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Flagler Fling

by Jan Lathi

On August 27th, the Flagler Beach/Palm Coast folk dancers hosted a potluck/dance event at Betty Nehemias’ condo recreation center.  It was quite well attended, with several dancers coming from the Orlando group (Pat, Bobby, Nicki, John, Ruth, Ann, Laura), Terry from Tampa, a new couple – Lyle and Lynn – from Jacksonville, visitors Bonny, Jim, and Ron (who actually participated in several dances – way to go, Ron!), and members of our own group (Betty, Kay, Minnie, Eva, Penny, Szuzi, Arleen, and Jan).  The potluck supper began at 6 PM and included Minnie’s wonderful corn dish, Kay’s marvelous spanikopita, and Betty’s scrumptious trifle. After eating, we danced until 10 PM. 

Jan Lathi, Pat Henderson, Betty Nehemias and Laura Nonamaker

Photo by Terry Abrahams

Front:  Nicki Wise, Laura Nonamaker, Szuzi Horvath, Bobby Quibodeaux, Terry Abrahams Back: Kay Afonso, Pat Henderson, Ruth Gutman, Ann Robinson, Betty Nehemias, Jan Lathi, Lynn, Arleen Kaufmann, Lyle

Photo by John Wise

Many dancers stayed over at Betty’s, Jan’s, Kay’s, or a local motel.  On Friday morning we met at the beach for some salt water dipping and walking, after which we were refreshed at Arleen’s with cold drinks.  Then it was on to Jan’s for a dip in the pool.

Thai by Thai was the restaurant of choice for the mid-day repast, which culminated the event.  Of course a good time was had by all and we are already making plans to do it again next summer, preferably on a weekend.

Ned and Marian Gault

Ned and Marian Gault have an extensive background in teaching all levels of international folk dance, from classes for recreation to the concert stage.  They began teaching folk dance in 1958, taking over an adult education class in San Jose, CA from his parents.  They were married in 1962.  They became active leaders in northern California, serving in many capacities for the Folk Dance Federation of California. Their teaching experience includes classes at San Jose State University, West Valley College, and 28 years at Stockton Folk Dance Camp.

In 1966, they formed the Ensemble International, a performing folk dance group under the sponsorship of the City of Sunnyvale, California that is still going strong.  With this ensemble they have performed at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the 1974 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and for His Majesty King Karl Gustav of Sweden.  They twice represented the countries of France and Switzerland at the Festival of Nations concerts in St. Paul, Minnesota.  In addition, they have taught dance material and choreographies for other performing groups from Portland, Oregon, to San Diego, California.

Over the years they have become proficient in a wide range of folk dances.  In the 1960’s they performed and choreographed tangos as a specialty.  They have collected dance material, music, and costume information from all over Central Europe, in particular studying the dances of Germany and Austria.  Ned plays the button accordion and the autoharp.  They have authored three books, 100 and 1 Easy Folk Dances, 100 and 1 More Easy Folk Dances and Half a 100 & 1 More Easy Folk Dances.   Since their publication in the 1970’s and 80's, those books have become handy reference tools for folk dance teachers.

Outside of music and dance, both Ned and Marian are retired.  He worked as a research engineer and has taught chemistry, computer programming and industrial glassblowing.  She is an artist and has taught English, social studies, calligraphy and sewing.

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Karmiel USA 2009

by Terry Abrahams and Pat Henderson

In the meantime, this camp, held just outside of Dahlonega, GA, had all we needed – ambience, good food, nice lodges, a hot tub, good friends and of course – Dany! He taught dances that are doing well in Israel, a couple of new ones from the real Karmiel, and brought back some oldies but goodies that we should all have in our repertoire. It would be difficult to decide which ones not to teach – a really good choice of dances!

