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Mihai David (Anaheim, CA) (back
to top)
Mihai David was born in 1946 in Bucureşti (Bucharest), Romania, and began dancing to his uncle's balalaika music. At age eight, Mihai attended the Pioneers Youth Palace where youth interested in dance were schooled. Two years later, he was selected to attend the School of Choreography in Bucharest and continued there for eight years, studying classical ballet, character dance, modern dance, and folk dance. While at the school, he danced with the UTM (The Young Communists) ensemble, directed by Theodor Vasilescu (the UTM considered to be the best amateur ensemble in Romania). Even before his graduation at the age of 17, he was dancing with the Romanian State Folk Ballet Ciocârlia, became one of their lead dancers, and continued touring with the troupe throughout Europe for two years. Mihai resigned from Ciocârlia and joined another professional group, The Music Hall Ensemble, with whom his brother, Alexandru David, was a lead dancer. Two weeks later, Mihai traveled to Paris (leaving his brother behind because Alexandru had associations in the West and the Romanian government was afraid that he would defect).
Mihai later toured East Berlin, Germany, and Italy. It was in Italy, in June of 1966, the day before the ensemble's last performance, that he defected to the West. Mihai immigrated to the United States in January of 1967, took various odd jobs to support himself, danced with the Boston Ballet Company, and had his own exhibition group within the Detroit, Michigan, Romanian community. He then moved to California and danced adagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was drafted into the U.S. Army from Nevada. While in the service, he danced with the Augusta Ballet Company in Georgia. In 1969, Mihai dropped into The Intersection, a folk dance coffeehouse, where Dick Oakes got him invited to teach Romanian dances and his folk dance teaching career was launched. In 1970, he opened and operated his Gypsy Camp Folk Dance Café in Hollywood, California until its closing in 1976.
Mihai taught Romanian dance at the California Kolo Festival in San Francisco in 1972 and the Stockton Folk Dance Camp and Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference in 1973. He was co-director of the Hawaii and Santa Barbara Folk Dance Symposiums and the Catalina International Dance Festival. Mihai has devoted himself to teaching Romanian folk dance and has introduced many of the most popular Romanian dances being done in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Orient. His teaching tours have taken him throughout the western hemisphere, the Orient, and Australia. Mihai has conducted several tours throughout the Balkans and the Middle-East.
When he is not dancing, he operates his own construction company in southern California. In 2000, Mihai and brother Alexandru were invited to teach in Brazil. On March 13, 2004, The San Antonio College Folk Dance Festival honored Mihai as an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the idiom of international folk dancing. In her introduction of Mihai, Vonnie Brown said, "You have been a very fine ambassador for Romania and the impact you have had on international folk dancing has been very good, indeed. You brought a beauty and excitement to the dance that will never be forgotten. From all of us -- thank you!" Mihai has a daughter, Aubrey, who also is a dancer, actress, and singer. Mihai and his brother Alexandru have produced several recordings of Romanian and Russian dance music that are available at your local folk dance recording outlet or from Mihai himself. |
Dancing & Singing Instructors |
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Penny Brichta (Wilmette, IL) (back
to top)
Penny has been teaching the beginner’s session at the popular Northwestern University Israeli Dance group for over 20 years. Contrary to popular belief, she was over 19 when she started co-leading the group. Since spending her junior year of college living in Israel and dancing far more often than studying, Penny has been hooked on dance. She is responsible for introducing many of the modern Israeli dances to the Midwest International Dance communities. While Israeli remains her favorite, Penny has also earned certification as a Jazzercise aerobic dance instructor. |
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Patti Cohen (Winnipeg, MB, Canada) (back
to top)
Patti is a teacher at MIFDA in Winnipeg. Patti danced for many years in Chicago and is a former member of International Dancers. She was also very active in the folk dance group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She used to run a folk dance group for children at her school who performed for the annual Multicultural event and for other schools. Patti used to teach dances to the Romanian dance group in Winnipeg for the annual Folklorama Festival each August. She has also taught at SNOPA. Patti has recently become immersed in Greek dance, attending seminars in Prespes, Greece, Klironomia in Toronto and Greek dancing in Jerusalem. She is thrilled to have learned with some of the finest Greek dance teachers brought in from Greece to Toronto as well as Winnipeg, where she dances with the Kefi Dancers Adult group. A Kindergarten teacher for many years, she presently teaches Reading Recovery in the Winnipeg Public School System. Patti is thrilled to be returning to the Door County Folk Festival.
