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Bulgaria with Jim Gold

by Jack Seltzer, Pat Henderson and Sandra Suplicki

Five FFDC members enjoyed Jim Gold’s trip to Bulgaria, August 3-15. Linda and Jack Seltzer, Sandra Suplicki, Bobby Quibodeaux, and Pat Henderson went mainly for the Koprivshtitsa Festival, held every five years. There were 51 travelers, along with a singing coach from California, a gaida player, and a young dance teacher. We had a tour guide the entire time in Bulgaria but the gaida player and dance teacher joined us after the festival. Between the festival, the gaida player and dance teacher, Bobby playing international music a few evenings (thank you, Bobby) and dancing at our dinner site, we danced every day. We had eleven hectic and ‘far out’ days traveling all over the Bulgarian mountains.

We started in Sofia. The second night we sat around on couches and comfy chairs in the Radisson Hotel's second floor lounge while Jim led an introductory meeting, where we learned a lot about our dancing companions from across the United States, Canada and Saudi Arabia. We proceeded into our first formal dinner, compete with wine and many excellent native dishes.

As we were dining peacefully, an amazing sound and sight emerged right before our eyes. It was Ansamble Tchinari, with our gaida player Ventsi’s friend, and a performance group in full costume. There were four men jumping and kicking together, four women whirling as they twirled tassels. After an hour of this incredible uplifting experience, everyone was up dancing around the tables and chairs. We were led by the choreographer and joined by the dancers. This was only the first of many times during this adventure of a lifetime through the mountains and valleys of Bulgaria when we were regaled by and joined the festivities provided by outstanding singers and dancers. What an incredible start to this unbelievable tour!

Our trip only got better as we proceeded to its highlight, the Koprivshtitsa Festival, or, as we affectionately called it “the folk dancers’ Woodstock”. The Koprivshtitsa Festival was introduced by the Communist regime in 1965 to preserve Bulgarian folklore.  This festival is a priceless event that features authentic folk music and dance from across Bulgaria, with most performers wearing their ethnic costumes. It takes place in and around Koprivshtitsa, a historic village of Ottoman traders’ houses in a wooded vale of the Sredna Gora Mountains. The multi-stage festival site lies outside the village about a 20 to 30 minute hike up the mountain – you must have good walking shoes. Shuttle buses are provided for those unable to walk up the mountain but the wait might be long at peak times.

Top right: a dance group waiting to perform at the Koprivshtitsa festival; left: Ansamble Tchinari performing at dinner in Sofia; center: dance group performing; right: a young singer and her accompanist

Photos by Pat Henderson and Jack Seltzer

Booths for handicrafts, musical instruments, CDs, food and drink were plentiful.  This year the Festival had seven stages with entertainment 9 AM to 7 PM on Friday and Saturday. In the evenings, groups from other countries performed on the stage in the town square, which made for non-stop singing and dancing.

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The basic format of the festival is a competition between regions in various categories, mainly singing and dancing, although there were various skits that we could understand largely through their actions. There were about 12,000 performers of all ages participating. There was also impromptu music and dance in the grass away from the stages. Jack, Linda, Pat and Sandra enjoyed joining one of the performance groups as they were getting ready to perform. We danced on the hillside and took many pictures and video clips.

On Sunday, starting at 11 AM, the winners from each region performed. After the show, which lasted a little more than an hour, recorded Bulgarian music was played and hundreds of people danced on and off the stage.

As if that wasn’t enough, many treasures awaited us during the rest of the tour. The village party and pot luck in unmapped Kovachevtsi was a real treat. We luxuriated in a five star hotel, Kempinski, in the ski resort town of Bansko.  Jack, Linda and Sandra joined other members of the tour playing musical chairs in the hot tub and enjoying the facilities of the spa, including the saunas and the ice room (brrr). We enjoyed participating in a mock Bulgarian wedding ceremony presented by the Dobarsko Babi singers – Bobby was the groom.