Roommates Charlene Heaton, Terry Abrahams, and Andi Kapplin

We started with an International hour on Thursday afternoon, and during the evening parties a few International dances were added to the evening for

those of us that do both International and Israeli. And – Dany had Andi teach one of Yves’ dances (Drjanovska Racenica) during teaching time, as he (Dany) had such a good time at our February camp! Other guest teachers were Joseph Simpkins from Gainesville, FL and Meliss Bachar from Atlanta and, of course, Ruthy also always gives us two good ones.

We wore white on Friday (Sabbath) and lit Sabbath candles, and started the party with an hour of dances that had to do with the Sabbath. On Saturday, we started the evening with a small Havdalah service (the end of Sabbath, beginning of the new week) which included some singing, which is always enjoyable. The theme for the evening was Yemenite – and many people had Yemenite costuming which made the evening more fun. Dany also picked a few of us to perform an old Yemenite dance, and the audience loved us! (Of course). Maggie (you don’t know her), Andi and Terry wrote a song for the occasion (see The Yemenite Song) and, of course, once again – a hit! What can I say? During the evening party, the resort staff brought in two young goats and we had fun with them for a while.

Left: Andi Kapplin in (male) Yemenite costume; right: special guest with Ruthy Slann (in black).

Photos by Terry Abrahams

The great thing about going to Karmiel USA is the night parties when Dany puts on a lot of the old Israeli dances and requests. We spend so much time learning new dances that we do not have time to keep the old ones. This could also be true for international groups. 

If you like Israeli dancing, and haven’t attended this camp, you’re missing something.

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English Country Dance in England

by Fannie Salerno

In August, Willa Davidsohn, Bernice Roth and I took a marvelous English tour, led by Ken McFarland, following in the footsteps of the heroine of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  It was about two weeks long, with dancing all but one or two evenings.   The quality of the dancers was amazing; when a complicated dance was done with a lot of people, the patterns shone. 

We visited many manor houses from the Jane Austen era.   At Brocket Hall, we joined a contingent of English dancers for the Netherfield Ball.  The last dance of the evening was with a group whose leader has led us in Melbourne Village.   At Knole Park our group played and danced the dance Knole Park in the courtyard.  You can see a video of us dancing there at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wC320K8WIQ.

Netherfield Ball at Brocket Hall

The place names where Jane Austen lived are like our New England names, especially in Connecticut. It looked like New England with beeches in place of maple trees. The gardens of the manor houses were fabulous, with perennial borders, parterre plantings, boxwood hedges and mazes that smell like cat pee when they are clipped.  The herds of deer at the houses were great fun, especially the miniature deer at Knole Park.

We stayed at Newton House for three days; Willa visited the local clinic for an ear infection. It was a pleasant experience and the doctor didn't charge her a penny, although we were told he could.

One member of our group, Lee Shepherd, made notes on all the houses we visited.  They include the following dancing tidbits. There is a scene of the Netherfield Ball at Brocket Hall in the BBC series and video of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.  Queen Victoria danced in the long hall of the Hatfield House.  At Lyme Park there is a painting of the “Servants’ Ball”; the lord and lady started the dance by partnering with the housekeeper and butler.

At the end of the tour, Willa and Bernice headed off to Ireland to visit Bernice’s Irish friends and my non-dancing daughter, Lucia, and I headed home.

[Note:  Ken McFarland leads various tours focusing on nature, archeology and history, and culture and sightseeing.  The culture and sightseeing tours often include dancing.  For more information, go to www.reeljig.com/mcfarland.]

The Yemenite Song

(See Karmiel USA 2009)

To the tune of Goodnight Irene

Chorus: I Yemenite, I Yemenite

Let’s do it left, let’s do it right

Lets do it with all our might.

1. Some people dance in the city

Some people dance in the town

Some people dance in the hot tub

But ya gotta make sure you don’t drown

2. Every night is Yemenite,

and so I Yemenite

Moshiko’s not here, No need to fear

No need to be up tight

3. Don’t do any more waltzes

Grapewines¹ are so very trite

Don’t pivot, don’t sway, don’t na’a’leh²

Just stick with Yemenite

Final chorus: I Yemenite, I Yemenite

Let’s do it left, let’s do it right

Let’s all just Yemenite!

