Dad Dances by Clif Walker

Modeled after Baroque-era dance suites by composers such as Bach and Handel, Clif Walker’s Dad Dances is comprised of four individual movements for percussion ensemble, each styled after a type of dance common in the 17th century. The individual dances also focus on a specific skill set often used in percussion and are also subtitled with a more modern style of dance.

The first movement, Allemande (The Robot) is a stately German dance in 4/4 and focuses on the popular rudiment, the paradiddle. Sarabande (The Wave), the second movement, is a slow Spanish dance in 3/4 that explores the whole tone and chromatic scales. The third movement Gigue (The Twist), is a lively English dance in 6/8 time that breaks down expanding and contracting intervals. The last movement, Boureé (Thumbs Up Shimmy), is a lighthearted dance in 4/4 time and explores the full range of the keyboard instruments.

If available, dads should be encouraged to participate in the performance by dancing along to the music and using the subtitles of each movement as inspiration for their dance moves.