Sarah S. Gowan
817 Concord Ave
Drexel Hill, PA 19026

Creative Skills Resume

Dance

Fiddlekicks Appalachian Cloggers
www.fiddlekicks.com
I have been performing with FiddleKicks, an Appalachian clogging group based in Philadelphia, since 2003. This uniquely American dance form evolved in the southern Appalachian Mountains, emerging from a melting pot of influences — Celtic, African and Cherokee — to create a new genre of folk music and percussive dance closely tied to the driving rhythms of the fiddle and the banjo.

Mixed Pickles Vintage Dancers
www.mixedpickles.org
Mixed Pickles, Philadelphia's vintage dance company led by artistic director Bob Skiba, researches, performs and teaches American dances from the colonial period through the 1940s. We perform regularly at historical events and venues, in schools, libraries, private parties, retirement centers.

Traditional Social Dance
Just for the fun of it: Appalachian clogging, Contra Dance, English Country Dance, Scandinavian Couple Dance, Irish Set Dances and good old Squares

Teaching
I teach Swedish Hambo, Zwiefacher, American Contra Dance, Schottische and Waltz
Music

I play English concertina and guitar with several dance bands and community orchestras. The musical styles are a mix of traditional Southern Old-Time, New England dance music, Irish, Cape Breton, Shetland and an international assortment.

The Bands:
All Hat No Cattle - Contemporary Old-time
Big Phat American K-Lee Band - Contemporary English Ceili Style
Stafford Street String Band - Irish and Old Time
Brave New Whirl - New England Contra Dance
Philadelphia Concertina Band - all English concertinas all the time
SPUDs, Rum and Onions and Fish and Chips - community orchestras

Craft

Theatrical Scenic Artist - Designed and painted scenery for theatre, opera, industrial shows, museum exhibits, fashion shows, television and film

Basketry - baskets from natural materials

Soapmaking - The best olive oil soap you'll ever use.

Website Design

My Day Jobs
Work History Co-owner of Sapsis Rigging, Inc. 1988 -1998.
  As a principal in this mid-sized theatrical and entertainment services company, I had responsibilities in strategic planning, fiscal management, creation of systems and protocols, public relations, policy development and creative design for trade show and other presentations. My experience also includes the following positions:
Internet Services Director
  Sapsis Rigging, Inc. 1994 - present
- Designed, implemented, and maintained corporate website, e-mail mailing list, electronic newsletter, and on-line catalog, including online forms, graphics, and online inventory and ordering.
Technical Systems Manager
  Sapsis Rigging, Inc. 1990 - present
- Responsible for converting the company from manual to electronic systems
- Developed and maintained ten computer Local Access Network on Macintosh platform including CAD station and color plotter.
- Designed and maintained all company databases in Filemaker Pro including catalog sales and purchases, inventory control, and customer tracking.
- Responsible for computer software and hardware maintenance, upgrades, purchase recommendations, back-ups, repairs and troubleshooting.
Technical Materials Editor
  Sapsis Rigging, Inc. 1990 - present
- Designed, formatted, proofed and edited technical materials to supplement theatrical rigging safety seminars.
Head Scenic Artist
  Show Systems, Inc, Philadelphia, PA 1984 - 1994
  Sapsis Rigging, Inc., Philadelphia, PA 1994 - 1998
- Designed and painted scenery for theatre, opera, industrial shows, museum exhibits, fashion shows, television and film.
- Responsible for project scheduling, equipment and material budgets and purchases, design decisions, crew assignments and quality control.
Education Temple University, School of Communications and Theatre, BA Theatre, 1984.
Software Skills  Adobe Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator, PageMaker, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Quark Xpress, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Excel, Filemaker Pro, Multiledger Accounting and Payroll.