Teaching Staff
Joanna Reiner—English Country Dance
Lisa Greenleaf—Squares & Contras
Ben Moss—English Ritual Dance & Music
Shona Kearney—Longsword and Step Dancing
Lily Kruskal Leahy—Harmony Singing
Andy Taylor-Blenis—Couple Dancing
Jamie Beaton & John Mayberry—Porch Singing
Music Staff
Alchemy feat. Karen Axelrod, Rachel Bell, & Eric Martin
Night Watch feat. Elvie Miller, Owen Morrison, & Naomi Morse
​With additional music by Alex Cumming!
Sound engineering by ​Dereck Kalish
Read more about our individual staff members and musicians below!
This session will feature gender-free calling styles!
J4 plans to use the following calling styles: larks and robins for contra dances, ladies and gents for square dances, and positional for English Country Dances.

Teaching Staff

Joanna Reiner has taught English dance for over two decades.  In addition to being one of the leaders of the Philadelphia-based Germantown Country Dancers, her calling has taken her from Amherst to Ann Arbor, from NEFFA to Hey Days, from St. Croix to Vancouver, and other points abroad, including many sessions at Pinewoods Camp.  While known for her clear calling and instruction, Joanna loves teaching workshops for ECD callers, and workshops that explore ECD technique, new dances, and how people learn and remember dance choreography. Joanna is the Director of Programs for the Country Dance & Song Society (CDSS).
Lisa Greenleaf calls contras, squares, odd formations, and other interesting dance shapes around the globe, as well as online to little Zoom boxes. She is very excited to be with lively, in-the-moment dancers at J4.
Ben Moss has been a part of the folk scene for as long as he can remember, Morris dancing for over 20 years in the North-West, Cotswold and Molly traditions, playing violin and melodeon with some of the foremost ceilidh bands in the UK as well as being a ceilidh caller and a singer/performer of his own material.
https://www.benmossfolk.co.uk/
Shona Kearney is a goldsmith, step dancer, teacher and long-time member and leader of Toronto Women’s Sword (TWS). She has enjoyed traveling and performing longsword, rapper and Ontario step dancing with TWS since 1989. When at home in Toronto, Shona teaches in the School of Jewellery at George Brown College.
Lily Kruskal Leahy is incredibly excited to be returning to July 4th session after a 9 year hiatus! Currently living in Co. Cork in Ireland, Lily is a music educator and choir conductor in local schools, is a member of her local community choir, and is the founder and musical director of a small vocal ensemble in her town of Mallow. She has been involved in choral singing all her life and has been the musical director for several small vocal groups over the last several years. Making beautiful harmonies with friends is one of her favorite activities and is looking forward to sharing this at July 4th weekend at Pinewoods!
Andy Taylor-Blenis started dancing with her parents in International Folk Dance at age 0. She began teaching international dance to Girl Scouts at age 9, enjoyed creative movement through her teen years and became certified in Scottish Country Dance teaching at age 17. Andy went on to receive her BFA in dance from UMass Amherst, where she minored in social anthropology. She taught Scottish and international folk dance through college. She has continued teaching both forms throughout her 40-year contemporary dance career. In addition to teaching modern and jazz dance throughout the Boston area, Andy is the artistic director of Boston Scottish Country Dancers, Back Pocket Dancers, and Mladost Folk Ensemble, a youth folk dance troupe that she founded in honor of her parents, Conny and Marianne Taylor. Andy has been teaching on Zoom throughout the pandemic. Every Tuesday night, she teaches from 7 to 9 pm through the Tuesday Community Dance, a weekly online folk dance.

Pinewoods is the place she teaches closest to her heart. She has been attending Pinewoods since 1975 and looks forward to being there with the July 4th weekend.
https://www.andytaylordance.com/
Despite what John Mayberry says, Jamie Beaton is the one who fell in love with traditional song, more years ago than he will admit, at the legendary Fiddler’s Green folk club in Toronto. Since then, he is the one who has been singing an assortment of British and North American songs at camps, clubs, festivals, Morris dance gatherings, pubs, and online events, often in tandem with his long-time friend John Mayberry. It is Jamie who has also been an avid Morris dancer and teacher, and a fairly reliable contact for that renowned showman, Seamus Bullero, and his sidekick brother Sean.
Despite what Jamie Beaton says, John Mayberry is the one who fell in love with traditional song, more years ago than he will admit, at the legendary Fiddler’s Green folk club in Toronto. Since then, he is the one who has been singing an assortment of British and North American songs at camps, clubs, festivals, Morris dance gatherings, pubs, and online events, often in tandem with his long-time friend Jamie Beaton. It is John who has also been an avid Morris dancer and teacher, and a fairly reliable contact for that renowned showman, Sean Bullero, and his sidekick brother Seamus.​