Notes:

1. “Grapewines” is not a typo – it’s Dany’s pronunciation

2. Na’a’leh is an Israeli dance move

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Folkmoot USA 2009

by Pat Henderson

Bobby and I traveled to western North Carolina in July to see Folkmoot USA 2009 (www.folkmootusa.org).  Folkmoot is a two week period with folk dance shows featuring performers from several different countries and sometimes groups from the United States.  Each day, there are several shows in different venues of western North Carolina. 

We were there on a Wednesday and caught the matinee in Hendersonville, then drove to Bryson City for an evening performance.  The afternoon show featured groups from six countries, with our favorite being Serbia.  They were young and very energetic!  The Mexican group seemed like Aztec noisemakers, dancing to drums, with shakers on their legs.  The Greek group was from Paros; they did a dance with Karapyet steps – a little Russian influence, maybe.  The Romanian group was from Transylvania so their couple dances looked rather Hungarian to us.  The evening show featured only three groups plus a local folk singer but that show ran longer than the matinee.  Each group danced both before the intermission and afterward. 

There was a group from Israel, but they did more modern dances than Israeli in their segment that saluted the United States!  The Scottish group (as announced) really performed German dances and were from the middle of Georgia (the US state).  When I visited their table at intermission, I found out that they are a Scottish-German performing group but they had to dance German because of the members available to dance.  So all in all, we enjoyed seeing Folkmoot again since it had been a lot of years since we last attended.  

Condolences

Tampa dancer Andy Pollock’s father, John Pollock, age 90, passed away after a short illness on Tuesday, October 6.  We extend our sympathies to Andy and his family.

English Country Dancers’ Autumnal Equinox Party

by Catie Condran Geist

On Tuesday, September 22, the English Country Dancers in Melbourne Village held an Autumnal Equinox dance party. Long Odds (Bill Possi from Tarpon Springs, and Robin Osgood and Norman Rodham from West Melbourne) provided the music. Catie Condran Geist, John Rogers, and Onie Senyk called the dances. There were 31 people in attendance and a very good time was had by all. Some of the dancers dressed up as woodland creatures or forest dwellers and others wore clothing in Autumn colors. We danced and enjoyed the refreshments, including a birthday cake for Marvel Jenkins.

LisaMarie Jenssen, Fannie Salerno in Autumn finery; Catie Condran Geist as an Autumn Fairy Princess

Long Odds: Bill Possi, Robin Osgood and Norman Rodham

Photos by Kenny Hall

Stockton Folk Dance Camp

by Caroline Lanker

One of the major highlights of Gary’s and my travels this summer (see From the Editor) was attending Stockton Folk Dance Camp July 26 – August 2.

We were in Dance Heaven.  Two or three classes were scheduled at a time, so it was impossible to do everything.   We did Balkan with Lee Otterholt, Bulgarian and Macedonian with Yves Moreau, Scandinavian with Roo Lester and her dancing partner Harry Khamis, and Croatian with Zeljko Jergan.

During the reviews we got to see the dances we missed from the classes we didn’t take.  They looked really fun, too.   This went on until 11 PM or later.  Then there was an after party with request dancing. 

Having so many excellent teachers together had benefits beside the smorgasbord of class choices.  It was a joy to see them dancing together at the parties and they sometimes attended each other’s classes.

including a number of young dancers on scholarship, who do a lot of work for the camp and contribute a lot of energy to the dancing.  Some people come from a long way; there were several there from Japan and Canada and others from the Netherlands and Chile.

