Comment from an out-of-stater

Florida folkdancers were truly “friends I hadn’t yet met.”  I felt warmly welcomed from the get go! 

Loved following the dances I hadn’t seen before and joining the line to do Bulgarian and Romanian favorites.

Thanks to the Florida festival committee for offering comfortable accommodations, smooth registration, lively parties, delicious food and joyful dance instruction.

Hope to see you all in California. Perhaps at Stockton Folkdance Camp (folkdancecamp.org) in the summer or the Laguna Folkdance festival next February (lagunafolkdancers.org).

– Diane Baker, Corona Del Mar, CA

From our Teachers

Thank you Terry,

I am glad I met you, you are good people and you love dancing! I am on my way home now, at the airport of Miami. All the best and looking forward to meet you again.

Give my greetings to all the people I met.

– Kyriakos

[For news about Kyriakos' activities, workshops, etc., visit his website at www.moisidis-dance.gr.]

Hi Terry,

Thank you again for inviting me. I hope you had a good time. I certainly enjoyed it. My flight was canceled so I got to spend a wonderful night at the Atlanta airport but made it home ok.

Keep in touch.

– Richard

An Impression of Florida

An anhinga; photo taken by Kyriakos Moisidis on the way to the Miami airport

More Kudos

This year’s Folk Dance Weekend was the most well organized and served the best food of the last three that I have attended.  The hard work of all showed great results. The hotel was very good and accommodated us all very well.  Good rooms at a good price. The breakfast buffet was good and allowed us freedom to eat when we wished.  There was always someone there from our group so we could sit and enjoy breakfast with our "own".  The teachers were good and very personable. The dance floor was large and the hotel had water and drinks for us right there.   Luncheon buffets were tasty and well prepared. We all sat together at tables of ten or more; the camaraderie was wonderful.  Great weekend. 

– Kay Afonso, Palm Coast

From a Part-Time "Camper"

Dear Terry,

Thanks for the warm welcome and interesting workshop yesterday [Saturday] with Kyriakos and Richard.  Sorry I could not stay for the evening dance party. You have a strong group in Orlando/Kissimmee Florida area; I wish I was closer, but I am sure we'll find places to dance together much more.  You could not have fit another person on the floor, but everybody so considerate and not one mishap.

– Richard Eddy, Naples, FL

Thanks from Melbourne

The Melbourne Group would like to give our heartfelt thanks to the officers of Florida Folk Dance Council for putting on a wonderful camp this year.  The instructors were great, the facility good, the food excellent and we really enjoyed the companionship of all our members. We know how much effort is required to do all that needs to be done, and we want you to know how much we appreciate all that you did to make it a most memorable weekend. Many thanks again. 

– Fannie, Willa, Bernice, Sheila, Ann, Jean, Suzan, Veronica, Lou and David. [Don't forget my name (even if I am one of the officers)!  It was a great weekend. – John]

FFDC Presidents' Weekend – Comments

Sarasota Grapeviners

by Judy Merkt

On January 26th, we honored Marie Millett, our group's coordinator emeritus, for her 20 plus years of service to the Sarasota Grapeviners.  It was a grand evening of dancing, socializing, eating, and gathering around Marie to thank her. We presented Marie with an appreciation certificate, a gift of tickets to the Sarasota ballet series, and a lifetime membership that waives the entrance fee to our weekly dance session at the Bayfront Community Center.  (We told her she has to bring the Free Pass with her every week, though. - see photo at right) We also prepared and read a short biography of Marie.  It's amazing what you never knew about the people that you dance with every week. 

