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REPORT FROM USA
Annual Report March, 2005 Prepared by: The Dalcroze Society of America is a national organization with 248 members. Of these, 126 are patron members, 182 are participating members, and 40 are student members. The DSA holds a national conference every two years and is responsible for the production of the American Dalcroze Journal (the primary US journal for the study of Dalcroze Eurhythmics). Our most recent conference was held in June of 2004 in Pittsburgh, PA. Hosted by outgoing DSA President Stephen Neely, the conference was very successful and allowed over 50 teachers and participants to share ideas and learn from one another. Local chapters of the DSA exist in some areas of the country, particularly in large population centers where Dalcroze interest is strong and there are enough DSA members in the area to make a chapter financially viable. During the last few years, one local chapter has dissolved and another has been created. The new chapter, the Dalcroze Society of the District of Columbia, is located in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area, and it joins the Tri-State, Three Rivers, Los Angeles, and Northwest chapters in offering local workshops and events for DSA members. This year, we have created a special membership arrangement with the TriState chapter; for one fee, participants become members of both the local TriState chapter as well as the DSA. As a result of this arrangement, the DSA has experienced an increase in membership, and we are considering implementing this agreement with other local chapters as well. Many schools in the US offer various levels of Dalcroze coursework for students of all ages during the academic year. However, the majority of the certification and licensing of Dalcroze teachers takes place through summer institutes. This summer, teacher-training programs will take place at the following schools:
Programs at Carnegie-Mellon, Longy, the Dalcroze School, and Julliard also offer certification during the regular academic year. The DSA awards scholarships for study towards certification or licensing to select applicants based on merit and financial need. Many programs in the US stress the importance of working with more than one Dalcroze teacher so as to obtain a more balanced understanding of the method. Dalcroze teachers travel frequently both within the US and to other parts of the globe to give workshops and start new programs. For example, Mimi Hsu traveled to Beijing to share the Dalcroze experience with students at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, which hopes to strengthen its Dalcroze offerings in the near future. Similar programs are also getting off the ground in the US, where we are seeing a growing interest in Dalcroze for all ages and levels of students. Work is also going forward in the areas of Dalcroze research and scholarship. Robert Abramson is overseeing the translation of many of Jaques-Dalcroze’s previously untranslated works into English, DSA members are very involved with efforts to preserve historic Dalcroze artifacts at the New York Public Library, and Dr. David Frego oversees another important Dalcroze archive located at the Ohio State University in Columbus. In addition, Dr. Frego received a major grant to fund an interdisciplinary seminar series entitled "The Artistic Influence of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze in Twentieth Century Music, Dance, and Theatre." Dr. Frego’s seminar is an excellent example of the increasing interest in the integration of Dalcroze work with other areas of study, both music-related and foreign to the field. As a result, Dalcroze-based presentations are beginning to appear on the programs of national non-Dalcroze conferences such as the College Music Society and the Society for Studies in Perception and Cognition. We also maintain strong ties to national Kodaly and Orff organizations in the US. As these and other efforts continue, we hope to increase our visibility in the world outside of Dalcroze. Chamber Music magazine, the official publication of Chamber Music America, recently featured a thought-provoking cover story on Dalcroze study in the US. We hope to become more prominent in other mainstream publications as well. We are also taking steps to bring the DSA into the new century in terms of technology and online access. In an effort to increase interaction between DSA members, who are often widely separated geographically, we have launched a new online forum for sharing information and ideas about Dalcroze Eurhythmics and related topics. Nicknamed “Digital Dalcroze,” this discussion forum (which is hosted by Yahoo!) allows DSA members to share resources, view a calendar of workshops and events, view a database of job postings, chat with one another in real time, post messages to our discussion board, and receive frequent updates from the Executive Board of the DSA. Finally, on an internal note, we are currently in the process of revising our constitution, a process undertaken by both board and at-large members of the DSA. Our next board meeting will take place in late April; of primary importance on our agenda for that meeting is planning for the 2006 National Conference. 31st March 2005
Proposed by Silvia Del Bianco
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Carnegie Mellon School of Music
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Workshop I - July 4 -8
Workshop II - July 4-22
Faculty: Annabelle Joseph, Director, Marta Sanchez, Herbert Henke, Stephen Moore
