Book Description

Peel the Banana (with included music CD?see below) is arranged as a sequence of dances and singing games from many traditions that Paul Rosenberg has found to be popular during his years of leading school residencies, family dances and community celebrations. The book provides detailed instructions for each of the dances on the CD, as well as written music (with chords) for all of the tunes. It presents suggested age group (a number of the dances can be taught to children as young as three), formation and notes on each dance which might include background information, teaching tips or variations to make the dance accessible to less experienced or younger dancers. Also included are simple instructions on how to teach the waltz, a list of enrichment activities for the classroom (including a reading list for schoolchildren) and a glossary describing all the dance movements and terms used in the book. For the CD, George Wilson (fiddle, banjo, bass, guitar, percussive feet), Peter Davis (clarinet, guitar, piano, mandolin, pennywhistle) and Paul Rosenberg (recorder) provide wonderful dance-length music for the 20 dances. The collection includes American dances such as the singing square Marching Through Georgia and the Virginia Reel. Other countries represented through their dances are Russia (Sasha), Israel (Zemer Atik), Germany (Kinderpolka) and Denmark (Seven Jumps). There are also dances from Ireland, Belgium, Quebec, England, plus two African-American singing games. For most tracks Paul calls the dance the first two times through. Children are also included singing on several of the cuts.