Experiential Music/Dance Workshops:  (At least two visits per classroom recommended) for k-12. Explore the lives of  Western emigrants through experiential learning with traditional folk songs and dances.

Students sing and dance their way through the nineteenth century American West.

• Repertoire includes  The Girl I Left Behind,  Shenandoah,  Oh Susanna, Home Sweet Home, Beautiful Dreamer,  Buffalo Gals, Old Joe Clark,  and Arkansas Traveler, to name a few.
• Dances include the Schottische, the Virginia Reel, the Polka,  the Waltz, and Square Dancing,

The Heart and Place program may be tailored to a variety of needs.  For example, a school may book a single assembly program, or may choose to schedule an experiential learning residency which combines an assembly program followed up with multiple classroom visits.

“Where there’s a story, there’s music,” Laura Dean said as she explored the theme of Westward Expansion via songs and the stories behind the songs. Dean entertained an audience of all ages at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls and at Great Falls schools. Her selections showcased her musical range and embraced many musical traditions, among them Cheyenne, Blackfoot and pioneer, from folk music to brass band pieces to elegant ballads. This is music grandparents in the large audience probably knew well, such as “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair,” but how many children growing up today have heard “Camptown Races”? The music was well performed, the show was well-paced and the audience delighted.”  –Kristen Inbody, writer for the Great Falls Tribune