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Prez Sez
Winter was awful, then all of a sudden – summer! What happened to spring? It’s so hot, I can’t walk the dogs! At least dancing is done inside (for the most part) so we can continue with that – but – holy cow!
Speaking of dance – I’m getting a few suggestions for camp teachers. I’m thinking it’s been a long time since we had Turkish, there’s a possible Georgian, we could try the Hungarian guy again, and I’m still working on possible Asian (met a terrific teacher in Singapore with some lovely dances). It’s difficult to think of something new – we’re on our 31st camp (is that correct Pat?) – that means we’ve had 62 dance instructors, some repeats of course. If you have any ideas, please send them to me, 813-234-1231, president@folkdance.org
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I’ve been watching other camps. We’ve never had Michael Ginsberg. There’s a name – Ilana Bozhanova – I haven’t heard of before, but she’s Bulgarian. I think we need to stay away from Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia for at least a year. There’s a possible Turkish/Romani. There’s a new Italian teacher who is getting good reviews. Also another Russian is on the scene. There’s a possible new Greek teacher. What are your thoughts? Anyone you would like back? Any new ones you’ve seen or heard of? I should be making a decision within the next few months.
Another short message – egads – I’m losing my edge! I’ll be going to Juanita’s 80th birthday bash in Orlando on June 2 – I hear 70+ people will be there – hope you will too! Yet another good excuse for FFDC people to get together – and such a happy occasion!
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Who? What ? Where?
See pages 2 and 3
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From the Editor
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It’s good to hear that dancing is going on in Florida this summer. The Sarasota and Flagler Beach groups are planning events (see Sarasota Grapeviners and Flagler Fling). Gary and I will attend the Mendocino Scandia camp along with Judith Baizan in June and the Stockton Folk Dance Camp in July-August. Some others are planning to go to Bulgaria with Jim Gold or Karl Finger. There are lots of other events around the country as well as other international dance tours and events to participate in. See the Events and Tours sections of this newsletter and the FFDC calendar on the website. And many of our winter dancers also dance somewhere else in the summer.
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If you observe or participate in any dance events, anywhere, in the next few months, please take pictures and write about the events for the newsletter. I get lots of kudos for the job I do on the newsletter, but let’s give credit where credit is due – much of it is due to our many authors. Some contribute regularly and some only occasionally. It is that variety of different voices, points of view and dance experiences that make the newsletter interesting.
—CL
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Orlando Dance News
by Pat Henderson
The last two months have been very busy in Orlando, with a lot of dancing and dance-related opportunities. In late April, the annual Greek Festival was held in Maitland (Orlando area). Many members of our group attended and enjoyed the food, the music and the dance. It was so not terribly hot as it had been in previous years. There were three different performing groups of different ages, with the youngest performer being three and the oldest 30-something. They seem to show new dances every year, which is pleasant.
Maitland Greek Festival: youngest group of performers doing a zeibekiko.
Photos by Pat Henderson
Greek Festival:
oldest group waiting to perform
The following day, April 25, the first Orlando Turkish Festival was held in downtown Orlando at the bandshell at Lake Eola. Bobby and I arrived at noon, when it was supposed to start, but they were just setting up a big tent for eating hanging decorations. At 1 PM, the program began with mostly Turkish dance groups. There were two children's groups and an adult group of four who came from North Carolina. I had the impression that not many of them are actually Turkish. The adult group, the Bluestar Turkish Folk Dance Troupe, was very good and represented several regions of Turkey with their dances. A comical dance was performed by the two men with their bellies painted like faces and hoods on their heads that looked like hats. The dance is called Ashuk and Mashuk, with a boy and a girl character and a “boy-meets-girl” story. That and other dances performed by the group are described on their website, bluestardance.org. The food was good, too. I would go again next year.
Turkish Festival: Children's group from Orlando Science Schools
Turkish Festival: Rivercity Science Academy Dance Group from Jacksonville
Turkish Festival: Ashuk and Mashuk
Flagler Fling to be July 10 - 11
The Flagler Beach/Palm Coast folk dancers invite you to come for a Fling on Saturday, July 10th from 11 AM to some hour in the evening. We welcome you to stay over in some of our homes or a local hotel so that we can get together to walk the beach in the morning, come to Jan's to swim in the pool, then go out for the mid-day meal at an ethnic restaurant. Last year we did just that, although the fling happened on Thursday and Friday. We are trying to improve on that schedule by using the weekend.
Please contact Jan, 386-447-8396, or email to let us know you will come and if you would like a place to stay. Nicki and John from Orlando stayed at the Topaz on Flagler Beach last year.
