Jane Wieman (pronounced to rhyme with "pie man") first learned to dance two-step, polka, waltz, and follow a lead with her uncle Paul Kiesel to the Lawrence Welk Show in the late 50's. She danced Mayim in the rain outside her freshman dorm in 1962 and had to learn Israeli folk dancing when duties at Rabbi Gold's household entailed opening the Radcliffe Harvard Hillel House on Sunday evenings for Israeli folk dancing. Within a year she was performing Israeli at NEFFA.

She got hooked on Balkan dancing at a Dick Crum workshop in 1964 and started international dancing at the Taylors, where Dick was teaching, the following week. She was among the first to join Bob Leibman's Balkan-centered performing group (later known as Mandala) in 1965. She has lived, danced, and conducted workshops in Israel, Japan, the Balkans, and the US. She credits folkdancing with her good physical, mental, and social health. She is grateful to Michael Kuharski, Damon Smith, Kathleen Cairns, and others for welcoming her to the folk dance community after her move to Madison almost a decade ago.