At the end of camp, the dates and teachers for next year were announced. The big news is that Sonia Dion and Cristian Florescu (who taught at Florida Folk Dance

Left: Dance teachers at Stockton Folk Dance Camp, left to right:  Noemi Bassani and Roberto Bagnoli (Italian), Harry Khamis and Roo Lester (Scandinavian), France Bourque-Moreau (French Canadian), Yves Moreau (Bulgarian and Macedonian), Bruce Hamilton (English), Lee Otterholt (Balkan and Norwegian), Jerry Helt (contras and squares), Zeljko Jergan (Croatian); Right: Music, singing and dance at Stockton Folk Dance Camp

Photos by Caroline Lanker

The first day we tried square dancing for experienced square dancers, with Jerry Helt, even though we had not square danced in about 15 years.  We found we could handle it and stuck with that class the rest of the week.  I took France Bourque-Moreau’s French Canadian class one afternoon, but we found it necessary to nap most afternoons.

Following dinner most days there was one teaching session followed by a party which consisted of a short period of old favorite dances to an excellent band, “Chubritza”, and a review of the dances taught that day. 

A highlight of the camp was when all the teachers regaled us with “California Dreamin’”, sung in Italian, at the Italian banquet on the last night.

Stockton Folk Dance Camp runs for two weeks and one can attend either or both weeks.  The same classes, with the same dances, are given both weeks, so it is possible to take all the classes in the two weeks.  I’m not sure we could hold up for two weeks and it would be expensive, but it’s worth thinking about. Our week was attended by about 160 people.  It is run by a large group of people,

Camp 2008) will teach there and they will get married at the camp! The wedding will take place on the Saturday night of the first week but people who attend the second week can come for the wedding, too, for an additional cost.  The camp is filling up fast and there will be a waiting list. If you are interested, put in your reservation for 2010 immediately.  The 2010 dates are July 25 to August 1 and August 1 to 8.  See the camp website,

www.folkdancecamp.org,

for full information.

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From the Editor

What a time Gary and I have had since the last Florida Folk Dancer appeared!   We left our house on July 22, danced with Judith and Ernesto Baizan in Tampa that evening and flew out to San Diego the next morning.  From there we drove north and arrived Sunday afternoon in Stockton at the University of the Pacific for the beginning of the week-long Stockton Folk Dance Camp.  (See Stockton Folk Dance Camp.)

Dancing at Dusk in Stanley Park, Vancouver; Andi Kapplin teaching

After Stockton, we headed north.   I won’t bore you with all the visits with relatives you don’t know, except to say that we spent five days on the Oregon coast with two extended families – Gary’s and some old friends from Seattle.  Fifteen of us camped in Beachside State Park and five more stayed in a nearby motel and joined us in the campground for dinners and camaraderie.

We eventually made it all the way to Vancouver, where we saw Andi and Steve Kapplin and danced in Stanley Park with Andi.  In the summer, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation sponsors “Dance at Dusk” in the park, featuring Scottish, international, and ballroom dance on different nights each week. 

One of the groups that Andi dances with does the international night and Andi was one of the regular teachers this year.  (See “Greetings from Vancouver” in the June 2009 Florida Folk Dancer.)

The dance is held on the asphalt surface of a lighted outdoor basketball court.   These dance nights are designed to draw in newcomers, so most of the dances are taught and are easy and lively.   As a special treat, because this was the last night of the summer program, they had a small group of musicians playing for some of the dancing.   The event was well attended – probably 30 people dancing.   Some of the people, including a woman and her two daughters, had come several times and already knew some favorite dances. The Parks and Recreation department advertises the Dance at Dusk program – there was a flyer in our hotel near the park.  That plus the fact that Stanley Park is well used on summer evenings may account for the nice turnout.

After Vancouver, we made our way down south again to San Diego.  While there, we attended an international folk dance group that meets at Dancing Unlimited.  Most of that small group are very good dancers and some are dance teachers.  They have learned many of the same dances from the same teachers we have, but some dances seem to be west coast specialties.  We did know or could follow enough of the dances to make it a lot of fun.

From San Diego we returned home September 10 – a seven-week trip in all!  I’ve left the Scandinavian dance events on our trip out of this account.   I’ll include them in a future article about Scandinavian dance.

