Marvin loves to share his extensive knowledge of Balkan (and other) folk costumes and encourages participants to ask questions and to bring some of their own accessories and costumes to show to the group.

• Marvin will present and lead a discussion about Balkan folk costume accessories: folk jewelry, shoes, opanke (soft leather shoes/moccasins), scarves and how to tie them, etc.
• He’ll then briefly discuss how he started collecting costumes, describe other costumes he’s collected and reveal how he’s acquired some of the costumes in his collection.
• Marvin will be delighted to take questions from the audience and is open to discussing any aspects of Balkan costumes and costume collecting.
• Marvin will also take brief looks at participants' accessories and costumes and explain what they are as time permits.

John wants to engage participants in a lively disussion with the notion that an exchange of information, ideas and feedback will help all groups improve their preparation, planning and delivery of virtual dance events.

• I. Technology
  • host/co-host equipment/technology
  • participant equipment/technology
  • Internet connectivity/capacity
• II. ZOOM settings
  • level of service
  • host/co-host/dance leader set-up
  • Waiting Room (pros/cons)
  • In-session monitoring
  • Recording the session (pros/cons
  • Sharing computer sound versus playing music on a separate device
• III. Session Protocol
  • Mute all (mute all/don't allow unmute, all unmute for feedback)
  • Shared video (pros/cons)
  • Chat (any time/anyone, not during teaching, designated times)
  • Monitoring chat for feedback, alerting host/teacher to problems
  • Unmuted audio time for participants to greet each other (yes/no, when/how long)
  • Making technical adjustments during the session
• IV.  Teaching/Leading Dance Practices
  • Playing sample of music prior to teaching/demonstrating a dance (pros/cons)
  • Teaching/demonstrating with back to camera (pros/cons)
  • Dance complexity/familiarity
    • Only teach fairly familiar or uncomplicated ones as complicated doesn't work via virtual
    • Teach some new things as folks want to expand their repetoire
    • Don't be afraid of teaching something complex, we're all old dance hands
  • Amount of time spent teaching (keep it short, provide pointers on style, teach slow/long enough to be sure)
  • Seeking/using feedback during the teaching
  • What teaching? Just play dances and lead them.