We enjoyed a horse drawn cart ride to a dinner called “The Picnic” outside Bansko, where we danced in the field. We traveled on to Pamporovo and another ski resort hotel, the Orlovetz, and then another wedding ceremony where we had to ransom one of our members who was kidnapped to be the bride.  Then it was on to two unique monasteries: Rila and Bachkovo.  The old town of Plovdiv, the Shipka Memorial Church (built by Russia), the Valley of the Roses, the ancient tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the town of Veliko Turnovo and its Tsarevets Royal Hill with palaces and churches perched on cliffs of the Yantra River Gorge completed our trip.

If you ever go on a trip like ours to Bulgaria, be prepared to dance on cobble-stones or on grassy slopes. Needless to say, this was another memorable folk dance trip. Yes, the trips are expensive, but worth every penny!  And now, we have even more wonderful folk dance friends.

Top left: Jim Gold and Jack Seltzer trying out the guidas they bought at the festival; top right: the Rila Monastery; above: Bobby and the Dobarsko Babi singers preparing for a mock wedding.

Photos by Linda Seltzer and Pat Henderson

DeLand International Folk Dancers

by Ruth Ann Fay

Joan and Wally Washington, the founders and leaders of the DeLand International Folk Dancers are retiring as leaders after 17 years.  Their last dance as leaders was Tuesday, Oct. 12th at the DeLand Police Station Community room.

On Tuesday, October 19th, the group will dance again. It will be the start of DeLand's regular schedule, 1st and 3rd Tuesdays. We will be meeting at a new location, The Rosewood Center, 321 W. Pennsylvania. This Center is owned by Pam Russo and Curtis Stulting, whom we all know as English Country Dance leaders. They are installing a wood floor that will accommodate small dance groups. Since the 18th is Ruth Ann's birthday, we will have a cake too.

Contact Ruth Ann for information and directions, Rfay4@cfl.rr.com.

Stockton Folk Dance Camp 2010

by Caroline Lanker

This year’s Stockton Folk Dance Camp surpassed even the great time Gary and I had at Stockton in 2009.  This year, we attended both weeks. Of course, the major event of the camp was the wedding of Sonia Dion and Cristian Florescu.  In case any Florida dancer doesn’t already know, Cristian and Sonia taught at Florida camp in 2008 and brought us such favorite dances as Dana and Opinca.

The wedding was held on the Saturday afternoon of the first week of camp.  Everyone at camp that week was invited to the wedding, as well as second-week campers who came in early for the occasion.  With the addition of members of the wedding party and other friends of Cristian and Sonia, and there were at least 280 people at the wedding and reception.

Musicians playing before the wedding dinner.  The man in the middle, in sunglasses, is a wonderful accordionist whom the Moreaus brought down from Canada especially to play for the wedding reception.

The ceremony took place at a Greek Orthodox church near the University of the Pacific, where camp is held.  A Romanian Orthodox priest and deacon officiated. Cameras were not allowed at the wedding and it was difficult to get good pictures at the reception because of the crowds around the bride and groom.  To see some good pictures of the event, go to the Stockton Folk Dance Camp website, www.folkdancecamp.org, and click on “2010 Pictures”, then scroll down to the wedding pictures.  I’m including a few candid shots of the reception here and may have more later.

Yves Moreau and France Bourque-Moreau, who taught at Stockton in 2009, came just for the wedding.  They were the godparents of the bride and groom, which are important positions in a Romanian wedding.  They take part in the ceremony and the godfather is a sort of master of ceremonies for the reception.

Left: Sonia and Cristian starting the evening's dance with the first waltz. Right: Yves Moreau and France Bourke-Moreau, after the wedding, carrying the candles they held during the ceremony.  The candles could not be put down until they were placed at the bride and groom’s table at the wedding dinner.

Each of the tables at the wedding dinner was given a name that meant something special to Cristian and Sonia. Gary and I sat at the “Mr. and Ms. Banana” table. The name comes from one of the running jokes at Stockton camp; whenever Cristian, teaching a dance, wants to tell people to move in an arc, he says to make a figure like a banana.  Two of our table mates were Murray and Randi Spiegel, who are known to our members who went on the Romanian trip in 2008.  (See “Roamin’ in Romania” in the July/August 2008 Florida Folk Dancer.)  At Murray’s instigation, some of the group at the table had brought bananas to the reception and Murray arranged them artfully in the center of the table. See pictures on the next page.