From top, L to R: Judy reading the Member Profile she prepared for Marie: Judy Merkt, Susan Barach, Andi Kapplin, Marie Millett;

table of gifts for Marie;

presenting Marie's "Free Pass" to Wednesday night dance sessions, forever: Delores Lustig, Marie Millett, Thekla Kahn, Andi Kapplin; presenting the Grapeviners' Certificate of Appreciation to Marie: Susan Barach, Marie Millett; Cate Mamber showing the "memory quilt" that she made for Marie; Marie preparing to lead the Serbian dance Savila se bela loza: front – Marie Millett, Kay Demos, Linda and Rich Nicoli; back – Kevin McDonnell, Judy Merkt, Renee Tennis, Andree Juneau, Bill Schwarz

Photos by Ron or Kathy Fico and Varda Ruskin

February is a time when local festivals are plentiful, especially Greek ones.  A number of our members, yours truly included, attended the Greek Glendi at the Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, in its 27^th year in Sarasota. It is very well put together, folks.  For four days, this festival offered excellent live Greek music,  provided by the Greek Company Orchestra – www.thegreekcompany.com, dance performances, participatory dance, which we, of course, took advantage of, numerous food and beverage stations, a Greek pastry shop, assistance with parking, guided tours of the church, and a variety of activities for children. It ran from February 11th through 14th and was one of the best festivals this writer has attended in a long time.   

On to our very own annual event – the FFDC President Day's Weekend Workshop.  Simply stated, it was wonderful.  The hotel accommodations were great, hotel staff was friendly and eager to please. The instructors were oh so very good and good-looking to boot – a fine bonus!  Food was not just adequate but very good.  And the floor was easy on the legs, just the way we like it.  We had pretty decent attendance from Sarasota – Andi Kapplin, Chris Vincent, Delores Lustig, Lynda Harris McDonnell, Ursula Tison, Kay Demos, Richard Eddy, and me.  Two of our members, Marie Millett and Susan Barach, were registered for the workshop, but had to cancel due to illness. 

A couple of other comments from attendees: Andi particularly liked the fact that both instructors repeated the dances numerous times, giving us ample opportunity to learn them.  And, although Andi didn't voice this to me, I am sure she was delighted to be Richard Balasz's demo dance partner.  Lynda Harris McDonnell, a first-time FFDC workshop attendee whose permanent residence is Colorado, said that she was pleasantly surprised to learn that the workshop isn't all about learning dances, but that it is also about meeting people who love to dance as much as she does.  She also thoroughly enjoyed the Culture Corner feature of the weekend and learning dance "protocols", such as the fact that it is considered bad form in Greek dance to "break the circle" (a Kyriakos phrase) by doing a turn that isn't called by the leader.

Orlando International Folk Dance Club

by Pat Henderson

Phyllis Dammer chose a cruise the first week in February to celebrate her husband Ed's 90th birthday and several of our members joined them – Bobby and I, Fred and Juanita Schockey, and Dave and Eva Meyer, along with Phyllis' brother, Dave, from Kansas City.  Fred Schockey had his birthday during the cruise, as well.  We were able to dance twice on the dance floor in the lounge at the top of the ship.  It was fun, but the swaying of the ship added an unusual effect.  We did not dare any dances that required lifting for two beats!  Some of the excursions that members of our group enjoyed were the Mayan ruins in Belize, an air boat ride, snorkeling, and a dolphin encounter.  It was nice to escape our cold winter and enjoy temperatures in the 80s. 

In February, our dance group received visitors from New Jersey: Linda and Bob Mehlman.  We were delighted when we discovered that Bob had his clarinet.  We danced to a few songs that he played. 

Bob Mehlman playing clarinet for Orlando Dancers, with Jan Arcari on tambourine. Dancers shown, starting with the line leader on left, are: Bobby Quibodeaux, Linda Mehlman, Wally Washington, Phyllis Dammer, Ann Robinson, Palmira Mora-Vals, Manuel Mora-Vals, Lucy Birkemeier, Joe Birkemeier, and Mary Jean Linn

Photo by Pat Henderson

Most of our members attended Presidents’ Weekend "camp" and enjoyed dancing with everyone once again.  We really liked the hotel and the food was absolutely fantastic.  Some new people from Atlanta attended, along with some others from out of state.  I hope that we have found a new home for our "camp"!

There were two Greek festivals the weekend after "camp".  Deane Jordan and Kelly Fagan went to the one in Lecanto.  They were surprised when the band played salsa music!  It was not the Greek band that usually played there, that we dearly loved. 

Several Orlando members joined some Melbourne members at the Melbourne Greek festival.  A new band called Lava played and we enjoyed dancing to them.  We saw three different age groups from the Melbourne Greek Orthodox church dance, which was very impressive.  It is nice to see a culture pass dance down to their youth.