Sarasota Grapeviners

by Marie Millett

We survived two weeks without international folk dancing during the last of July and the first of August, but it wasn't easy.  The Bayfront Community Center still has its pillars, but no more leaking roof.  Thanks to Delores Lustig, Judy Merkt, and Eva Stunkel for sharing the teaching this summer.

Some of us went to "El Greco," the Greek restaurant on Main Street, for dinner and dancing.  They offer live music and dancing the last Thursday of the month.  

Delores Lustig loaded Bill Hopkins, Edna Schneider, and me into her car and we journeyed to the English Country Dance Workshop in Pinellas Park on August 8.  I enjoyed the English Country Dancing once again even though I was quite rusty. 

Foot Tubes?

What do you do when faced with dancing on a floor that is not slick enough to permit turning freely?  Bill Schwarz sent an add for dancers’ foot tubes, from dancersfoottubes.com. He was not endorsing the product, but wondered whether they were useful.  Foot tubes are short cloth tubes that are worn around the ball of the foot.  They are often sold to be worn on the bare foot, under sandals and some are advertised as “non-skid”.  An Internet search showed that there are a few companies that sell foot tubes.  But dancersfoottubes.com was the only one selling them to be worn by dancers, over the shoes, and advertising them to increase slickness.

There are other ways of dealing with sticky dance floors.  Have you tried foot tubes or do you use other methods?   Let us know.

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Tampa Trivia

by Terry Abrahams 

The international group is trying not to move.  But, I see G’ville did, and it looks good!  BTW, their website is wonderful too.  Have you all visited it?  Well, anyway, Tampa Parks and Recreation have given all groups using their recreation centers a double notice: every regular attendee has to pay a membership fee – in town, $15, not so bad, but out-of-town – even Andi who lives in Temple Terrace – $115!  Guests are charged $10 a shot.  Plus, in January the teacher(s) will have to have one or two million dollar insurance policies, fingerprints, etc.  The loophole is that if we don’t charge, the teachers don’t have to do all that.  We had decided we should pay for Andi’s membership, see what we could do about the guest cost, and just stay there.  But now, they are closing Barksdale Senior Center on Friday nights because the big group of square dancers left.   The only alternatives for us at Barksdale would be Thursday nights or a day time.  Not good.  We have no alternative spaces like the Israeli group has (see Tampa Israeli Dancers Move), except for my house.  So this Friday we will meet at my house and discuss what we can do.  If you want to come to international dancing in Tampa, call me, Andy or Andi to get the details.  (Terry’s contact information is on the last page of this newsletter.) 

On the positive side – we’re glad to have Andi back from Vancouver, Ken, back from summer camp, even showed up on a Friday!  (He’s usually doing concerts on Fridays, so we only see him at Israeli.)  Caroline and Gary showed up one Friday (they have been having such a good time traveling around) and Andi and I missed them because of Rosh HaShona.  However, Andi saw them in Canada, so that was good.  But now Ursula leaves for a trip to Israel this week and we’ll miss her for a while.  She’s a traveling fool!  For the rest of us – Andi is back to Sarasota on Wednesdays; Judith taking ballroom during the week; some of us are doing contra dancing on and off.

The Israeli group is going well – we had two guests from St. Pete last week and there were 11 of us!  Yea!  And, Andi and I went to Ruthy Slann and Dany Ben Shalom’s Karmiel USA in GA – where we roomed with Charlene Heaton – it was great to see her!  And of course the weekend itself was the usual great time – food, friends, dancing, ambiance.  One can’t ask for better.

Since we don’t have a star like Kelly (see Orlando International Folk Dance Club) and lots of other stuff to go to,  that does it for us!  See you at Fall Fling!

P.S. don’t forget to go to my website – creatingbuttons.com.  It helps me a lot to have people visit – it could eventually make me enough money to travel again – and it costs you nothing to visit!   Thanks!

by Jean Murray

Melbourne has done their normal dancing this summer, with Willa, Bernice, and Fannie involved in three local dance groups.  They also just got back from dancing in England and Ireland! (See English Country Dance in England.)

