Thursday 14 May: Virtual Eurosession and Workshop

Ready for another virtual Eurosession?

On our usual Eurosession evening on Thursday 14 May, there will be another opportunity for a virtually live, experimental Eurosession get together, even if we can’t all hold hands…   

The basic plan is the same as last time, but this time we’ll begin at 8pm for our first ever technologically mediated dance workshop.

Times: 8:00-9:00pm Dance workshop;  9-10:30 pm Open session. 

Venue:  Zoom

NB. If you plan to share a tune, please use a computer and not a phone/tablet, so you can access some important additional Zoom functionality.  

About the workshop:

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We’ll share the Danse des Sept Sauts, a dance from the Basque that is danced with others, but not holding hands – so it’s perfectly reasonable to learn it as solo individuals during this time of physical distancing.  We have danced it at Eurosession before, and it’s a good opportunity to revisit it.  It has a simple structure, with just enough complexity to be intriguing, and you can dance this as gently or energetically as you choose. If you’d like to attempt to connect brain cells and body into some kind of working order, then do join us!

Here’s a snippet of the music: 

And if you’d like to learn the tune, check out both the dots and the play-back on: https://abcnotation.com/.  

NB. This event is free, but if you enjoy the evening, and can afford to do so, please donate to Age UK’s Coronavirus emergency appeal.

The rest of the plan is basically unchanged from last time – marvellous musicians, delicious dancing, and a bit of chatting:

Everyone:
To switch views between one musician and all participants, see top right on your screen, or https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362323-How-Do-I-Change-The-Video-Layout- Please mute your audio when you are not speaking / playing, and use the Chat feature for background communication. There are also likely to be intermissions for general chat and catching up.

Musicians:
A few of our session regulars will be on hand to get the music going. One person (or device) will broadcast at any one time; wave your instrument when you want to play, or use the ‘raise your hand’ feature, and the lead musician can choose/nominate the next player. 
When you’ve been chosen to lead, select Original Sound (top left) when you want to play, and turn it off again for normal voice transmission. 
NB. Mute your audio when you are not the lead musician and are just playing along at home. If you think you know the genre of dance that you might be playing, tip the dancers off at the start of your tune – thanks! 

Dancers:
Get your dance shoes on; if you have a danceable space, book it for the evening, There may be some experimental attempts to dance the right genre of dance at the right time (albeit half a beat behind!). More important is to dance as though no-one is watching, or as though you can cheer up everyone else who is watching! Or turn your video off if you feel freer dancing in private.

Eurosession is an inclusive and caring space for all.
Invite your co-space-sharing mates / family / teddy-bear along if appropriate 🙂

See you soon,
xx Eurosesh