Announcing: My new book and 2-CD set of the English country dances I wrote is AVAILABLE NOW!
Choreograffiti: English Country Dances by Renée Camus
A new spiral-bound book of 21 English country dances written by Renée Camus, and an accompanying two-CD set of recordings by some of ECD’s best musicians.
This book contains the instructions and music (dots) for 21 English country dances written by Renée Camus, including Tie the Knot, The Artful Dodsons, As You Were, Wink, Shindig, and the title track, Choreograffiti. The tunes are from many different composers, including Paddy Fahey, Dave Wiesler, Rebecca King, Jon Berger, Sam Sweeney, Owen Morrison, and some traditional tunes, just to name a few. The front matter includes Renée’s dance philosophy, terminology, rankings, a dance planner, and a chart of the figures in each dance.
Accompanying this book is a two-CD set featuring the tunes for all 21 dances, all at danceable lengths and tempos, recorded by some of the English country dance world’s best musicians: Audrey Jaber, Shira Kammen, Chip Prince, Christopher Jacoby, Jim Oakden, and Del Eckels, and produced by Christopher Jacoby. The CDs come in an 8-panel digipak with art and design by Alex Bradley.
With both the book and the CD, you’ll have everything you need for a great evening of English country dance. 🙂
Get your book and CDs today! Go to Bandcamp, or email me: camusr6 at gmail dot com.
Christopher Jacoby and your crew of finely chosen musicians have done the fantastic job you were hoping they would. I’m no expert, but with their experience, talent, creativity, knowledge of their instruments and how to play and blend them together (love the inclusion of the banjo!), I think they have created a new sound in the ECD repertoire. Soulful slower tunes, jazzy notes, tunes that are upbeat and make you want to dive in and dance, balance and also variety. Some more traditional, some a bit edgy. You nailed it hiring them! Well done all! — Alice Williams, caller, Santa Barbara, CA
I’m an arts and entertainment writer and pop culture junkie with a geek-flavored bent. I have a strong dance and musical theatre background, and I’ve written about television, movies, dance, and theatre for Los Angeles Magazine and Reel Life with Jane, among others. I also work with web design, video editing, and content management, and I teach dance and choreograph English country dances (the kind of dancing you see in Jane Austen movies).
I currently work as an editor for Explore.com, an online travel magazine owned by Static Media.
Here’s some of what makes me unique:
I have a great grasp of language, including colloquialisms and idioms
I understand proper grammar and use it well
I’m thorough, with a careful eye for detail, finding errors that others miss
I’m outgoing, enthusiastic, and very curious. I love interviewing people and making them feel comfortable
I write in different styles and formats, from academic to informal, research articles to blog posts
I love teaching and breaking things down into easily understandable pieces
I have a strong background in the arts, especially dance and musical theatre
I understand the enormous value that the arts bring to life and culture, and I want to stand up for the arts in our society
I have geek-flavored tastes that are just outside of mainstream and I can explain them easily to the lay person
After years of working in academia as a dance scholar and ballroom and tap teacher, I’m re-launching my career in freelance entertainment, writing, editing (words and video), and content management. I also work in web design. Check out some of my videos on this site, or subscribe to my YouTube channel.
I’m also active on social media and have lots of ideas for ways to grow your presence and increase your followers. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, and let me know how I can help you.
I am in the process of revamping my website, and I hope to have a new look soon.