For me, there has been very little dancing this year. Constant business travel has taken me places where there is no folk dancing.  So, when I was in DC for two weeks, I started looking around.  It turns out you can dance four or five nights a week in Glen Echo, if you are open to international, contra, and English.  I got a chance to visit the international group. I had never visited a group before and was not really surprised that I knew few of their dances.  My biggest surprise was the level of the "beginners class" I attended.  The dances were simple, but the pace was quick! That particular group also has a sense of pride in keeping with "original" dances, not new choreographed ones.

My business trip ended with the opportunity to dance at Buffalo on the Danube Dance Camp.  It was good to see Daniella Ivanova again and to meet Tom Bozigian for the first time. Roo Lester is always a treat. The dance parties were great!  They alternated between Bulgarian, Armenian, and Scandinavian live music!  Every few dances, they made sure to play something everyone could join.  There was essentially no request dancing, but the bands made sure everyone had a great time.  Hopefully, I brought back a couple of new dances from Tom that the group will like, and can recapture a couple of Daniella's. She remembered how cold Florida was when she taught here!

So, while my job will keep me traveling probably for the rest of the year, I now know some new dance friends in DC, and have a welcoming place to return to.

Orlando International Folk Dance Club

by Pat Henderson

The summer has passed and now it is fall as we wait for a day with a high temperature under 90 degrees.  Our group has come back together after our summer hiatus of July and August.  We had to cancel dancing the first Wednesday in September when rain started a few hours before dance time – and we were already water logged from several days of rain.  It was so stormy that most people were relieved that they did not have to get out into the weather.

When we met on September 9th, we had a crowd of over 20 dancers.  We recognized all the July through September birthdays with a photo.  Several of us had already celebrated Larry Wartell's 80th birthday in July at the Olympia Restaurant.

Orlando birthday celebrants: Manuel Mora-Valls, Phyllis Dammer, Laura Nonamaker, Eva Gaber, Larry Wartell

Photo by Pat Henderson

In late August, a few from our group joined the Flagler Beach group for the Flagler Fling (see Flagler Fling). 

In medical news, we are wishing Emilie Brozek a speedy recovery after heart valve surgery on August 18.  She is in rehab as I  write this, after a bout with complications from the surgery, but is hoping to go home soon.  Also, our group had an epidemic of cataract surgeries this summer and they all went well.  Ann Robinson and Phyllis Dammer had both eyes done and Bobby Quibodeaux had one.

Congratulations to Kelly Fagan.  Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, Sanford, FL named her performance in Nuncrackers as the "Best Performance by a Female Singer," in the 2008/2009 season.

Those traveling since the last issue are:  Joe and Lucy Birkemeier to see the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster.  Minnie Berkowitz spent Labor Day

weekend in St. Augustine. Ann Robinson attended her high school reunion in West Virginia and visited Helvetia Village, a Swiss town in the mountains with a great cheese factory.  Juanita and Fred Schockey cruised the inside passage to visit family in Alaska and went fishing for halibut and salmon.  Juanita also visited a daughter in West Virginia.  Bobby and I went to Folkmoot in North Carolina in July (see Folkmoot USA 2009) and Karmiel USA in Dahlonega, GA (See Karmiel USA 2009) in September. 

While in North Carolina for Folkmoot, we visited our long time folk dancing friend, Kathy Dudek.  She had remodeled her home in the mountains; it was really nice to see her addition.  Her kitchen cabinets were actually made of wood from two oak trees that had to come down for the addition.  Since she lives in Brasstown, she bought her handmade hardware for the cabinets from the Campbell Folk School (www.folkschool.org).

Tampa Israeli Dancers Move

by Terry Abrahams

Due to new rules and regulations from the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department, the Tampa Israeli Dancers are now meeting at Beth Am Synagogue.  We met there for the first time on October 6 and six new people came!