During the reception, several people presented various entertainments.   Murray and Randi sang a round called “Shut Up”, with advice for newlyweds. You can see their performance at the reception on the web at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZaSFiFsswU.

Left: Murray Spiegel showing off the Mr. and Ms. Banana table; center: Randi Spiegel, Cristian, and Rebecca Tsai, a camper from Taiwan, "going bananas"; right: Lee Otterholt (on right) and a camper performing an original rap number for Cristian and Sonia

Oh, yes, there was more to the camp than the wedding.  The teachers included Steve Kotansky and Ahmet Luleci, who are familiar to many Florida dancers, and a pair of teachers doing native Taiwanese (which are not the same as Chinese) dances, among others. The Taiwanese dances have some interesting moves that we are not accustomed to in European dances.  One of those dances was an adaptation (i.e. simplification) of the Lion Dance, which is commonly done at festivals on Taiwan, with two dancers in the two parts of a lion costume.

Hilde Otterholt (Lee Otterholt’s wife) taught Hawaiian hula. That was very challenging – with not only unfamiliar movements but the requirement to pay attention to several parts of your body doing different things at the same time.  I felt like such as klutz!

There were a lot of campers there from all over, including other countries.  In the first week, we made friends with some dancers from Japan and in the second week with some from Brazil.  I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, it was an experience of a lifetime.

The Taiwanese Lion Dance. The two Taiwanese teachers are in the front, left. Cristian is in the center in a Tiger T-shirt, which has a large flap in the front that can be raised to show the wide-open mouth of the tiger. (The Tiger is the mascot of the University of the Pacific.)

Left: Cristian shows off his prize after removing Sonia's garter – yes, with his teeth; right: Cristian does some fancy Romanian dance steps to win back his bride, after she was stolen (carried off by the young Hungarian dance teacher).

Cristian and Sonja posing on picture night, the Tuesday after the wedding

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Orlando International Folk Dance Club

by Pat Henderson

I was remiss in my duties by not reporting Juanita Schockey's 80th birthday party in the last issue of FFD. She had a fantastic dinner party at the Olympia Restaurant on June 2 with about 70 dancers, family, and friends attending.  We brought our Greek and Balkan CD and danced most of the evening.  Juanita's daughters, Linda and Diana, were there to help her celebrate.   A belly dancer added to the festivities. 

Juanita Schockey at her 80th birthday party, with daughters Linda and Diana. 

Photo by Pat Henderson

In July, Juanita and Fred visited a third daughter in Alaska, where Fred fished. While there, they experienced a Florida winter with high temperatures in the 50s.  Shortly after returning, Juanita visited Diana and other family in West Virginia. 

Juanita and Fred Schockey in Alaska

In other news, Kelly Fagan missed the Bulgarian trip she was scheduled to go on  because her eye took a long time to heal after retina surgery.  However, her sister, Lynda, drove her to western North Carolina where her parents were visiting.  She enjoyed the change of scenery and it was great rehab for her. 

In  August, Jan Lathi, Ann Robinson, Betty Nehemias and Juanita Schockey went to Mainewoods Camp week 2 with Yves and France Moreau and Ahmet Luleci.  They had a good time in spite of a few physical problems among them.  A day after returning from Mainewoods, Ann was back on a plane to North Carolina for the Penland Craft School.  Larry Wartell attended a family reunion and Lucy and Joe Birkemeier went to Washington DC for a nurses’ reunion for her and then to visit family in West Virginia. 

Phyllis Dammer and her husband Ed traveled to Kansas City, MO to visit family, then they stayed a week in Iowa in a timeshare condo and then on to Lake of the Ozarks.  All that time the temperatures were in the 100s, so Ed did not fish on the lake.  They left early and spent a few days in Biloxi at the Grand Casino.

Bobby and I went on the Bulgarian trip, (see Bulgaria with Jim Gold), Karmiel USA workshop and the Mountain Playshop in North Carolina. 

Before Karmiel USA, we picked up our daughter off the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, VA. She had hiked about 450 miles in 2.5 months and is now back with us in Orlando.  Does anyone have any work for a 29 year old?