Tentative - At the Saturday morning Youth Activity Program in Sister Bay Waterfront Park (10:00am - 11:45am), Patti will join Miriam and Dick Miller and will teach some ethnic dances to participants. |
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George Davis (Chicago, IL) (back to top)
George, editor of the short-lived journal, Folktravesties, has been dancing since the days of the Great Society in the bright lights of Chicago. Learning dances from all of the legends: Crum, Palfi, David, Hebert, Moreau, Koenig, Filcich, Page, Czompo, Wixman, Ozkok, Drury, Mr. J. and Greene, he has managed to be known to none of them. A veteran of numerous performances at street fairs, old people's homes, testimonial dinners (before the belly dancers), and benefits for various handicapped groups; he has danced for international, Turkish, Israeli, Romanian, Latvian and Hungarian folklore groups. Dance research has taken George to exotic locales such as Milan's Lounge, the Rafters, Vi & Coy's and Tulipanos Lada. George is also a co-founder of the Franz Josef Verein, a central European cultural appreciation group. |
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Roger Diggle (Madison,
WI) (back to top)
Roger Diggle, to his astonishment, has been calling dances for about eighteen years. One of the most widely traveled of the Midwest's callers, Roger has called dances in more than 25 states. He is known for his careful dance selection, efficient teaching, and musical calling. He has composed dances that have made their way throughout the U.S. Roger is also an accomplished dance musician, and has played for dancing with a wide assortment of musicians. He has a particular interest in using guitar as accompaniment to Northern-style dance music. An unusually good whistler, Roger can, by himself, produce reasonable dance music and call the dance at the same time, all without ever touching an accordion. He has been a staff caller and musician at camps and festivals from coast to coast. Many dancers, callers, and musicians have enjoyed and benefited from Roger's workshops, and from discussions he has led on various aspects of dancing, calling, choreography, making dance music, and dance organizing. Roger serves on the Executive Board of the Country Dance and Song Society. |
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Dan Garvin (Vadnais Heights, MN) (back
to top)
Dan has taught at the Door County Folk Festival, Chicagoland Spring Fling and other dance groups and festivals around the country. He is a leader at Tapestry - the Twin-Cities locally supported and organized Ethnic Dance Center and one of the organizers of SNOPA! - a Twin-Cities Winter Dance Weekend. He was on the dance committee of the folk dance group at Columbia University at Earle Hall in New York City. He danced in Madison Folk Dance Ensemble when he attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Despite being from St Paul [area], he is a member of Tri Bratovchedki, a Balkan singing group from Madison, Wisconsin. |
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Mary Garvin (Saint Paul, MN) (back to top)
Mary has taught at the Door County Folk Festival, Chicagoland Spring Fling, Mountain Playshop and other dance groups and festivals around the country. She is a leader at Tapestry Folkdance Center in the Twin-Cities and is one of the organizers of SNOPA! - a Twin-Cities Winter Dance Weekend. She was on the Earl Hall Folk Dance Circle committee at Columbia University in New York City. She was a member of modern & folk dance repertory companies at the University of Oregon, was a college dance Instructor and was a performer in the George Tomov Yugoslav Dance Ensemble. A proud feather in her cap is having been asked by Bulgarians to teach them Bulgarian dances. Mary has become addicted to Argentine tango in the last several years but stays loyal to her international dance roots. |
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Leslie Hyll (Dayton, OH) (back
to top)
Leslie has been a member of the Miami Valley Folk Dancers recreational folk dance club for over 30 years, sharing teaching responsibilities (beginning and advanced levels) and serving in various administrative offices. She spear-headed a project to digitize 50 years of the club's dance workshop syllabi. She has been a member of several performing groups including: Zivio! (South Slavic), Beseda (American Czechoslovakian Club) and Bagatelle (Le Club Francais), at various times serving as a researcher, choreographer, instructor, and director for those groups. She choreographed an American suite for Zivio!'s 1987 tour of Yugoslavia, and Slovenian, Croatian, Macedonian and Pan-Slavic dance suites for the Dayton International Festival. www.daytonfolkdance.com |
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Carol Johnson
(Big Bend, WI) (back to top)
Carol and her husband Forrest have been folk dance leaders and teachers of
the Tuesday Night recreational folk dance group in Milwaukee (now back
at Hart Park in Wauwautosa) for many years and through many changes of
location. They originally met at the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis, fell in love and lived happily ever after... Then they
moved to the Milwaukee area! Before living in Big Bend, they made
brief stops in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Grand Canyon, Shenandoah National
Park (where Forrest worked as a Park Ranger no less) and back in Minneapolis.