Saturday meals will be potluck. We will have a stove and refrigerator to use if necessary. We'll eat soon after arrival mid-day as we did at Spring Fling, dance, and snack in the evening on the leftovers. The floor is suspended laminate and the room is air conditioned. We hope that many of you will be able to come. There will be no charge if we leave the room as clean as we found it. We're looking forward to seeing you!
- Jan
Our dance group celebrated World Dance Day on April 28 and May 5. We brought ethnic food and had wine and beer from several countries. A few dancers wore ethnic costumes to add to the ambiance of the occasion. We played one and sometimes two dances from each country or ethnic group and we started with the end of the alphabet and went backwards to A. We could not do all the countries in one night, which gave us a reason to party on both nights!
Several members of our group are experiencing physical ailments, so attendance has been down the past two months. However, we are getting back to full force, again. 15 dancers attended on May 19. We were happy to see Emilie Brozek back after her heart surgery recovery, Joe and Lucy Birkemeier after Joe's foot problem, and Phyllis Dammer after she had a pacemaker implanted. We hope that everyone will stay healthy now!
Travelers this month were Jan Lathi to San Diego for her daughter's wedding and Betty Nehemias to Maryland to visit family. They celebrated Betty’s birthday while she was there. Ann Robinson enjoyed a one week cruise to Bermuda with a square dance group. We said goodbye for the summer to Joan and Wally Washington and hope they have a good summer in Michigan.
Kelly Fagan was in the play Moon Over Buffalo. She played Charlotte Hay, the part that Carol Burnett played on Broadway. Several of us had dinner at a fantastic restaurant, Tony's NY Pizza, in Deland before the play. They serve a lot more than pizza, including great dishes with chicken and eggplant. The theater, Athens Theater, was just a block away from the restaurant so we could walk off a little of the pasta after dinner on the way to the play. The play was very funny and Kelly demonstrated her usual outstanding personality and talent.
Kelly Fagan in Moon Over Buffalo. Her co-star, Bob Sollien, is in costume for the title character in Cyrano De Bergerac, a play within the play.
New English Country Dance Group
A new English Country Dance group is starting in Deland this summer. The Deland Country Dancers will meet at the Woman´s Club of Deland, 128 W Michigan Ave., every fourth Sunday, 2 to 5 PM, starting on June 27. The price is $5.
For more information, visit their web site at
dancefl.us/ecd/DelandECD.shtml,
or call Pam or Curtis at 386-490-4946.
Celebration of World Dance Day 2010 at Festival Bay Mall
by Teresa Borker
Orlando celebrated World Dance Day 2010 on Sunday, May 2, from noon to 6:00 PM, at the Festival Bay Mall at International Drive, the sponsor of the event. The indoor Center Court stage was alive with 150 professional, semi-professional, academy, school, club, and community adult and youth performers from 15 different performing dance groups, representing 25 distinct forms of the art of dance.
World Dance Day was organized by the International Dance Council in Paris on April 29, 1982, and is celebrated every spring throughout the world. The object of World Dance Day events is to educate and entertain a wider public in the art of dance, with special emphasis on performances in non-traditional theater locations that are free and open to the public.
Patty Castro, a soloist with Folkloric de Mexico, performing folkloric dance from State of Veracruz
The group Flamenco del Sol performing Spanish Flamenco
NuLook Dance Theater performing African dance
Photos by Teresa Borker
This year’s event, once again free of charge to the audience, was both entertaining and educational. Many of the groups included easy audience participation sessions in their performances. 2010 World Dance Day marked Orlando’s fifth celebration of this cultural event with the City’s Mayor, Buddy Dyer, and Orange County’s Mayor, Richard Crotty, both signing proclamations declaring it World Dance Day in Orlando and Orange County respectively. These proclamations were reprinted in the programs for the approximately 1,000 people who performed in and attended the event.
Sentimiento Panamenco performing folkloric dances from Panama
Ethnic folk dance was well-represented with performances chosen to showcase Spanish Flamenco and classical Spanish, Bollywood, international Zumba, American clogging, traditional Middle Eastern folkloric, belly dance, global gypsy, Latin, African, Caribbean, and traditional folkloric dances of Haiti, India, Panama and Mexico.
I am a long-time member of our Florida Folk Dance Council and am very pleased to have produced and directed this Central Florida community dance event.
Sarasota Grapeviners
by Judy Merkt
The Sarasota Grapeviners held their third annual celebration of World Dance Day on April 28. 'Twas another successful evening for the Grapeviners. As predicted, the music played for two and a half hours, keeping most of us on our feet and moving almost the entire time - thank goodness for Advil and hot baths ! We welcomed almost 50 folk dancers to this event; most were from our home county, but several visitors graced our doors, including the always-welcome Lankers. Thank you all for helping to make this an excellent celebration of World Dance Day.