Beth Am is located at 2030 West Fletcher.  The cost will remain $2.  Our hours will be 7 until 10 PM on Tuesdays.  We want to thank Irma Polster for working this out for us with her synagogue.   This will be better (even though not a wood floor), and more appropriate.  We’re truly appreciative of both Irma and Beth Am. 

Due to security precautions at Beth Am, the front door may be locked if you arrive late.  If you ring the doorbell, someone will come let you in.   If you call Andi or me ahead of time, we'll give you mobile phone numbers to call if by chance we don’t hear the bell over the music.

Lost and Found

Events

October 16-18 Sharpes Assembly

English Country Dance Weekend

Caller: Gene Murrow, music by Full Circle

Place: Kenilworth Lodge, 1610 SE Lakeview Drive, Sebring, FL 33870

Price: $130, double occupancy

Information: chagalo.org/ecd/ecdspec.shtml

Contact: Catie Condran Geist, 321-427-3587, catiegeist@att.net

October 24 FFDC Fall Fling

Hosted by the South Brevard Dancers

Place: Community House, Melbourne Village,

Time: 11 AM - 11 PM; Potluck lunch at noon

Cost: $5

You can come to the regular club dance on Friday evening, too. - same place, 7:30 PM.

Information: FFDC Calendar on the website, www.folkdance.org

Contact: John Daly 321-482-6818

October 23-24 Greek Festival, Tallahassee

Place: Holy Mother Of God Greek Orthodox Church, 1645 Phillips Road , Tallahassee, FL 3230,

850-878-0747

Times: 10 AM - 10 PM

Information: www.hmog.org/festival

by Jack Seltzer

Hallelujah! The Gators are still #1 (by most polls).  Don’t want to jinx them, but this is the season they should go undefeated. Gainesville's ready for it. I’ll take it – Go Gators!

Hey, enough of this sports update. The Gainesville International Folk Dancers have settled into their new home. Check out www.gifd.org for our new and updated website. We’re kind of proud of it.  Gary Kirkpatrick set it up a few years ago when he was kicking around here in Gainesville. In a few months this summer while he was visiting with his daughter and family in Montreal and with a few suggestions and photos from Julieta and myself, we put together a decent website. It’s exciting. Now we just have to link it to all those wanting to dance a lot on Friday nights. We’ve pulled in a few graduate students so far.

We’re settling into our new northwest Gainesville place, the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship hall (UUFG), and it seems like every week is party time with us. We get first timers, old timers, and plenty of regulars. For me it’s been a tremendous relief to be off University Ave. on Friday night. Our old location for three years just didn’t fit the climate of our group. We’ve evolved into a more mellow, mature group. Anything goes, but please keep it reasonable!

On October 9, a bunch of us went to the Greek celebration at the Gainesville Woman’s Club, saw the UF Greek Dancers perform, and ate, drank and danced the night away!

P.S. from Julieta Brambila, 9/24: I am in southern Mexico, in the state of Quintana Roo, next to Belize. I did some folk dancing here two nights ago, very nice! 

Gainesville dancers, clockwise from upper left: GIFD September 18, Kim Gulledge, John Ward, Lisa Johnson, new dancers Kat and Mary Wisecup, and June Littler

Photos by Julieta Brambila

By the way, Gary and his wife, Peggy, are now adventuring in the Peace Corps somewhere exciting in Panama. We all miss both of them a lot. Hopefully we’ll get them back someday soon. They’re real good folk!

Please note: The Florida Folk Dancer prints information on folk dance tours, camps and other events that may be of interest to our readers. This does not imply an endorsement or recommendation of any tour or camp (except our own FFDC events!).

Notices of selected tours, workshops, etc. are published in the newsletter and changed with each issue. A more complete list of tours can be found in the calendar on the FFDC website.

