Editor’s Letter
I recently sat down at the piano to noodle. I was having trouble coming up with a topic for an article I was writing, and I hoped that improvising would help the brainstorming process. As the music set in, I found myself revisiting summer Dalcroze memories. The national conference at the scenic and historic Oberlin…
Read MoreIntroducing: Professional Teacher Outreach Support
Are you a DSA member who first learned about Dalcroze Education while attending a professional conference, or a professional teacher who has had the opportunity to teach at a conference? National and state events are one of the best ways we can share our unique work with others. In an effort to help teachers who…
Read MoreMovement Training for Dalcroze Eurhythmics Specialists
My introduction to Dalcroze eurhythmics came when, in 1997, Lisa Parker hired me to teach movement in the Dalcroze program at the Longy School of Music of Bard College. In an effort to design a movement course that served Dalcroze students, I started taking, and immeasurably enjoying, all the eurhythmics, solfège, improvisation, and pedagogy classes…
Read MoreInterview with Rebecca Penneys
Rebecca Penneys is a recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator.For over six decades she has been hailed as a pianist of prodigious talent, has concertizedthroughout all the continents north of Antarctica, and represented the USA in Information ServiceState Department Cultural Tours over a ten-year period. She made her recital debut at age 9…
Read MoreImprov Exchange: Dewdrops
In every issue of Dalcroze Connections, we provide ideas for a brief composition that might be used in the classroom. Use this as inspiration for your own improvisations and share the results! As improvisers, it’s important to take inspiration from any and everything: life experiences, art of all kinds, poetry. In this issue, we present…
Read MoreConversations on Undoing Racism (May 2024)
The DSA began our monthly “Conversations on Undoing Racism” in August of 2020, in response to the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. We have met every month, except one, since then. Here is an excerpt from a participant’s email response to a recent session: THANK YOU for…
Read MoreThe Follow: A Reaction of Nuance
The follow is a uniquely American Dalcroze teaching strategy and combines elements of association, dissociation, improvisation, and group exercise. Here, Leslie Upchurch describes the elements that comprise a follow activity, as well as several examples of how to use the follow when teaching students of various ages. My first Dalcroze eurhythmics experience was as a…
Read MoreImprovisation in the Dalcroze Classroom
Along with eurhythmics and solfège, improvisation is one part of Jaques-Dalcroze’s tripartite description of his system of music education. Often associated with on-the-spot instrumental creations, Michael Joviala illuminates how this subject reaches beyond the instrument, the exercise, and the notes. In this article, you will find diverse manifestations of improvisation within a teaching environment, as…
Read MoreBoard Chair’s Letter
Most of the work of the DSA happens in committees staffed with volunteers. It is my great pleasure to work with all these committees and their leaders. Thank you for the unique and valuable contributions of these volunteers; the DSA would not exist without you. In this edition, I want to give special thanks to…
Read MoreEditor’s Letter
The past few years I’ve spent as chair of the Dalcroze USA publications committee have been more rewarding than I could have imagined. As a mother of three young daughters, I’ve had to take a major pause from most of my music career for the time being, but I keep Dalcroze alive for myself through…
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