American Suite

The American Suite consisted of various combinations of the following elements:

Laments: Sorrowful melodies, generally expressing unrequited love and loneliness.

Shape Note Hymns: Preserved in The Original Sacred Harp, these four-part hymns are characterized by a surging style. Most are written in a figure or canon structure.

Play Party Games: Developed when dancing was frowned upon, these dance-games were done to vocal accompaniment.

Set Running: A form of circle dancing; an antecedent of contemporary square dancing recognized by its smooth gliding step.

Tall Tales: A fundamental part of American folk culture. These tales were often told in competitions. Each contained unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual and often were exaggerations of actual events,

Appalachian Clogging: Improvisational tapping form of Appalachian Mountain Circle dancing. This style of clogging comes from the mountains around Asheville, North Carolina. It is a descendant of dance traditions of the British Isles, the Cherokee Nation, and African slaves.

East Texas Knockdown: An exciting medley of steps, done in friendly competition, until all the dancers are exhausted, or "knocked down". Accompanied by a lively nonsense song and old-timey music. Arranged by Neal Sandler from a choreography by Robin Evanchuk.

1976 video  Laments (Rich Gibbons and Kristine Lowry) and Amazing Grace filmed during dress rehearsal at Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley.

1976 video  Set Running and East Texas Knockdown filmed during dress rehearsal at Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley.