Copyright 2005 The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT)

March 30, 2005 Wednesday

By Emily Guziak

Williston Central School sixth-graders Henry Sinkula and Alyx Rivard needed only one reminder from French Canadian dancer Benoit Bourque on Tuesday morning.

"Wait a minute, this isn't wrestling, it's dancing," Bourque said with a grin, running his fingers through his dark, unruly curls as he led 16 students and two teachers through a traditional French dance. "In my country, people learn how to dance with a glass of water on their head."

"Did I forget to tell you that you'll be performing this in front of the school tomorrow?" Bourque asked, his grin widening. "Imagine there are 2,000 people out there watching you," the award-winning Canadian musician said as many of the students let out a collective groan.

The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade French students learning traditional dance, percussion and songs of Quebec in the Williston Central School auditorium on Tuesday were one of several classes to attend workshops with Bourque, of Montreal, and French Canadian musicians Sabin Jacques and Rachel Aucoin. The workshops continue today with afternoon concerts by the Canadian folk musicians and the 135 students who participated in the workshops.

Angela Ly, 11, is at least one of the French students who is eagerly anticipating today's performances. "I just love performing in front of other people," the petite sixth-grader said as she tapped her spike-heeled pink sandals to the beat of Bourque's clacking bones – an ancient form of folk music introduced by the Celts. Bourque used cow rib bones, but the student's versions were made of wood.

The six sixth-grade boys at the Tuesday morning workshop clustered together at one end of the paint-splattered stage floor, playing the bones, then the spoons. Earlier they paired up for the dancing. "This is so much more fun than our regular classes," said Dylan Peters, who said he's turning 12 on Thursday. "We get to move around."

"It's better than gym," said Sinkula, 11."There's too many rules in gym, and I keep getting in trouble."

Williston Central School French teacher Michele Choiniere, a St. Albans native who grew up in a bilingual household, organized the workshops and performances using $1,300 in grant money from the school. Choiniere, a singer, performs regularly with Jacques and Aucoin, and will perform today. She is not getting a stipend for the performance: the other three performers are.

"This gives them a view of Quebec that they may never know," Choiniere said Tuesday, as students put their sets of bones into Bourque's worn green canvas satchel and chose pairs of metal spoons. "It feels very natural for them to try all this here. They're very enthusiastic."

Chelsea Smith, 13, received an enthusiastic "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" from Bourque as she played the bones. "Keep it going. Keep your arms moving more than your bones."

Calvin Benevento, 11, a drum player at home, broke into a smile as Bourque watched him play the bones. "He was the first one to get it," Bourque said.

"Once you find a spark with the kids, you can really make the experience dynamic," Bourque said at the close of the workshop. "I just love this. Don't forget," he called out to the students traipsing off the stage. "You'll be dancing tomorrow."

If you go;

WHAT: Quebecois and Franco-American dance and music performances;

WHEN: 12:30-1:15 and 1:30-2:15 p.m. today;

WHERE: Williston Central School auditorium