Performers at the Melbourne Greek Festival

Photo by Mary Jean Linn

Dancing at the Melbourne Greek Festival. The first five dancers in line, from the left, are Bobby Quibodeaux, Pat Henderson, Bernice Roth, Fannie Salerno and Mary Jean Linn

Photo by Bill Byars

Our club is now 40 years old this spring.  David Digby put an add in the Martin Marietta paper for people to meet to folk dance in the spring of 1971.  Larry Wartell was at the first meeting and, as they say, the rest is history.  To celebrate, Orlando hosted the FFDC Spring Fling on April 2 in combination with our 40th anniversary party.  David and Dorothy came from Atlanta.  See more on Spring Fling in the next Florida FolkDancer.

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Tampa Trivia

by Terry Abrahams 

Tampa was there – every one of us, and every one of us had a good time.  The annual Presidents’ Weekend (formerly known as camp) was wonderful in that we loved seeing everyone we usually don’t see, in that we danced with lots of people (Tampa misses that component), and in that we learned good dances (keepers – even if we don’t slap our legs!). 

Some of us got to different performances of the Tammies and loved them of course.  It was really special knowing that Željko Jergan choreographed the Croatian, and that Richard Balazs did the two Hungarian numbers.  How cool is that? 

While I was in Tarpon Springs for that performance, I had lunch with Kay Demos and two friends of hers (Herb and Millie), who are visiting in Florida and dancing in Sarasota, and I also sat next to a gal (Marianne) who was raised in Chicago in the heart of the Balkan neighborhood, used to dance and was thrilled to find out about us.  She lives in Palm Harbor, so can’t guarantee she’ll really join us, but she sure sounded interested and we hope she starts to dance with us.  And in the same week, another gal (Kathy) found us via the Internet, has a Macedonian husband and knows a lot of dances.  She joined us on Friday and was a great addition. Hopefully we’ll grow our group by two – which is a big number for us!

Health Matters

by Caroline Lanker

The last few months have been tough on our dancers, health-wise.  In addition to the usual aches and pains as we all age, a few people are dealing with more serious health issues. 

On Christmas Day, 2010, Ernesto Baizan blacked out at home, fell off a chair and hit his head, suffering a concussion. Subsequently, he underwent an operation to implant a pacemaker for his heart. He seemed to be recovering well up through Presidents’ Weekend.  Unexpectedly, he began to go down hill after that. On April 2, he underwent another operation to remove fluid that was building up in his brain, apparently a result of the concussion. Judith reported that the second operation was successful and he is on his way back to health.

Jan Lathi had knee replacement surgery on January 7.  She was at the FFDC President’s Weekend and Spring Fling and seems to be doing fine.

Julius Horvath underwent heart surgery: five-way bypass and valve replacement, on March 8. He managed to attend the FFDC Presidents’ Weekend while waiting for the operation, but did not dance. A couple of days after the first surgery, he also received a pacemaker. He has been in a rehab center in Port Orange and doing so well that he may be home by now.

Marie Millett took a fall during her line dancing class at Bay Village on March 9.  She broke her left wrist (radius) and her left hip.  On March 10 she underwent surgery to repair her wrist and hip. She was released from Sarasota Memorial Hospital on March 13 and, as of April 2, was on the rehab floor at Bay Village, in room 220, and anxious to get back to her own apartment. She would welcome calls and visits. In order to visit Marie, you must contact her first so that she can give your name to security at the visitor gate. 

I've probably missed a few others who should have been mentioned, too. If all goes well, we’ll see all our friends out on the dance floor again in the not too distant future.

Ernesto danced at camp a little.  (See update on Ernesto in Health Matters.) Bobbie Ward is trying to get her body to function a little better so she can dance more, the rest of us are as healthy as we can be at our ages!  Speaking of health, we wish Julius a quick recovery from his heart surgery.  And that’s it from Tampa!