"Eye See You"

A big note of gratitude for all the well wishes, cards, emails, and prayers during my time out with the ripped retina.  I'm at 75 percent and improving all the time. Driving, dancing, treating patients – carefully moving through the universe.  I am grateful.

– Kelly Fagan

Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd!

DeLand (and Orlando) folk dancer Kelly Elisabeth Fagan is playing the charming, creepy, and ever so twisted Mrs. Lovett in the upcoming production of the musical thriller/black comedy of "SweeneyTodd" at The Athens Theatre in DeLand.  The players in this production are all top notch with an ensemble composed of experienced thespians normally in lead roles. The voices will blow your socks off. The show runs October 29 through November 14.  Group discounts available. 386-736-1500. Contact Kelly for dining ideas from Thai to Cuban to Italian.  "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" awaits you!

Dennis Boxell

Dennis Boxell passed away due to pneumonia on Thursday, September 9 in a hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.  The funeral was September 13 in Howard Lake, Minnesota. Dennis was a long time dance researcher and teacher. He taught Macedonian dance at Florida Folk Dance Camp in 1991.

His career began in the 1950's while he was still a teenager.  He did a lot of research in the Balkan countries, including remote villages, where he gathered the dances he was later to teach. Much of the best music available to folk dancers was collected by him and later put on CDs.

After ill health made him give up teaching, he turned to publishing folkdance material.  See the memorial note from Jaap Leegwater, below.

A biography of Dennis can be viewed at

www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/teachers/boxell_d.htm

Memorial Notes

I first met Dennis Boxell in 1985 at the annual FDF Greek dance Competition. That year the group from St. Demetrios in Seattle performed a Greek Macedonian suite that was not only heads and shoulders above the rest of the presented dances but was one of the few suites to present traditional dances accompanied by the correct music played on traditional instruments and, especially, staged in a way to draw in and keep the attention of the audience. Intrigued and excited, I made inquiries and was introduced to Dennis Boxell, who was artistic director for the St. Demetrios' dance program. In all the years, and beyond, that Dennis was involved in various Greek communities, we kept up our contact and correspondences, sharing knowledge, ideas and insights.  Aionia I Mnimi Tou – May His Memory Be Eternal.

– Joe Graziosi

Joe Graziosi taught Greek and Pontic dances at Florida Folk Dance Camp in 1997.

Dennis' anecdotes about doing research in the old Balkans, his humor, and teachings will be greatly missed. He made a big impact on many of our lives, dance and music careers, as was the case with me and my Bulgarian research material. In the early 80’s, not yet very much known in the States, I got a phone call from Dennis. He had heard about my visits to Bulgaria and teachings on the U.S. east coast. What started as "phone interview" with him ultimately resulted into my introduction as a folk dance teacher on the west coast that same year.

Dennis Boxell (right) in his studio in 2006, with Lubomir Leegwater

Photo courtesy of Jaap Leegwater

Thank you, Dennis, for taking me with you on your wings that year and sharing your world with me, a world that ever since has also become my world. I feel very fortunate with the friendship we kept all those years.

My son Lubomir and I visited Dennis in August 2006. That was when he still lived next to the Greek Orthodox Church in Fair Oaks, California: a perfect arrangement and very inspiring spot for his “Folklore Adventures” publishing business.  We saw first hand Dennis' studio and learned how he was able to turn the loss of physical abilities into an opportunity to be involved in dance research in a different way.  Thanks to his publishing work in those last years when he was unable to teach, he leaves behind a treasure of music CD's, DVD's, dance notes and articles we now all will be able to enjoy in his honor for a long time. Thank you Dennis!

– Jaap and Lubomir Leegwater

Jaap Leegwater taught Bulgarian dances at Florida Folk Dance Camp in the early 1980’s

I remember Dennis very fondly.  He and I talked about the disease which had plagued him for years and which three of my children suffer with.  Despite having ankylosing spondylitis, he kept dancing and teaching, which certainly couldn't have been easy.  I enjoyed his teaching and admired his positive attitude.

– Willa Davidsohn

As was the case with Dick Crum, many of his family members were unaware of the enormous contribution he gave to the world of music and dance tradition and of his amazing scholarship.