Recently, they have been recruited to teach a folk dance class at University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Carol spent 33 years on the
"hospital scene" as a Medical Technologist (working with bodily fluids!)
before retiring. She has also sweated (talk about bodily fluids!)
for over 20 years as a dance aerobics instructor and has recently turned
that (the aerobics part) into a business. |
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Forrest Johnson
(Big Bend, WI) (back to top)
Forrest and his wife Carol have been folk dance leaders and teachers of
the Tuesday Night recreational folk dance group in Milwaukee (now back
at Hart Park in Wauwautosa) for many years and through many changes of
location. They originally met at the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis, fell in love and lived happily ever after... Then they
moved to the Milwaukee area! Before living in Big Bend, they made
brief stops in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Grand Canyon, Shenandoah National
Park (where Forrest worked as a Park Ranger no less) and back in Minneapolis.
Recently, they have been recruited to teach a folk dance class at University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Forrest has done
a great job of arranging and coordinating the folkdance parties at DCFF.
He compiles and edits Milwaukee's Folkdance Flyer and takes a lot of abuse
from Tut. Since his "formal" retirement from the Milwaukee Public
Schools, Forrest has actually been employed on a part-time basis at the
Milwaukee Public Schools' Potters Forest doing the many duties of a forest
ranger. |
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Rick King
(Southfield, MI) (back to top)
Rick first danced at the Detroit Folkdance Club in 1973 for about
2 months but didn't dance regularly until 1978 at Alex Cushnier's group
at Wayne State University. In 1979 joined the Detroit Folk Dance Club. In
1984, he took a hiatus from dancing and became active again in 1989, dancing
2-3 nights per week. In 1990, he began teaching folk dance classes in Huntington
Woods and Southfield, MI and promoting folk dancing in the area, organizing
dance workshops featuring local Chaldean and Lebanese ethnic groups. In
1995 he started a monthly dance group on Suns that later moved to alternate
Sats in Ferndale. That year he also took a "folk dance" trip to Europe,
Bulgaria and the Koprivshtitsa festival. In 1996, Rick became leader of
what had formerly been the Wayne State group and moved it to the Ferndale
location, dancing two Fris a month, while continuing the monthly Sat group.
Eventually the two groups merged into Fris, meeting weekly. At the same
time, Rick became the leader for the weekly Monday teaching nights. Rick's
music collection goes beyond the basic folk dance "repertoire" recordings
and contains more current versions, especially from the Balkans and the
Middle East. His loves doing simpler dances to alternative music that has
an "ethnic" feel. Rick is also an avid bird watcher. |
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Michael Kuharski (Madison, WI) (back
to top)
Michael K, the perpetrator of Istanbul Bar, started folk dancing in Madison in 1969 & has been leading & teaching in that community ever since. He speaks Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, some Macedonian, a little Romanian, less Albanian, & a smattering of “MwaukeeTalk”. He has made 12 trips to the Balkans and regular journeys to Milwaukee to study the folklore, language and culture of the people (particularly Kosovo Albanians, Macedonians, Bulgarians, & Wauwatosans) as well as to collect dances, music, instruments, costumes, friends, red scarves, & anecdotes. Michael is Artistic Director of Ensemble Narodno, the main man behind Folk Ball, a June Camp organizer, & adds energy almost anywhere. He teaches weekly at Madison Folkdance Unlimited, annually at Door County Folk Festival, and elsewhere upon invitation. Michael plays accordion, lugs a tupan around, & transcribes folk songs by the score. Beware of his edited versions of favorite folkdance recordings and try to catch him sitting down! |
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Nancy Jo Lame (Columbia, MD) (back
to top)
Nancy Jo started folkdancing in Racine, Wisconsin over 30 years ago and was best known at the time for being "Ron and Kathy Fico's kid". She currently lives and dances in Columbia, Maryland, where she is one of the primary instructors in the Columbia International Folkdancers group. For the last 5 years she has also been involved in Columbia's effort to review, organize and improve their very large digital music collection. Nancy Jo is currently working as a tax preparer and Enrolled Agent in Columbia. |
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Phil Moss (Wilmette, IL) (back
to top)
Phil became an active Israeli dancer during his college years and started teaching as a summer staff member of the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) in Oconomowoc, WI. Known locally, nationally and internationally, Phil has been leading Israeli Dancing in Chicago since 1974. For most of that time his weekly Thursday night group met at Northwestern University. More recently it is at Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie Illinois. In addition to being an excellent teacher, Phil has led/participated in numerous workshops, camps and performing groups including the Camp Blue Star Fred Berk Israeli Folk Dance Workshop, the Nitzanim Israeli Folk Dance Troupe, Blue Star Reunion Workshops, and the world-famous Chagigah, A Weekend of Israeli Dance, that was held for 20 years at OSRUI. Phil is a tireless promoter of Israeli dancing, having brought the joy of this form to literally generations of kids, teens, parents and seniors. He is active on a national and international level in the leadership of Israeli Dancing from an organizational and promotional perspective. This is Phil's first appearance on staff at DCFF where he is very pleased to support his colleague from Thursday nights, and DCFF staff mainstay, Penny Brichta. Phil truly can be viewed as a charter member of the who's who in Israeli dancing. We are very excited to have him with us to share his love of Israeli dancing. |
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Dit Olshan (Skokie,
IL) (back
to top)
Dit has been teaching International Folk Dance in the Chicago area
for about 30 years, at one time, leading three separate groups a week..