The Tammies – an Event to Remember, Again

by Jack Seltzer

Every year the Duquesne University Tamburitzans come down to Florida for a month or so and give performances all over for the general public. This year was one of their best ever. So many people all say something like, “I’ve seen them almost every year for 35 years and it’s always so different and spectacular – stupendous displays of instrumen-tation and stylish dancing and singing.”

This year, I saw their performance in Daytona Beach on March 5 and walked out in the lobby during intermission feeling just completely over whelmed by the joyous expression I’d just experienced on this high school stage. When I used to see it on the smaller stage every year in Crescent City, I was always astonished by what I’d seen for my then $5 ticket.

Just a phenomenal experience. Every year.

Melbourne Goes to Texas

by Jean Murray

A handful of Melbourne international dancers enjoyed a delightful weekend in San Antonio at the 53rd San Antonio Folk Dance Festival, March 18 - 20.  Bernice was traveling to visit her son, and Willa, Fannie, Jean, and John decided to tag along. The San Antonio Riverwalk was filled with signs of spring. Lilac, redbud, wisteria, and a multitude of other flowers were blooming. Texas steak could only be bettered by a Texas grill by Bernice's son, a fantastic chef.

The Texas dancers say “Hey” to their friends in Florida. They sent greetings to Judith and Ernesto, Bobby and Pat, Gary and Caroline. It is a small world! The Texans were wonderful hosts, and the evening dance parties were organized so that most of the dances could be danced by all.  The group has some wonderful dancers. I swear one of them was hovering in the air during a drmes.  Wow!

Lee Otterholt was a delight as always, teaching several "keepers", including Isu Byala Nedo, which travelers to Stockton saw last summer, and Yar Ko Parag, my favorite of the week for a lovely end of evening dance.

One surprise: everyone had the timing to one step in Moj Maro wrong!  Lee was the total gentleman when we asked for the fix. Sandy Starkman taught nice fundamental dances, including David Melech, that Dany Benshalom taught at Florida "Camp" 2009.  George Fogg was a new experience for me.  The dances were easy English, and the Texans had a sound basis in English Country Dance steps, so the English dance party was a fine end to the weekend.

2011 Camp Song

by Terry Abrahams and Andi Kapplin

(To the tune of Never on Sunday)

We started dancing on a Friday, a Friday, a Friday

That's what we always do.

Then Saturday and Sunday are fun days

And Monday is when we will review.

Kyriakos is our Greek guy, a great guy, a cute guy

He taught us very well.

Count to four, less or more, either/or

We think all his dances were so swell.

Hungarian:  Richard is the man

We are his best fans

We do the best we can

(Stop for slaps)

Hotel is great.  Glad we made the date.

We just ate and ate

And we danced ‘til late.

We hope you're coming back here

Next year, never fear

It will be just as good.

We say it's up to you, take our cue, pay your dues

Just sign up as you should.

Upper right: "camp" teachers Richard Balasz and Kyriakos Moisidis (center); Above: the Atlanta crowd brought Greek snacks. From left: Liz Nunan, Lillian Bryan, Jim Osborne, Sara Osborne, Dorothy Archer, Mara Morris, David Digby; Right: Kyrakios leading Joyce Story and line in a Greek dance, with Virginia Marszal and Pat Pieratte behind.

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From the Editor

Another year, another great President’s Weekend workshop.  Some of us who were there are still coming down from the high (natural, not drug-induced, of course) we got there and this issue reflects that.

Several people responded to the request made at “camp” to send photos for the camp video.  Thank you.  I edited all the ones that I thought would work for the video.  Julius used almost all of the ones I sent him plus a few that other people sent to him.  Take a look at the extensive photo album on the video. If you didn’t buy the video, there are still a few for sale at $15 each. Contact Pat Henderson if you want one. Thanks to Julius for a great job editing the video.

If you don’t see some of the photos you sent on the video, it may be because some pictures were too dark or too blurry or not high enough resolution.   If pictures are a little dark they can be (and many were) lightened on the computer, but there is a limit.  If they have to be lightened too much, they come out looking pretty bad.  If you look at the pictures that are on the video, you will see that a few of them are blurry or pixellated.   I tried to guess which photos were sharp enough and high enough resolution for the video, and most of them are, but I misjudged some. Photos really need to be high quality to come out well when enlarged on the video.  Photos for the newsletter do not have to meet such exacting requirements.

