“The illusion, the music, the ‘moves’, the inventive props, the fun, the history and the beautiful, energetic dancing make Brian’s show a huge hit.”
Pine Grove School, Rowley, MA



Long-time international performer, dance educator and swing dance choreographer, Brian has been offering dance workshops and assembly programs through Young Audiences of Connecticut since 1983, and he was their Performance Artist of the Year in 1999. Brian can claim a Masters Degree in Education; guest lecturing in dance at Yale and Wesleyan Universities; Adjunct Professor of Dance at Naugatuck Valley Community College; and teacher-trainer at the National Dance Association annual conference.

During Brian’s dance workshops and stage performances, students feel history come alive by learning authentic dance steps from American history in a high-energy atmosphere filled with positive reinforcement. Students gain confidence to improvise steps and to perform choreographed routines while exploring the joys of solo, partnered and team composition. Brian also explores the many dynamic facets of culture and music that have accompanied and influenced the way people have cut a rug over the past three hundred years.

Dance in America:
(grades K – 6):
Seen your students dance lately? Your students will be dancing for at least half of this program. Originally a touring “hoofer,” Brian performs the only dance program of its kind, demonstrating over thirty-five dances from ballroom, roaring ‘20s, country, jazz, Latin, American Bandstand, MTV and more: waltz to watusi, charleston to cha cha and lindy hop to hip hop. Brian trains seven students to help him perform many of the partnered and group dances for this presentation. History, humor and period music accompany each selection.

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Brian is an accomplished student of piano, percussion and voice. He has toured Denmark, Austria, Russia, England and Wales as a singer with the Waterbury Chorale and the Yale Alumni Glee Club. He is a regular piano/vocalist at senior centers and retirement communities throughout Connecticut. Brian has produced three CDs of original songs at his recording studio in Connecticut. He has been a member of the Connecticut Songwriters Association and BMI.

Salute to Song in America
(grades 1 – 8, adult):
Brian’s musical history of America’s glorious and outrageous songs, singers and composers since 1620. His exquisite voice and the amazing, multimedia mix of live and prerecorded music, biographies and history combine for a masterful teaching and performance experience that guides students through the Revolution, minstrelsy, Civil War, ragtime, roaring ‘20s, blues, swing, Broadway, rock and everything in-between, all with live instrumentation, impersonations and an audience that’s the supporting, sing-along cast.

History of Rock ‘n’ Roll: 1950 - 1965
(grades 4 – 12, adult):
Unlike any history lesson you will ever see, it’s Brian’s impersonations, costumes, props, original sound bites, stand-up piano-playing, radio commercials and attitude which reveal the story of rock’s origins through gospel, rhythm and blues and country and western. Meet the personalities and songs shaped the music of doo-wop, Motown, girl groups, surfin’, soul, novelty tunes and much more: Little Richard to Beach Boys, Chuck Berry to Beatles, Elvis to Supremes. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame delivered to your space
Sh BOOM!

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Song, Dance and the Possibilities
(grades k – 6, families):
Share in Brian’s ultimate, anyone-can-write-a-song and anyone-can-invent-a-dance experience. Learn the predictable ingredients that make a song or dance a “craze,” but then dare to break the rules to create something extraordinary: change the rhythm, lyrics, melody or style of a radio favorite; sing a ragtime classic in a doo-wop style; add rap rhythms to a jazz tune; or try “Hound Dog” as a waltz. Then dance a charleston to Latin music; perform hip-hop moves to a piece by Mozart; try a dance that’s half disco and half polka. Students learn to trust self-expression when they realize that anything is possible.

Song, Dance and the Possibilities – the Holiday Version
(grades K – 6, families) :
Flying reindeer? Dancing snowmen? Students invent outrageous new versions of some old, holiday song favorites and then create a hip, holiday dance to a funky seasonal tune; all this while exploring language, poetry, music and pop culture. Ho Ho Ho!

A Grand Night For Singing and Dancing
(grades K – 6, families):
Parents and kids share in the joys of song and dance, Gillie style, with Brian’s original songs and dances, all requiring some audience participation to help complete a lyric or a funky move. Brian has selected the best songs from his radiant, family CD, Different Drummer, for a fun-filled program that’s got “the potion to set ‘em in motion.”


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