– Katherine St. John

Katherine St. John, President of National Folk Organization (NFO), also provided some of the facts about Dennis in this article.

Altyn’s Wedding

Pat Henderson reports that Altyn, the University of Central Florida student from Kazakhstan who danced in Orlando for two years, recently married in Kazakhstan.  She met her husband, a fellow Kazakh student, at UCF and they returned to their country when they graduated.

Altyn was the Florida Folk Dance Camp Olga Princi scholar one year.  In the March 2005 Florida Folk Dancer, Dan Lampert interviewed Altyn in his "Reflections on Dance" column. Along with the column are some pictures of Altyn performing a belly dance at Florida Folk Dance Camp 2005.  You can read that newsletter in the archives section of the FFDC website, www.folkdance.org.

Pat received the photos, above, of Altyn’s wedding in a note from Beck Hutchinson, below.  Altyn lived with Beck and her family while she was at UCF. Beck and her daughter went to Kazakhstan for the wedding. The date on the pictures indicates they were taken July 30, 2010.

Dear Pat!

Here you go. Altyn had a traditional Kazakh wedding and a second, western style wedding. Her hat is white fox topped with owl feathers. I sewed the gold ribbons into her braids and her skirt is hooped. Of course there was dancing all night! Everyone dances there. They all love dance! Kazahk hospitality is generous and extravagant. At the wedding were belly dancers, traditional Kazakh dancers, an Elvis impersonator and a masked contortionist who put himself through a tennis racket! And of course, lots of vodka!

This is so sweet of you to honor her this way. I know she will be touched. I am grateful, too, for all that you have done for her!

Beck

Mainewoods Dance Camp

by Jan Lathi

Anne Robinson, Juanita Shockey, Betty Nehemias, Kay Demos, and Jan Lathi traveled to Portland, Maine to attend the second week of Mainewoods Dance Camp, August 22 – 28. The camp location is nestled among grand pine trees along the Saco River.  The main lodge welcomed us as we registered for camp. Then we were ushered to our cabin.

The instructors during the week included France Bourque-Moreau, Yves Moreau, Ahmet Luleci, George Fogg, and Sandy Starkman. The ethnic meals, decorations, and entertainment each evening included Hawaiian, French Canadian, Turkish, and a Swedish Smorgasbord.  All campers participated in food prep, decorating and entertaining, so it was a "hands on" experience.

Yves taught two of the dances we had learned from him at Florida Folk Dance Camp 2009, but there were many new dances which we are eager to share with Florida dancers.  We learned a particularly nice dance called Kardamska Zborenka and another called Arnaoutsko.  France was delightful!  We learned two French Canadian mixers, Valse Lucille, and Valse De L'amitie, as well as several square-type dances.

Ahmet taught some really neat Turkish dances.  One of the favorites was Ordu, an easy dance involving arm swings.  He had his wife and 12-year-old son with him.  For the Turkish entertainment, they danced an intricate dance together.  The son is unbelievable!
George Fogg taught some interesting English dances, and Sandy Starkman taught an Asian dance called "Mountain Spring Song", as well as others.

We were privileged to have a live music ensemble called the "Mainewoods Music Makers" at camp and they were good!  Lobster was brought in one afternoon for a picnic - mmm! All in all, it was great fun, with a great crowd of dancers from all over Canada and the U.S. Let's get a group together from Florida to go next summer!

Dennis Boxell with two of his disciples, Jaap Leegwater and Yves Moreau, in 1990

Photo by Barbara Erickson

Tampa Bay Trivia

by Terry Abrahams 

Believe it or not, we have a new dancer in the Tampa international group!  Pat came to the rec center for ballroom dancing and there isn’t any there; we suggested she try us, and voila – she liked it!  She’s been there twice now – we’re hoping she keeps coming.  Also there’s a Vicki that lives in Dunedin, and comes dancing when she’s in Tampa. She’s excellent, and attended Mountain Playshop.  We’re anxious for her to come back and tell us all about it.  A third woman, Gina, comes when she can get a ride.  