Another reason you won’t see some of your pictures on the video is that Julius was a favorite subject for our photographers; we received a bunch of good shots with him in them, but he didn’t wish to put that many pictures of himself on the video.  

This newsletter includes as many “camp” pictures as would fit – notably the one on page 1 that isn't on the video, with Julius and Judit in the beautiful Hungarian costumes they wore on Hungarian night. 

Since the President’s Weekend, time has kept moving on and folks have kept dancing.  In March, some of the Melbourne group discovered the joys of dancing in new places and meeting new people (see Melbourne goes to Texas). And, of course, they found connections with the people they met.  International Folk Dancing is a small world, indeed.  

I’m glad to see Floridians dancing around the country and making new friends. I hope many of you can try it in the year ahead.

Simultaneously, Gary and I were in Oregon the last half of March, also making connections. We attended a square dance that we found on the Internet and ran into a couple whom we had met at Stockton Folk Dance Camp last summer.  They told us where to find both international and Scandinavian dance in Salem, Oregon. We were able to attend both of those groups in the next week, saw our friends from the Stockton camp there, and found out that, on a trip to Orlando, they had once danced at Pat and Bobby's. We also met a woman that we had seen at Texas camp in the late 1980’s, when we were in Houston and she was in Austin.  Of course, we had numerous mutual dancing friends with her..

Saturday, April 2, was the FFDC Fall Fling and Orlando’s 40^th anniversary party. There was an outstanding turnout, with nearly 60 people, including four children, attending.   We’ll have more about that in the next FFD issue.

– CL

The "camp" band: John Daly, Terry Abrahams, Jean Murray, and David Davia

Dancers in costume: Willa Davidsohn, Ursula Tison, Bernice Roth, Fannie Salerno, Pat Pieratte

Camp photos in this issue by Mary Jean Linn,

Terry Abrahams and Caroline Lanker

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Minutes of Annual Meeting

Florida Folk Dance Council, Inc.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Holiday Inn, Main Gate East

Kissimmee, Florida

The meeting was called to Order at 12:45 pm by President Terry Abrahams.

Reading of the minutes of the 2010 Annual meeting were waived on motion duly made and carried and the same were approved.

Announcements were made by the President regarding meals, CD’s and DVD’s.

Treasurer’s Report by Treasurer John Daly. These were interim projections. A final report will be filed with these minutes when the accounts for the workshop have been settled.

Report on Olga Princi Scholarship by Treasurer John Daly. Funds for this important scholarship have been exhausted. Donations made with Camp Registrations and the proceeds from the annual fund raising auctions have not been sufficient to replensish the fund. Mr. Daly called for pledges to replenish the fund. Fourteen people then pledged a total of $770.00, of which $370.00 was paid before the end of the workshop.

Bylaws: The Board has proposed a completely revised Bylaws for the Corporation. Copies of the proposed bylaws were provided to the floor, and have been circulated via email and the web prior to the meeting.

Motion to Adopt the proposed bylaws by Fannie Salerno, Seconded by Bobby Quibodeaux.

Motion by Phyllis Dammer, second by Fannie Salerno to Amend the motion on the floor by adding the following language to Section VIII (B)(2) "The Executive Committee shall not have more than 10 members.

Motion to amend passed by voice vote with no nays.

Motion by Kay Demos, second by Phyllis Dammer to amend the motion on the floor by modifying section VI(B) by "additional officers" to "operational officers.”

Motion to amend passed by voice vote with no nays.

The Motion to adopt the new bylaws was then passed by voice vote with no nays.

Election of Officers:

The Board submitted the following proposed slate of officers to the floor:

- President: Terry Abrahams

- Vice-President: Judy Merkt

- Secretary/Treasurer: John Daly

- Editor: Caroline Lanker

- Corresponding Secretary: Pat Henderson

The President then called for nominations from the floor.

There being no nominations from the floor, the President asked for a voice vote to approve the proposed slate. The slate was adopted with no nays.