International Folk Dance Tours

October 29 - November 1 Greek Festival, Lecanto

Information: stmichaelgoc.org/festival.html

Contact: 352-527-0766, president@stmichaelgoc.org

March 7-19 Israel Tour

Optional Jordan extension March 19-22

Led by Jim Gold and Dr. Joe Freedman

Tour Jerusalem, Masada, Tel Aviv, Galilee; folk dancing with Israeli choreographers, Balkan dance with Dunav, Arab and Druze Debka dance workshops. Jordan extension includes Amman, Jerash, Petra, and other cities.

Information on all Jim Gold tours: www.jimgold.com

Contact: Jim Gold International, 497 Cumberland Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666; 201-836-0362, jimgold@jimgold.com

February 12-15, 2010 Florida Folk Dance "Camp"

Place: Clarion Resort, 2261 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway (U.S. 192)

See Prez Sez and look for more information in the future on the FFDC website and in the newsletter.

December 26 - January 1, 2010 Berea College Christmas Country Dance School

Classes in dance: contra, squares, Scandinavian (with Roo Lester), English country, clogging, Morris, Irish, rapper sword. Also dance calling, singing, dance band; storytelling, and crafts.

Information: www.berea.edu/peh/dance/ccds/default.asp

Contact: 859-985-3431, ccds@berea.edu

November 26 – 29 Texas Camp

Sponsored by Texas International Folk Dancers.  Teachers have not been announced yet.  Check their website for more information in their next newsletter.

Place: Greene Family Camp, 1192 Smith Lane, Bruceville, Texas 76630

Information: www.tifd.org

Contact: board@tifd.org

March 26 - April 5 Budapest Tour

A Jim Gold tour, led by Adam Molnar

Includes villages, local folk groups and the National Táncház Festival and Craft Fair

June 12-22 Norway Tour

A Jim Gold tour, led by Lee Otterholt

Visit Oslo, Bergen, Telemark, Voss. Includes midsummer, fjord cruises and classes in Norwegian dance.

October 10-23 Greece and Crete Tour

Optional Greek Island Cruise Extension October 23-27, and Santorini extension, October 26-29

A Jim Gold Tour, led by Jim Gold and Lee Otterholt

November 6 - 8 Greek Festival, Tampa

Place: St. John Greek Orthodox Church, Tampa 2418 W. Swann Avenue Tampa, FL, 33609-4712, 813-876-8830

Times: Friday 5 -10 PM, Saturday Noon - 10 PM, Sunday Noon - 9 PM;

Information at

www.yasas.com/greek-orthodox-details.asp?cid=529

Return Address:

Florida Folk Dancer

1963 S. Lake Reedy Blvd.

Frostproof, FL 33843

USA

FIRST CLASS

FLORIDA FOLK DANCER

Florida Folk Dancer is published six to eight times a year by the Florida Folk Dance Council, Inc., a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to further knowledge, performance, and recreational enjoyment of International Folk Dance.

2009 FFDC OFFICERS:

President: Terry Abrahams

813-234-1231

president@folkdance.org

VP: Pat Henderson

407-275-6247 
henderp@bellsouth.net 

Secretary/Treasurer: John Daly

321-482-6818

treasurer@folkdance.org

Historian: Dan Lampert

PO Box 151719

Altamonte Springs, FL 32715

dan300@dlc2.com

Newsletter Editor: Caroline Lanker

1963 S. Lake Reedy Blvd.

Frostproof, FL 33843

863-635-9366

editor@folkdance.org

Submissions: Send all newsletter submissions to the Editor.

Copyright: Articles in the Florida Folk Dancer are copyright by the Florida Folk Dance Council, Inc., or by their individual authors.

Subscriptions for printed and mailed copies are $15 per year per person ($20 per family) and include membership in the Florida Folk Dance Council. Membership without printed newsletters is $10 per person or $15 per family. The membership year runs from one annual Florida Folk Dance Camp (usually February) to the next. The newsletter is posted on the FFDC website and members with e-mail addresses are notified of its availability.

FFDC Website: www.folkdance.org