshop Application Form below below. Mailing address information is on the form.

E-mail:
You can e-mail registration information to us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . However, it's not safe to send credit card information by e-mail. Please use one of the above methods for credit card processing. Please feel free to email the college registrar at the above address with any questions or comments you have regarding our Summer School program.

Please note: All personal information is held in strict confidence.

Campus Registration Times

Download Application Form and Brochure