On motion duly made and carried it is resolved:

- that Bank of America shall continue to be the repository for the funds of the Corporation, and

- that the following officers shall and the same are authorized to have signature authority and to have a debit card drawing on the funds of the Corporation:

- President: Terry Abrahams

- Vice-President: Judy Merkt

- Secretary/Treasurer: John Daly

- Editor; Caroline Lanker

- Corresponding Secretary: Pat Henderson

There being no further business to come before the Annual Meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 1:45 pm.

Addendum to Minutes of the Annual Meeting

These are not part of the official minutes, but capture some additional discussion.

As part of the discussion of the bylaws, the following additional tasks were noted:

- Mailing newsletter, currently done by Judy Merkt

- Calendar Maintenance, considered part of the duties of the corresponding secretary

- Snack Coordinator, currently done on an ad hoc basis.

- Submitted by John Daly, FFDC Secretary/Treasurer

New FFDC Vice-President, Judy Merkt

Photo by Caroline Lanker

Treasurer’s Report

Florida Folk Dance Council, Inc.

3/15/2010 to 3/13/2011

Account Balances at start of Period

Account Balances at end of period

Treasurer's Report Notes

Note 1: This report is based on an accounting period from 3/15/2010 to 3/15/2011. This helps in planning for next years activities. However, the Corporation tax accounting is done on a calendar year basis.

Note 2: Miscellaneous expenses include Corporate filing fees and web hosting fees.

-Submitted by John Daly, FFDC Secretary/Treasurer

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

Events

World Dance Day

The International Dance Council CID of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) introduced the Dance Day on April 29, 1982 and has promoted that day as a celebration of dance all over the world every year since then. 

The 2011 announcement of the event by UNESCO states, in part, “The main purpose of Dance Day events is to attract the attention of the wider public to the art of dance. Emphasis should be given to addressing a 'new' public, people who do not follow dance events during the course of the year. ” 

The following international Dance Day celebrations are planned in Florida.

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Orlando/Orange County Celebration

Orlando will celebrate World Dance Day 2011 on Saturday, April 30 from 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. at the indoor Center Court stage at Festival Bay Mall at International Drive. The event is sponsored by Festival Bay Mall and produced and directed by Teresa Borker, a member of Florida Folk Dance Council. 

About 15 different groups will perform.  Ethnic folk dance will be well-represented. The event will be free of charge and many of the groups will include easy audience participation/teaching sessions with their performances.

Sarasota Grapeviners Celebration

The  Sarasota Grapeviners will have a special Dance Day celebration Wednesday, April 27, at their regular meeting 7 – 9:30 pm at the Bayfront Community Center, 801 N. Tamiami Trail., Sarasota, FL.  Everyone is welcome.  It will be an all request night with no teaching.  Everyone who wants to should submit up to three requests for dances to Andi Kapplin (andi@kapplin.com) and she will put a program together.  International costumes or festive attire are encouraged.  The club will furnish bottled water and attendees are asked to bring a light snack to share. Questions? Contact Judy Merkt 941-379-6302, jamerkt@comcast.net.

Orlando International Folk Dance Club Celebration

The Orlando club will follow its recently established tradition to celebrate Dance Day by doing one dance from each country (from which it knows any dances) and some ethnic groups (e.g. Vlach) at regular meetings in April.  Since it takes two weeks to make it through all the countries, this year the celebration will start on April 20 and continue on April 27 at the regular place and time: the home of Pat Henderson and Bobby Quibodeaux, 7:30 to 10 pm.  Wear international costumes and bring finger food to share if you wish.  Contact Pat for more information:  407-275-6247, henderp@bellsouth.net.