Sarasota World Dance Day celebration, foreground: Bill Schwarz, Varda Ruskin, Ursula Tison, Susan Barach, Andi Kapplin, Ivan Krakowski; background (faces showing): Bill Hopkins, Erica Karp, Nancy Wilusz, Sergio Zigras, Kevin McDonnell
With summer here, we in Sarasota (like most of you) have once again said "have a great summer" to all of our snowbird friends and our instructress, Andi Kapplin. Although this always saddens us, it does have a positive side. It is an opportunity for our newer and/or less experienced dancers to participate more fully because we are a much smaller group in the summer and therefore it is less intimidating.
Sarasota Summer Stomp
To encourage and have some fun with our summer members, the Sarasota Grapeviners are hosting our First Annual Summer Stomp on Wednesday, July 7th. Our "M.O." will be the same as our two other annual events in that it will be an "all request" night from 7 to 9:30 PM with a half-hour break for "meeting, greeting, and the all-important eating". All this for $5.00 - such a deal! Please join us and help make this night a fun one for all of us. Contact me to get your request dances included in the night's playlist − at 941-379-6302 or jamerkt@comcast.net. As it will be a planned program from the requested dances, please give me your requests no later than June 30th. If you come, please bring a light bite to share at break-time.
Susan Barach, Marie Millett (behind Susan), Varda Ruskin, Bill Schwarz, Judy Merkt, Delores Lustig
Erica Karp, Annette Krakowski, Marilyn Bernfeld
Photos by Caroline Lanker
Letters
5/15/2010
I'm on a two-month driving trip. I attended my 50th grammar school reunion at Saint Matthew's Catholic School in San Mateo, California, on May 1st and 2nd. I'll be attending a special college reunion at Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana, on June 3-6. In addition to those two reunions, I have been visiting family and friends. My first event was a family wedding in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on April 12th. I danced at the rehearsal dinner and at the wedding reception.
I attended an English dance in Poway (San Diego area) on April 25th and an English dance in Palo Alto on April 30th. On Friday, May 15th, I danced with the International Folk Dance group in Ashland, Oregon and I will be dancing with the English and Scottish group in Ashland on Monday evening, May 18. I hope to dance a few more times before I get home from my trip.
All the best, Catie Condran Geist
Tampa Tells
by Terry Abrahams
We’re still dancing – sans Andi, but we’re managing. We actually have a new gal! Judith’s neighborhood party produced a young Turkish woman who is moving into her neighborhood, and who not only does Turkish dances, but also her mom is Bulgarian and she knows a few of those. But better yet, no matter what dance we do, she’s picking it up quicker than a bunny! As Andy says, we had to learn these dances, she just does them. Very exciting. We also had a mother-daughter act come who had danced in Colorado and they aren’t half bad! They said they couldn’t come often, but will when they can. Good god – could Tampa possibly grow a skosh?
On the personal side, I had my knee surgery, and so far so good, although there is still pain. I’m dancing and fencing and supposedly doing exercises to strengthen – hmmmm. I went over to Orlando, drove with Pat and Bobby, Juanita and Fred and Ann to see Kelly in her latest – Moon over Buffalo. Not a musical, but Kelly turns out to be Carol Burnett in disguise and she was just terrific! That coupled with a near perfect Italian meal beforehand made for a lovely weekend. (Also see Orlando Dance News.) I’ve also been seeing some other theater, both local and Broadway. If you have the money and Mary Poppins comes to your area – surprisingly fabulous!
Ursula and I went to hear a Doctoral Lecture Recital by a guy who’s getting his PhD in choral music. He was doing a Bulgarian Choral composer, Todor Popov, and had a group of singers performing what he described. Not enough folk (actually none, although Popov wrote some) music for you and me, but a very nice hour, none the less. For Ursula and me, it was a different, pleasant evening.
The Israeli group continues to blossom, and our performance at Israeli Independence Day drew a couple of pictures in the Jewish News. Last night we had yet three more new people. A miracle! We’re lovin’ it! I even taught a partner dance.
Well, I’m going on and on here – guess I’m making up for not having much to say in my presidential column. So here’s the end. THE END.