Currently she leads a Wednesday Nite group at the Skokie Park District.
Formerly, as a math teacher in Chicago, Dit implemented an extra curricular
program in international dance at the district level, conducting district
teacher workshops while teaching classes at her own school. She has traveled,
studying dance, in Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Scotland. She has given
international dance workshops regularly on a semi-annual basis in Israel
to the Israeli Teachers Association and various local groups during the
1990's. Other workshops given include San Diego, New Orleans, Springfield,
IL and Racine, WI. Dit has been a regular member of the teaching staff of
Lake Geneva Camp for the past 25 years. She has served on the Midwest June
Camp committee for several years, chairing it for three of those years.
Presently, Dit is a docent at Lincoln Park Zoo, volunteers as a tax preparer for the Center for Economic Progress, and is always in love with a dog (currently Teva), whom she is known to have shown up with at Paul Collins' dance group. |
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Ellen Rice (Dayton, OH) (back to top)
Ellen is new to DCFF, but not to folk dance. She danced in Boston from the mid-‘60s to the late ‘70s, starting at the Taylors’ but soon moving on to the Balkan “grind group,” which was instrumental in helping MIT get its Tuesday night folkdance group going. (She also played tamburitsa with the Cambridge Folk Orchestra, learned and translated lots of songs, and traveled in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.) Some of Ellen’s friends, like Bob Leibman and Martha Forsyth, have been able to turn their dance and ethnomusicological passions into at least a partial living, but she was never brave enough to try it herself. (A French major, she has had job titles ranging from Nuclear Licensing Analyst to Proposal Manager.) In Boston, Ellen was lucky enough to learn dances directly from masters such as Dick Crum, Yves Moreau, Atanas Kolarovski, Bora Öskök, and Andor Czompo – which tends to make her annoyingly style-conscious. She enjoys the dances of almost all nationalities, but her first love is Macedonian and Bulgarian multifigure dances (usually men’s). When Ellen moved to D.C., she danced with Larry Weiner’s group until a baby took her out of dance for most of 1985–2003. She moved to Dayton without realizing that it had a folkdance group, but now splits her spare time among her 1928 house and overgrown yard, neighborhood/community volunteering, and, yes, folk dance, music, and song! |
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Steve Salemson (Madison, WI) (back to top)
Steve was first exposed to folk dancing in 1962, when he spent a year living on a kibbutz in Israel. It wasn't until he moved back to New York City in 1974 that he discovered Balkan dancing and really got hooked. Soon he was dancing between 4-6 nights a week, and attending workshops taught by Yves Moreau, Dick Crum, David Vinski, Atanas Kolarovski, Pece Atanasovski, George Tomov, Moshiko Halevy, Mihai David, Bora Özkök, and others. In 1977 Steve joined Tomov's Yugoslav Folk Dance Ensemble, dancing with the group for eight years, including trips to former Yugoslavia in 1979 and 1981 to perform at the Ilindenski Denovi Festival in Bitola, Macedonia. Steve's first love is Macedonian music and dance, and he speaks some Macedonian and plays the kaval. In 1999, while working as Associate Director of the University of Wisconsin Press, Steve published Christina Kramer's Makedonski jazik, a Macedonian textbook for beginning and intermediate students, and subsequently published Ronelle Alexander's authoritative two-volume Intensive Bulgarian: A Textbook and Reference Grammar and then her Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian: A Grammar with Sociolinguistic Commentary. Steve is happily retired and lives in Madison, where he spends his time doing crossword puzzles, making music, attending concerts, biking, and, of course, folk dancing at least twice a week. |
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Daniel Wells
(Cedar Falls, IA) (back to top)