April 29 - May 1 English Country Dance Weekend

John C. Campbell Folk School

Place: Brasstown, North Carolina

Contact: 800-365-5724, dance@folkschool.org

May 4 – 8 National Folk Organization (NFO) Annual Conference

in conjunction with the Festival of Nations

Place: Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront Hotel, 11 E. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN

Information: www.nfo-usa.org

May 14 Mayfair Ball

English Country Dance

Place: St. Cloud Senior Center, 3101 17th St.,

St. Cloud, FL

Time: Noon – 10 pm

Contact: 386-490-4946, stcloudecd@yahoo.com

June 11-18 Scandia Camp Mendocino

Place: Mendocino Woodlands, California

Contact: roo@scandiacamp.org

Information: www.ScandiaCampMendocino.org

June 25 - 26 Greek Landing Day Celebration

Place: St. Photios Greek Shrine's Contantine Sisters Courtyard, St. Augustine, Florida

Time: 4-9 pm each day

Contact: 904-829-8205, info@stphotios.com

Information: www.stphotios.com

International Folk Dance Tours

June 30 – July 12 12^th Seminar of Greek Dance

with Kyriakos Moisidis

concentrating on the dances of the several ethnic groups in the area of Thessaloniki

Place: Amulianni and Thessaloniki, Greece

Information: www.moisidis-dance.gr/en

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!).

See a full list of folk dance tours and cruises this year, with contact information, on the next page. We do not know which ones still have space available.

Renew Your FFDC Membership

Now is the time to join or renew your membership with the Florida Folk Dance Council (FFDC), if you haven't already done so. (If you came to the FFDC Presidents' Weekend 2011, you probably already joined or renewed.) If you don't renew, you will not receive the Florida Folk Dancer after April (if you get a mailed copy). If you have email, April will be the last month you will receive email announcements from FFDC. FFDC members for 2011 will also receive a copy of the FFDC membership list. Please support FFDC, and continue to support international folk dancing in Florida and Georgia. Fill out the following form to renew or join and send it with your check to treasurer, John Daly, at the address shown below.

Florida Folk Dance Council, Inc.

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Last Name: ______________________________ First Name: ____________________________    

Address:______________________________________________________________________

City: _____________________________________State: __________ ZIP __________________

Email:  __________________________________________ Phone: _______________________

If you include an email address, you will receive an announcement when the FFDC newsletter, the Florida FolkDancer, has been posted on the website, before it is mailed, as well as other notifications to members.  You may choose to receive a mailed copy of the newsletter instead of or in addition to the email announcements.  

FFDC Membership                 Without paper newsletter      With paper newsletter

Single                                         $10.00  _________                    $15.00 __________

Family                                        $15.00 _________                     $20.00 __________

Make check payable to:  FFDC                               Any questions:

Mail To:                                                                        Call: John at 321-482-6818

John Daly                                                               email: treasurer@folkdance.org

P. O. Box 500856                                           Web page: www.folkdance.org

Malabar, FL 32950

Jim Gold tours and cruises: Sicily and S. Italy – May; Norway w/Lee Otterholt – June; Hungary w/ Adam Molnar – August; Bulgaria – August; Greece w/Jim & Lee Otterholt – October

Contact: 201-836-0362, jimgold@jimgold.com; www.jimgold.com

Mel Mann Dance on the Water cruises: Portugal – June-July;

Contact: Mel Mann, c/o Berkeley Travel, 1145 Walnut Street, Berkeley, CA 94707; 510-526-4033, meldancing@aol.com;

www.folkdanceonthewater.org

Karl Finger tours and cruises: Central America and Panama Canal – April-May; Alaska – July; Bulgaria – July-August; Contact: 413-528-2963,

finger@bcn.net, www.fingerfolk.com

Armenia Holiday: Armenia – May-June and September-October; Contact: Tineke van Geel, info@TinekevanGeel.nl , www.tinekevangeel.nl and www.armeniaholiday.com

Teodor and Lia Vasilescu: Romania – June, contact: Ping Chun, 49 Junard Drive, Morristown, NJ 07960, 973-539-7020, ping.chun@att.net

Yves Moreau: Boston to Montreal cruise – September; this cruise is sold out, but some of our FFDC members will be on it!

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.

2011 FFDC OFFICERS:

President: Terry Abrahams

813-234-1231,

president@folkdance.org

VP: Judy Merkt

 941-379-6302 
jamerkt@comcast.net 

Secretary/Treasurer: John Daly

P.O. Box 500856, Malabar, FL 32950

321-482-6818

treasurer@folkdance.org

Corresponding Secretary: Pat Henderson

407-275-6247, henderp@bellsouth.net

Historian: Dan Lampert

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