Music Staff

Alchemy

Alchemy brings together three dynamic players steeped in traditional English Country Dance and Contra Dance music. They have quickly become known as a powerhouse trio, in demand for dance weekends, camps, concerts, and other events across North America and beyond. Their improvisatory style brings a contemporary and innovative feel to both traditional and newly composed tunes. Alchemy invites the dancers to share in a sublime dance experience ranging from intensely energetic to the kind of exquisite, nuanced beauty that tugs at the heart strings.
​https://soundcloud.com/rachel-bell-46/sets/alchemy-turning-of-the-hour
Karen Axelrod left the world of classical music over 40 years ago, and has found her home in the folk world. She is highly regarded for her creative piano playing at English, American and Scottish dance events around the country (including Pinewoods Dance Camps, Ogontz, Buffalo Gap, Berea Christmas Country Dance Week, The John C. Campbell Folk School, and BACDS events) and abroad.  Her improvisational playing is lyrical yet touched with humor and whimsy. Karen is a member of the bands: Alchemy, Foxfire, Peregrine Road, and the Axelrod-Martin Duo. She also plays accordion and tours with the renowned long sword team, Orion. In addition to her life as a musician, Karen is an expert dog walker which keeps her in shape as she works toward her goal to complete a marathon in every state and not come in last. Karen formerly performed comedy improv with The Villa Jidiots and loves to teach improv to adults, children, and her canine clients.
https://karenaxelrod.wixsite.com/karenaxelrodmusic
Rachel Bell started out as a serious classical pianist, took a brief side trip to the bagpipes, and accidentally fell in love with the accordion when her college flute teacher unexpectedly foisted one on her. Now based in Brattleboro, VT, she hauls her accordion all over North America and even overseas, sharing her contagious enthusiasm for the instrument and forging authentic connections with audiences everywhere. She draws her inspiration from Celtic, French, English, Quebecois, and New England traditions and thrives on collaborative work with her bands. This performer, tunesmith, and teacher is sought after for concerts, contra dances, French bal folk dances, English country dances, workshops, and festivals--all in virtual form during the pandemic. Rachel dreams every day of the time when all of these activities can resume as joyous, in-person, community experiences.
https://www.rachelbellmusic.com/
Eric Martin fronts as a violinist and violist but is covertly a virtuoso Sarrusophone player holding performance degrees from Ithaca College and the University of Limerick, Ireland. At the mere age of 14 months, Eric received rave reviews for his premier of Lars Umbeckglagaspufinnost’s Sarrusophone concerto in F# locrian with the renowned NUTSO (Nunavut Uncharted Territory Substitute Orchestra). In recent years, Eric has pioneered the resurgence of the Sarrusophone in traditional music. Dancers at numerous Contra and English Country Dance festivals and balls have commented that the notes Eric plays that are outside the range of human hearing are especially powerful, stirring, and danceable. Eric lives beneath the stage at Carnegie Hall and thus has “shared the stage” with many famous musicians who have practiced a lot.

Night Watch

Picture
Night Watch in 2005
Night Watch was formed at Pinewoods Family Week in the early 2000s by childhood friends and collaborators, Naomi Morse, Owen Morrison and Elvie Miller.
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After touring the contra dance circuit for a number of years in the US, they made their debut album, Splendid Isolation, in 2008. The album, with its combination of original and traditional tunes, seamlessly meshes their northern and southern roots and brings their colorful performances to life in a way that lasts beyond the fleeting joy of a dance or concert hall. 

They are delighted to reunite at Pinewoods after many years spread across the globe.
Naomi Morse grew up surrounded by music and dance in the folk communities of New England. She is known for her energetic and driving fiddle playing for both contra and English Country dancing and finds sounds both fiery and flowing in various styles of roots music including American old time, New England, Irish, Quebecois, and Scottish. Her bands have included The Poor Cousins, Night Watch, Housetop, and the mega-fiddle-band Childsplay and she has toured extensively with the world music ensemble Northern Harmony. After over a decade of living in Brooklyn, she now lives in the woods of Vermont with her husband and son.
http://naomimorse.com/
Owen Morrison is an accomplished rhythm and lead guitarist, at home in many styles of traditional music. His playing, laced with rhythmic power and skillful finesse, has made him popular among dancers and fiddlers alike. Owen has toured the U.S. and abroad with bands such as Elixir, Airdance, Night Watch and The Morrison Brothers Band. A frequent staff member and Program Director at Pinewoods, Ashokan, Augusta, and many other camps.
https://owenmorrison.com/
​Elvie Miller grew up immersed in the New England music and dance community and attended Family Week at Pinewoods many times as a camper. A recipient of the Watson Fellowship in 2005, she studied traditional dance music in northern Europe, and subsequently moved to music-rich County Clare, Ireland, where she now lives with her husband, fiddler Denis Liddy, and their twin daughters. She enjoys teaching, playing music and exploring children's literature.
Alex Cumming is a traditional Singer, Accordionist, Pianist and dance caller hailing from Somerset, England, now living in Greater Boston, MA, USA. He performs songs and tunes from around the United Kingdom and America with a great depth of knowledge of the tradition. Alex has made his mark on the folk scene with his rhythmic dance-able accordion style, strong voice and his fun and engaging stage presence. He is also an occasional drummer and bouzouki player. Alex can be seen performing with The Teacups, Alex Cumming & Nicola Beazley, Bellwether and several Ceilidh, Contra and ECD bands. Away from performing, Alex is currently the Program Director for CDSS English Week at Pinewoods, co-founder of Virtual Accordion Camp and Session Musician.
​http://www.alexcummingmusic.com/

Sound Engineer

Dereck Kalish has been contra dancing since 2005 and going to local dances in New England, mostly the Boston area, just about every week. Around 2011, Dereck became both a caller and sound engineer, with a focus on providing the best service possible to make for a fun and successful dance. Providing great sound for weekly dances, and larger events from Pinewoods Camp, Tropical Dance Vacation St. Croix, Peterborough Snow Ball, Across The Lake, NEFFA, CDS to name a few. Dereck can be seen calling English or contra dances throughout New England.
Banner photo by Gus Voorhees.