Welcome to Your Campground!

Warning! Dancing black bears frequent this area. For your safety, if you spot a bear, please keep your distance. Do not attempt to cut in. Give the bears a lot of space to move around.

As always, don’t forget to hang your trash up high or place in the appropriate bear-proof receptacle.

Conductor Notes

Originally written as a note-reading reinforcement of the low octave of the G major scale, Black Bear Ballet is a great chance to teach your students about the A dorian mode.

This will be an excellent introduction to section independence for your ensemble, though the rhythms are usually still doubled by at least one other section. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of whole, half, quarter, and 8th notes throughout the piece.

In Black Bear Ballet, your students will become much more comfortable with dynamic changes and will have many phrasing opportunies. Use the lower G major scale register to discuss bow weight/tone, and how the approach to the bow will change with changing dynamics.

I hope you and your students enjoy Black Bear Ballet!