Terry on a zipline during her trip to Costa Rica July 19 – August 3

Several dancers attended an Oktoberfest in Pinellas Park on October 2 – see Oktoberfest is Awesome.  My daughter Mickey and I went to a Folk Fair in St. Pete the next day.  That included a lot of ecological art and a wonderful Zydeco band.- Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys.   There were also two great boogie woogie keyboard players.  That festival is sponsored by Creative Clay, whose mission is making the arts accessible to all, with a wonderful program for the mentally challenged. 

Later that day, Maria and I went to the jam at Four Green Fields Irish pub in Tampa, which happens the first Sunday of every month, where we play, what else, Irish music!    

Four of us have September birthdays – Andi, Ursula, Ken Kwo and me.  So there’ve been mini-celebrations.  We’re all back from summer camps, vacations, trips.

The Israeli group is also growing again now that summer is over.  We had 19 last week. I’m telling you, the move we made was the best thing that ever happened to us! 

OK, everyone – looking forward to seeing you at Fall Fling!

Oktoberfest is Awesome!

by Terry Abrahams

A bunch of us attended Oktoberfest at the German American Society in Pinellas Park on October 2.  Dylan Conway, Bonnie Campbell, Bill Schwarz, Ursula Tison, Bobbie Ward, Maria Pasetti, Judith Baizan, Bert and Roseann Castro, Don Kersting, the new Pat, with her family, and I all went and we had a great time!  The band, the “Bee-Sharps”, played and we couldn’t have asked for more. Polkas and waltzes abounded; the local club has its own line dances (in German), which of course we did; and a few rumbas and slow dances were thrown in.  One had to wait way too long in line for food, but those who waited were not disappointed.  Shorter lines offered potato pancakes and desserts, so some of us just did that.

Above: Judith, Bert, Roseann, Don, Ursula, and Bobbie; right: Judith and Dylan

Photos by Terry Abrahams

The local club has a performing group; they did three dances, all stuff like we used to do, as we went down memory lane.  Their group included an adorable little boy, maybe eight years old, which made it very sweet.  They also had a parade of flags and Helmut played his button box accordion and Drehorgel (street organ with a toy monkey), which brought back many of Ursula’s memories of Berlin.  Of course there was a room to buy goods, including lederhosen!  A full evening of fun – we will definitely do it again.

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From the Editor

Gainesville's Back in Business

by Jack Seltzer

Gainesville’s rocking again! With Linda and I going  into retirement mode in June and our unreal trip to Europe for 37  days, we all took a little break from our  regular dancing Friday nights this summer.

On September 25 we kicked off the dance season with a little show and tell at our house, with a bunch of photos and videos of us travelling all over the mountains of Bulgaria – a continuous two and a half hours of viewing colorful costumes in the mountains around Koprivshtitsa, videos of lots of (mock) Bulgarian weddings, and Bulgarian voices from at least four or five different villages.

We were mesmerized for the whole night. One of the highlights was of a video of me on stage with three other men in the little Austrian town of Maria Alm, doing a bench and hat dance. They picked two spectators to dance with two of the regular dancers.  I don’t think I’ve ever laughed more when doing a dance. Just hilarious!

Now Gainesville is up and running every Friday night (call to confirm: 352-359-2903, info@gifd.org) from 8 PM until whenever.

Sarasota Grapeviners

by Judy Merkt

Through the summer's heat and thunderstorms, we managed to dance every single Wednesday, and our waistlines, attitudes, and metabolisms are happy for it.

Unhappily, we lost another of our long-time Sarasota folk dancers, Sydney Iwens.  You may recall from the last newsletter, I reported that Sydney's wife, Edith, had passed away in early June.  Sydney, who had gone to live with his daughter up in Pennsylvania, passed away in August – a heart-braking summer for his family for sure.  As for us, both Edith and Sydney were loved and admired in our Sarasota group and we will never forget them.

Andi Kapplin has returned to her rightful place as our instructor and that brings smiles to our faces –. especially to the faces of Marie, Delores, and me, the summer substitute teachers.  Andi is, of course, in great form and we will have a wonderful dance "season" I'm sure. 