Daniel was a work scholar for DCFF many moons ago in another galaxy and another life during his undergraduate days. After graduation he went on to a professional career in dance. He danced with notable ballet companies like Ballet of the Dolls, the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He did not forget his ethnic roots in dance though and also danced with Ethnic Dance Theater in Minneapolis and with Les Sortilège in Montreal. Daniel currently teaches at the University of Northern Iowa and directs the International Dance Theatre. As part of the research for his PhD, Daniel has been traveling to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Croatia gathering data about the music and dance of those countries. |
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Tamburica Orkestar Braća
Braća Tamburica Orchestra
(Greater Chicago Area, IL/IN)
(Ethnic Dance Orchestra)
(back to top) |
Braca Tamburica Orchestra (Greater Chicago Area, IL/IN) (back to top)
After several years of inactivity, the Krilich Brothers Tamburitza Orchestra was re-formed 2009. In late 2011 the name gradually morphed to Tamburica Orkestar Braća (Braca Tamburica Orkestra) when it was evident that all of the Krilich Brothers were not available to play. Tamburas are a family of acoustic stringed instruments similar to mandolins, tenor guitars & balalaikas, They are native to the Croatian/Serbian people around the world. This is the only ethnic culture known to have its own rhythm instrument, the bugaria or kontra/beglait, instead of a guitar. The Band plays in many venues ranging from Kafana/Tavern settings to concerts, to dances, parties and festivals. The band has incorporated many different instruments over the years from brach and prim, to the current blend using a violin/accordion/brach combination with bass, čelo & bugaria.
Members are: Rich Krilich (Bugaria, Leader), John Gornick (Tambura Cello), Rudy Grasha Jr. (Accordion), Wally Pravica (Violin), Frank Mosca Jr. (Bass).
For information and bookings: Rich Krilich - (630)-832 8914 - krilich@att.net
Dajčevo Oro in St. Louis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUqOqx8aSmg
Tamburica Orkestar Braća Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kumrichie?ob=0&feature=results_main
San Francisco Concert II 2011 Pogledajde Mala and Žikino Kolo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0667qFwJ1Io&feature=related
San Francisco Concert II 2011 Sve Bi Dao Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNGdalZnYUs&feature=related |
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The Last Gaspé
(Madison, WI) (back to top)
The Last Gaspé is a
New England-style contra dance band based in Madison, WI, that plays Canadian,
Irish and American fiddle music that swings. The band blends traditional
forms with contemporary innovations to create an infectious, exciting
sound. The band features John Kraniak (guitar), Amy McFarland (piano),
Maria Terres (fiddle), and Kevin Clark (bass).
Founded in 1987, they have
played for dances and folk festivals throughout the U.S. The musicians
come from very different backgrounds, ranging from self-taught to conservatory
trained. They all share a love of dancing, so while they aim to be more
innovative, they respect tradition and strive for danceability throughout
their music.
Their wide-ranging musical influences range from Count Basie
to Michael Coleman to the Grateful Dead. Some of these influences show
up in their approach to melody and some in their treatment of rhythm.
While they don't play jazz, they take a jazz approach to playing, stressing
improvisation, musical interplay and a solid ensemble sound. Play some
Last Gaspé Tunes (RealPlayer Required): Medley
of Reels, Medley of Jigs, Two Rivers Waltz, Play
All. |
Program Coordinators and Support Staff |
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Chris Alfeld
(Madison, WI) (back to top)
Chris started folk dancing at Folk Ball 2003 and has been doing it
ever since. Besides being active in folk dancing he is also active in ballroom
dancing. Outside of dance, he spent a lot of time working on his Ph.D. in Mathematics
(which he just received) at UW-Madison and works part time as a research assistant in computer networking. |
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Joan Amsterdam - International Folk Rhythms (All Weekend) (back to top)
Joan Amsterdam is in the process of retiring from International Folk Rhythms. We are uncertain at this time of the status of her "bazaar" at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall with feature folk-related merchandise including CDs, books, cassettes
and ethnic apparel.