Treasurer's Report
Florida Folk Dance Council, Inc
March 2009 to March 2010
| Income/Expense Summary |
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Bank Checking Balance 3/31/09
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$4,084.61 |
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Income
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Membership and late payments from Camp 2009 |
$972.00
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Camp 2010 |
$18,194.75 |
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| Income Total |
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$19,166.70 |
| Expenses |
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Camp 2010 |
$17,696.44 |
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FFDC Miscellaneous |
$657.81 |
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Florida Folk Dancer |
$477.16 |
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Events |
$207.34 |
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Camp 2009—Last few expenses |
$563.96 |
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Adjustment |
$65.34 |
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| Expenses Total |
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$19,668.05 |
| Bank Checking Balance 3/31/10 |
|
$3,583.31 |
| Camp Summary |
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Collected for Camp 2010 |
$18,194.75 |
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less Membership and Newsletter |
$780.00 |
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Total Income for Camp
|
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$17,414.75 |
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Expenses
|
|
|
|
Rooms |
$6,464.05 |
|
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Meals |
$5,591.38 |
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Facilities |
$2,256.00 |
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Instructors |
$2,451.80 |
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Miscellaneous |
$572.44 |
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| Total Camp 2010 Expenses |
|
$17,696.44 |
| Other Assets |
| Certificate of Deposit |
|
$5,078.45 |
| Total Assets |
|
$9,163.06 |
Submitted by John Daly, Treasurer
June 12–19 Scandia Camp Mendocino
Music and dances of Valdres, Norway and Dalarna, Sweden
Place: Mendocino Woodlands Camp in the Mendocino Woodlands State Park
Contact: Roo Lester 630-985-7192 (central time zone), Roo@ScandiaCamp.org
Information: www.scandiacampmendocino.org
June 27 – July 4 Nordic Fiddles and Feet
Dances from Gästrikland, Sweden; Rørospols from Norway; and Scandinavian dance basics with Roo Lester.
Place: Camp Ogontz, near Littleton New Hampshire
Contact: NFF, 4401 Alta Vista Way, Knoxville, TN 37919, 865-522-0515; fiddlesandfeet@bellsouth.net
Information: www.nordicfiddlesandfeet.org
July 7 –11 Door County Folk Festival
Place: Sister Bay, Ephraim & Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin
Contact: info@dcff.net, Paul Collins, 773-463-2288
Information: www.dcff.net
July 7 Sarasota Grapeviners’ First Annual Summer Stomp
Place: Bayfront Community Center, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Time: 7-9:30 PM
Price: $5
Contact: Judy Merkt,
941-379-6302, jamerkt@comcast.net
Bring snacks to share. Send dance requests to Judy by June 30.
July 9 – 11 National Folk Festival
Place: Butte, Montana
Contact: National Folk Festival, c/o Mainstreet Uptown Butte, P.O. Box 696, Butte, MT 59703, 406-497-6464, or email through their website
Information: nationalfolkfestival.com
July 22 – August 1 Folkmoot USA
Events include a Grand Opening, performances, workshops, a 5K Run/Walk, an International Festival Day, the Parade of Nations and a Candlelight Closing
Place: several towns in western North Carolina
Contact: Folkmoot USA, PO Box 658, Waynesville, NC 28786, 1-877-FOLK-USA;
Information: www.folkmootusa.org;
email through the web site
June 25 – 26 Greek Landing Day Celebration 2010
Commemorating the landing of the first Greek colony in the New World;
Greek Music, Food, & Dancing
Place: St. Photios Shrine, 41 Saint George Street, Saint Augustine, Florida
Time: 4 – 9 PM
Contact: 904-829-8205, info@stphotios.com
Be sure to check the FFDC calendar on www.folkdance.org for updates and new event listings!
