Time for a Little Something

Time for a Little Something, published in Serendipity, was one of Fried Herman's favorite dances, and when you hear the tune and see the beauty of the choreography, I think you'll see why. She taught it at a session she and Jackie Algon dubbed the "Fried for Few," held on December 30, 2007, at Linden Tree Vista and then again on May 24, 2008. The teaching audio in this mash-up comes from the earlier session; the dance video and corresponding musical track from the session in May.

The dancing that follows Fried's teaching in the first half is among the best I have ever seen.I realize that not all viewers will want to hear the teaching, especially given the meager visuals, and will jump straight to the dance portion of the tape. (The actual dance footage begins at 4:56.) Whatever we may think of Fried's teaching in this instance, however, one thing is certain: She had a clear artistic vision of how the dance should be done, with concrete advice on how specific figures (the final Right Hand Turn, for example) should be executed to express the underlying emotional and aesthetic qualities of the dance. This gift of hers, in my view, is one of the truly important gifts she made to us as dancers.

The haunting music for the session in May was provided graciously by Joyce Crouch, piano; Naomi Morse, violin; and Mark Eisenberg, recorder. Leah Barkan, piano, and Sue Polansky, clarinet, played with laudable sensitivity and skill for the December session. Video was by David Millstone assisted by Danny Walkowitiz also on video and Hal Wagner on sound. All of these folks were extremely generous with their considerable talents, for which I am hugely grateful.

The amazing quilt seen in the opening screen is the work of Sandy Rotenberg and friends and hangs in the dining room at Linden Tree Vista. The editing of this YouTube post is mine. --Paul Ross

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Time for Little Something
• dance
• Fried Herman
• Winnie the Pooh
• English country dancing