For further information, contact Joan at International Folk Rhythms at:
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Kristina Arellano (Fond Du Lac, WI) (back to top)
Kristina... |
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Sarah Bennett
(Madison, WI) (back to top)
Sarah is a graduate student studying geography in Madison, Wisconsin. She has been enjoying teaching mapmaking and is developing a project about art and nature. In her free time, Sarah likes reading, crafts, the outdoors, and of course folk dancing. One thing you may not know about Sarah is that she likes to speak Russian when she has the chance. One thing that if you don't know it already you will soon realize is that she likes to wear brightly colored and sometimes goofy clothing. |
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Kim Caisse (Hannibal, MO) (back to top)
Kim has danced with the Madison international folk dance group for over ten years. She has been helping to organize and teach on Sunday nights for several years now, and enjoys being one of the little elves that help make the Madison Folk Ball and June Camp happen. Kim also teaches crochet at a marvelous cafe/yarn shop in Verona, WI, and finds it strangely similar to teaching dance. She has been self employed as a ceramic jewelry artist for over twelve years. in the spring of 2011, Kim relocated from Madison to an artist's colony in Hannibal Missouri, but has returned as staff member and coordinator for the Satutday Evening Traditional Fish Boil for DCFF. |
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Eddie Cordray
(Dayton, OH) (back to top)
Eddie has been involved in sound for dance event almost as long as he’s been
dancing. Starting in the early 1970’s his parents ran a weekend dance
camp “Planina” at least four times a year for over a decade. It was at this
primitive and remote dance camp the he got involved in sound production and
made friends with Kelvin Buneman. For several years Eddie was the
assistant “sound guy.” Some of the events and venues that he assisted with
were the annual California Kolo Festival during the years when it was held at
UCB’s Hearst Gym, Stanford’s Roble Gym, and at San Jose State; the California
Federation’s Statewide festival held at the Fresno convention center, the
January festival held at San Jose’s convention center and Cubberley’s
Auditorium. After Kelvin “retired” in the 1980’s Eddie continued on his own
borrowing Kelvin’s equipment for several years for some of the smaller events
notably, a Scandinavian weekend workshop at the Oakland Veteran’s Center and
Mendocino Balkan Camp 1987-1989. After moving to Dayton, OH in 1990 and
acquiring his own sound system over several years, he now provides sound for
the occasional dance event in the Dayton area. |
Click for An Enlarged Photo
Mercedes Dzindzeleta
(Racine, WI)
(Silent Auction, Dance & Stress Relief)
(back to top) |
Mercedes Dzindzeleta
(Racine, WI) (back to top)
Mercedes has over 55 years of curiosity for dancing and living fully,
16 years in the energy/massage profession plus years in various business/education
fields. Mercedes will encourage & nurture the use of your body's
knowledge to move comfortably & fluidly for dance and movement at "Dance
& Stress Relief classes". Mercedes also coordinates the Silent Auction
that benefits the DCFF Scholarship Fund.
For private therapy appointments
or to contribute items to the Silent Auction, contact Mercedes:
,
(262)-632-2986. |
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Janet Higgs
(Indianapolis, IN) (back to top)
Janet lives and dances in Indianapolis and winters in Boca Raton. She is the coordinator for folk dance workshops in Indianapolis. This will be her third year as picnic coordinator at Door County. Janet began her love affair with dancing as a young child when her father would dance around the room with her feet on top of his. Her grandfather played the hardanger fiddle and was reputed to be the best dancer in Miner County, South Dakota. She has dabbled in many forms of dance. She studied ballet and toured with the Indianapolis Ballet Theater (as a furry mouse). Janet discovered folk dance when a ballet friend dragged her to a folk dance workshop. After a very long hiatus raising children and husband, she returned to dance 6 years ago and her love for folk dance has only increased with time.
NOTE 1: Janet is too modest to mention that the notion for having a pot-luck picnic dinner was originally her idea. The concept for the picnic dinner was the product of a conversation she initiated while we were having a glass of wine in the garden/lawn area at the Voyager Inn Motel in 2009. Prior to leaving this nice atmosphere to drive to the Friday Night Group Dinner, she said something like: "Wouldn't it be nice if we could just stay here and have a relaxing dinner where people could bring stuff to share?!" (Paul Collins)
NOTE 2: Janet is also too modest to take credit for the idea of baking those delicious chocolate chip cookies for the Saturday night party! Let's do that again! (Paul Collins) |
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Mara Kins
(Chicago, IL) (back to top)
Mara was born in Riga, Latvia and moved to the U.S. with her extended family. She attended Washington High School in Milwaukee and studied Pharmacy at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been involved in Latvian music and dance activities for many years and is on the Board of the Chicago Latvian Association. She has also been involved with Israeli Dancing and International Folk Dancing. Mara and the committee have produced three tremendously successful Pot Luck Picnic Dinners. |
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Nina Lusterman (Evanston, IL) (back to top)
Nina began folk dancing at Michael and Mary Ann Herman's teenage session in NYC in the late '60s. She continued to folk dance through college, and after college for a short time in southern California and then in Madison, WI in the 70s. She moved to Chicago in 1978 and danced with several performing groups, including an Eastern European, International, and Hungarian group. Then Nina took a 20 year break from dancing and returned to folk dancing in late 2007 and got hooked all over again. Now Nina dances at least 3-4 times a week, and although she sometimes feels like it's taken over her life, she is really enjoying it. She helps run the Evanston Folk Dance group, including coordinating the teaching sessions and teaching on a regular basis. When Nina isn't at work or folk dancing, she and her husband like to walk, hike, bird watch, and cross-country ski. |
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Lloyd Michalsen
(Sister Bay, WI) (back to top)
Lloyd... |
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Miriam & Dick Miller
(Middleton, WI) (back to top)
Miriam & Dick are both retired school teachers
and coaches who have been involved with youth and children for many years. Miriam was a special Education Lead Teacher in an alternative school for
Emotionally Disturbed adolescents located in Baraboo, WI. She
also conducted nature classes in the summer for the Middleton recreation
department. Dick was a Positive Behavior Support specialist for
the Madison School District. Miriam and Dick have also worked numerous summers for the Middleton Recreation Department. Miriam currently teaches a class called Art in the Park and Richard assists with adult tennis.