August 15–21 Mainewoods Dance Camp Week 1
Teachers: Tom Bozigian – Armenian, Ann Smith – Scottish; Loui Tucker - Israeli
August 22–28 Mainewoods Dance Camp Week 2
Teachers: France Bourque-Moreau – French Canadian, Ahmet Lüleci – Turkish, Yves Moreau – Bulgarian
August 29–September 4 Mainewoods Dance Camp Week 3
Teachers: Mihai David – Romanian, Lee Otterholt – Balkan and Beyond, Richard Schmidt – Polish
Place: Camp Indian Acres, Fryeburg, Maine
Contact: Helen Blum, Mainewoods Dance Camp, 926 Bloomfield Ave., Apt. 3F, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028, 973-787-4614, info@mainewoodsdancecamp.org
Information: www.mainewoodsdancecamp.org
August 5 – 8 New Mexico August Folk Dance Camp
Željko Jergan, Croatian, and Jacqueline Schwab, English Country Dance
Place: New Mexico Tech Campus, Socorro, New Mexico
Contact: Charles Cummings, 505-256-3807, charlesacummings@comcast.net
August 5 – 7 Bountiful/Davis Summerfest International 2010
Place: Bountiful City Park, 200 W 400 N, Bountiful, Utah
Contact: 801-292-0367 or email through the website
Information: www.bdac.org/summerfest/summerfest.htm
August 19 – 22 Balkanalia
Teachers: Daniela Ivanova, Bulgarian, Ahmet Lϋleci, Turkish
Place: Camp Angelos, 32149 SE Stevens Rd., Corbett, Oregon
Contact: Susan Reagel, 503-234-9088, reagel@spiritone.com
September 3 – 6 Karmiel USA Israeli Folk Dance
Weekend with Dany Benshalom and Ruthy Slann
Place: 3872 Dillard Rd., Highlands, NC
Contact: Ruthy Slann, 864-650-2009, kibbutz@slann.com
September 10 –12 Mountain Playshop
with Jim Gold
Place: YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly conference center, 84 Blue Ridge Circle, Black Mountain, NC 28711-9722
Normal registration June 21 – August 27
Contact: info@mountainplayshop.org or email via the website
Information: www.mountainplayshop.org
September 23 – 26 Pourparler
Conference for teachers of folk dance; sponsored by Folkstyle Productions with National Folk Organization
Place: Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Contact: Sanna Longden, 800-894-4378, sannamars@aol.com
Information: folkstyle.net
July 25-31 Stockton Folk Dance Camp, week 1
August 1-7 Stockton Folk Dance Camp, week 2
With Cristian Florescu and Sonia Dion (Romanian), Steve Kotansky (Balkan), Ahmet Lüleci (Turkish), Fang-Chich Chen (Taiwanese), Denes Dreisziger (Hungarian), Radboud Koop (Russian),
Jerry Helt (American Squares and Contras),
Hilde Otterholt (Hawaiian)
Place: University of the Pacific Campus,
Stockton, California
Contact: Jan Wright, 36676 Viola Meadows Court, Shingletown, CA 96088, 530- 474-3231, jmwright32@frontiernet.net
Information: www.folkdancecamp.org
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!).
International Folk Dance Tours
Selected tours are listed in each newsletter. A more extensive list of tours can be found in the calendar on the FFDC website.
August 3 – 15 Bulgaria Tour with Jim Gold
includes the Koprivshtitsa Folk Festival
(This is the Bulgaria tour that Pat Henderson and Bobby Quibodeaux, Jack and Linda Seltzer are going on.)
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
October 15 – 17 Sharpes Assembly
English Country Dance weekend
with guest caller Michael Barraclough
and music by Full Circle band
Place: Kenilworth Lodge, 1610 SE Lakeview Dr., Sebring, Florida
Contact: Catie Geist, 321-427-3587, catiegeist@att.net
Information: www.dancefl.us/ecd/index.shtml
July 27 – August 10 Bulgaria Tour with
Karl Finger
includes the Koprivshtitsa Folk Festival
(Sorry for the late announcement; we only just learned about this tour, but a little bird told us Kelly Fagan is going on it.)
Information on all Karl Finger Folk Tours: www.fingerfolk.com/tours.htm
To contact Karl Finger: Hupi Road – Box 933, Monterey, MA 01245-0933; 413-528-2963; finger@bcn.net
October 8 – 10 International Folkdance Camp, Columbus Day Weekend
Teachers: Moshe Eskayo, Sonia Dion and Cristian Florescu, Susan and Steve Kotansky, David Vinski, and Magali Boivin teaching French Canadian Clogging
Place: Circle Lodge, Hopewell Junction, New York
Contact: Moshe Eskayo, 212-942-4143, skayokeff@gmail.com
Information: www.ifcreunion.homestead.com
October 2 Fall Fling
A fun day of all request dancing, plus potluck lunch and supper, on the hardwood floor of the Historic Community House
Sponsored by the South Brevard International Dancers
Place: 6300 Hall Road, Melbourne Village, Florida
Time 11 AM – 10 PM
Contact: John Daly, 321-482-6818, john@dalypreservation.com
January 12 – 26, 2011 Dance on the Water - Egypt
Seven day land tour – Cairo and Luxor – and seven day Nile cruise; optional tour to Abu Simbel; optional Petra extension
Dance leader Lee Otterholt
Pricing: from $2598 with early discount to 9/30/2010, excluding airfare to/from Cairo
Contact: Mel Mann, % Berkeley Travel Company, 1301 California St., Berkeley, CA 94703; 510-526-4033; meldancing@aol.com
Information: www.folkdanceonthewater.org
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.
2010 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 event notices for the calendar or the newsletter to Pat Henderson. Send all other 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