At our September 22nd session we had a visit from three students of the New College of Florida, located just a few miles north of our meeting place.  They were doing a public interest story as a special project.  They interviewed a number of our dancers, took pictures, danced with us (doing a pretty darned good job, too!), and appeared to have a good time.  One of them, Paul Zombory, wrote a very nice article about us that was published in the Catalyst, the student newspaper of New College, on September 29.  It would be great if they returned and brought a few more of their fellow students! 

Fall Fling Plans

by Caroline Lanker

It was just about fifty years ago that I started folk dancing, in the fall of 1960. With the cooperation of the Fall Fling hosts, the South Brevard International Folk Dancers, this year’s Fall Fling will incorporate a 50^th anniversary celebration. If you have also been dancing for 50 years or more, please let me and/or John Daly know about it before the Fling.

Part of the day will be devoted to playing everyone’s “first favorite dances”. However long you have been folk dancing, please think about the first few dances you really liked when you started and still like today.  Send your short list to John so he can include them in the program for the day.

Fall Fling will be held on Saturday, October 30 in the Melbourne Village hall, the same place it has been for the last few years.  Directions: Take New Haven Ave (US 192) east from I-95 or west from U.S. 1 to Dayton Blvd. North on Dayton to Hall Road, which is marked with a sign "Historic Site Community House". East on Hall Road to the white building that looks like an old barracks. You can get a map online by requesting "Hall Road, Melbourne Village, FL" on Google maps.

A lot has been going on since the last issue of the Florida Folk Dancer. I received so much material, it didn’t fit in one issue.  I couldn't even include my own tales of traveling and dancing in California and Oregon, except for the Stockton Folk Dance Camp article. I apologize to those people whose articles didn’t make it this time.  They will be in the next issue.

All the club news articles that were submitted are included. So, you can all send more news for the next issue.

The Events section of this issue is also a little slim.  Please look at the calendar on the FFDC website (www.folkdance.org) for the full list of upcoming events and tours.

– CL

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.

November 28 – December 04 Rock Lake Resort Dance Camp

with Richard Schmidt

Place: Rock Lake Resort, 2937 Palm Beach Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL 33916-1504

Contact: Richard Schmidt, 514-524-6368, richard@folkdance.ca

Information: www.folkdance.ca/

Florida 2010 Folk Dance Camp.htm

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

–

October 30 Fall Fling

A fun day of all request dancing, plus potluck lunch and supper, on the hardwood floor of the Historic Community House

Place: 6300 Hall Road, Melbourne Village, Florida

Time 11 AM – 10 PM

Contact: John Daly, 321-482-6818, john@dalypreservation.com

June 21 – July 2 Dance on the Water Cruise - Portugal

Lisbon tour and cruise on the Douro River in northern Portugal; Dance leader Roberto Bagnoli

Contact: Mel Mann, c/o Berkeley Travel Company, 1301 California St., Berkeley, CA 94703; 510-526-4033; meldancing@aol.com

Information: www.folkdanceonthewater.org

November 25 – 28 Texas Folk Dance Camp

Teachers: Jaap Leegwater, Balkan and Celest diPietropaolo and Marie DiCocco, Italian

Place: Greene Family Camp, Bruceville, Texas

Contact: TIFD, P. O. Box 4516, Austin, TX 78765, campchairs10@tifd.org

Information: www.tifd.org

Events

Be sure to check the FFDC calendar on www.folkdance.org for updates and more event listings!

October 16-17 Hungarian Festival

Place: Robarts Arena, Sarasota County Fairgrounds, across from ball fields on S. Pompano Ave., Sarasota, FL

Time: Saturday:Noon – 10 PM; Sunday Noon – 7 PM

Contact: 941-953-4359

October 30 Serbian Pearl Folklore Group

International Dance Ensemble from Belgrade, Serbia

Place: John Hopkins Middle School, St. Petersburg, FL

Time: 4:30 PM

Contact: 727-563-0390

November 5-7 Serb-Fest 2010 (Orlando)

Place: St. Petka Orthodox Church, Longwood, FL

Time: Friday: 6 PM – 11 PM; Saturday: 10 AM – 11 PM; Sunday: Noon – 6 PM

Contact: 407-831-7372

Information: www.serb-fest.com

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