Together they enjoy hanging out with the "kids" of all ages who attend the
festival and can be found painting rocks, singing and playing games.
Tentative - At the Saturday morning Youth Activity Program in Sister Bay Waterfront Park (10:00am - 11:45am), Miriam and Dick will be joined by Patti Cohen (dance instruction) and Marsha Swensen (AKA Teika) (the art of clowning).
If you are considering having your kids participate,
we would appreciate if you would notify Dick or Miriam Miller either by telephone:
(608)-836-5114 or by email:
. |
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Shelley Orbach (Skokie, IL) (back to top)
Shelley, a science teacher and singer/songwriter from Skokie, Illinois has been Cantorial Soloist for Congregation Or Shalom in Vernon Hills,Illinois for almost 29 years. He has won songwriter and poetry awards and released an album of original music. His music is performed around the country from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. and he has appeared on NPR performing his original songs. He loves to teach songs to children and adults as well as folk dance. |
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Ken Pagenkopf
(Shorewood, WI) (back to top)
Ken is an Electrical Engineer and is Elaina Qureshi's spouse and is a graduate student at Northwestern University in Chicago. If we provided you with any more information about Ken, we might have to eliminate you! However, Ken does provide leadership, coordination and logistics for the cooking/grilling crew and setup/takedown crew for the Pot-Luck Picnic Dinner. He also provides some assistance to for the Fish Boil Committee. |
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Marsha Swenson
(Madison, WI) (back to top)
Marsha's dance debut was shortly before her 2nd birthday. She would watch her sister’s ballet class and could not hold still. At the end of one such session, the pianist accompanied her as she danced; she was allowed to begin lessons a year earlier than the usual age 3. She started folk dancing around age 10 in Madison, WI. Moved to Chicago and continued dancing at U of C, then the Argonne group. Her varied careers include work with disturbed youth, portrait photography, recreation specialist (including clowning), desktop publishing, and then ordained ministry. In late 2010 she returned to her home town (Madison) and resumed folk dancing, challenged by the many new dances, as well as bringing back some of the great oldies. Dancing seems to run in her veins.
Tentative - At the Saturday morning Youth Activity Program in Sister Bay Waterfront Park (10:00am - 11:45am), Marsha (AKA Teika) will join Miriam and Dick Miller and will share the art of clowning with participants. |
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Karen Tutkowski
(Milwaukee, WI) (back to top)
Karen has invaded over 43 countries and often attempted to dance
with the locals before she even knew anything about folk dancing.
Now with 17 years of folk dance experience, the only locals who will dance
with her are the Na Lesa Bulgarian Folk Ensemble and Viata Romaneasca, Milwaukee's
Bulgarian and Romanian performing groups, and various others who propagate
the "distinctive styling" for which Milwaukee is famous. Karen is
famous for losing partners in any dance, including The Gie Gordons. She
is a high school English teacher, a member of the Ethnictricity International
Folk Band, and the announcer at Milwaukee's Hart Park folk dance group,
so she is used to people not listening to her. As co-announcer with Forrest
at the evening parties, she is hopeful that the Door County Folk Festival
will open new "Doors" for her. Coincidentally, she is the author of
the "Get your foot in the Door" slogan on which Paul is not sharing royalties. |
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Work Scholars
(Adminstrative Staff)
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Work Scholars (back to top)
DCFF events generally start on time and end on time
because of a well-managed, efficient, highly competent and motivated Work Scholar Team.
This
didn't happen by accident, and it didn't happen easily. It took
the festival planners several years of trial and error to recognize
how to plan for, organize and manage the work efficiently.
DCFF wishes to thank the Work Scholar Team Leaders and the Work Scholar Team for outstanding performance.
NOTE: WORK SCHOLAR POSITIONS FOR 2013 ARE CLOSED - PLEASE INQUIRE ABOUT WAIT LIST OPENINGS TODAY!
- 2013 Work Scholars
- Cris Alfeld (Team Leader) (Madison, WI)
- Sarah Bennett (Team Leader) (Madison, WI)
- Kristina Arellano (Team Coordinator) (Fond Du Lac, WI)
- Marsha Swenson (Team Coordinator) (Madison, WI)
- Mary Kay Basso (Milwaukee, WI)
- Patricia Eby (Fond Du Lac, WI)
- Chris Hamon (Dunlap, IL)
- June Jacobs (Madison, WI)
- Judi Lindquist (West Bend, WI)
- Sofia Puerto (Madison, WI)
- Arne Van Art (De Soto, WI)
- Laurie Watson (Winona, MN)
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Staff Members Rotating In or Out (back to top)
One of the guiding principles of
the DCFF has been to expand the notion of community among international
folk dancers and traditional contra & square dancers and swing dancers in the Midwest
and beyond.
One of the best ways to do that is to reach out to and network
with leaders, callers and dancers in other areas and to invite them to
participate in the Festival in a number of ways.
DCFF welcomes new and returning teaching staff members: (back to top)
- Carol Johnson (Big Bend, WI)
- Forrest Johnson (Big Bend, WI)
- Steve Salemson (Madison, WI)
DCFF wishes to thank members of the
teaching staff and musicians who have rotated out this year so that we might invite a
different mix of teachers to join the staff: (back to top)
- Nick Aguilar (Columbia Heights, MN)
- Mary Barthelemy (Roros, Norway)
- Judy Baxter (Minneapolis, MN)
- Linda Blohowiak (Pulaski, WI)
- Kim Caisse (Hannibal, MO)
- Al Day (Evanston, IL)
- Deepa Devasena (Milwaukee, WI)
- Doc Hartnett (Valparaiso, IN)
- Kate Flynn (Milwaukee, WI)
- Jennifer Forbes-Baily (Omaha, NE)
- Cindy & Terry Gardner (Minneapolis, MN)
- Diane Garvey (Chicago, IL)
- Pat Gladchild (Minneapolis, MN)
- Caren Grantz Keljik (Minneapolis, MN)
- Daniela Ivanova (Silver Lake, WA & Sofia Bulgaria)
- Alice Janotova (Strakonice, Czech Republic)
- Kay
Josten (Waukesha, WI)
- Kent Kelley (Milwaukee, WI)
- Kathy Kerr (Cedar Falls, IA)
- Debbie Kmetz (Madison, WI)
- Roman Kozak (Omaha, NE)
- Mars Longden (Evanston, IL)
- Sanna Longden (Evanston, IL)
- Nina Lusterman (Evanston, IL)
- Jon Morovic (Seattle, WA)
- Doc & Lepa Munns (Milwaukee, WI)
- Carol Ormond (Madison, WI)
- Steve Pike (Madison, WI)
- Catherine Rudin (Wayne, NE)
- Mary Sherhart (Seattle, WA)
- Marge Sklar (Marquette, MI)
- Gloria "Sanut" Tarrer (Milwaukee, WI)
- Terry Simeone (Land O' Lakes, WI)
- Anne Von Bibra (Saint Paul, MN)
- Paul Wagner (Eau Claire, WI)
- Jeanette Watts (Dayton, OH)
- Cecilia Wilkinson (Marquette, MI)
- Yuliyan Yordanov (Madison, WI)
- Balkan Cabaret (Seattle, WA)
- Joe Finn, Michael Lawson, Steve Ramsey, Rich Thomas
- Do Zore (Milwaukee, WI)
- Julie Hughes, Bryan Cobb, Luke Petrovich, Marko Savatić, Sam Showers, Jason Ottman
- Maritza Orchestra (Decorah, IA)
- Pine Wilson, Anne Streufert, Rob Van Tyn, Will Kernerman, Bill Musser
- Prazna Flasha (Milwaukee, WI)
- Misko Dragan, Steve Petrovich, David Rakovich, Mark Richards, Vlade Rokvich, Frank Sepic, Marko Stojsavljevic
- The Silvertones
(Chicago, IL)
- Walter Hojka,
David Jakush, Betsy Beckerman
DCFF wished to thank Program Coordinators and Work Scholars unable to attend this year: (back to top)
- Jim Kiehne (Minneapolis, MN)
- Cindy Schlosser (Eau Claire, WI)
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