Teachers for 2010
The Mainewoods
Experience
Schedule
Teacher Bios
Fees & Membership
Registration Form
Membership /
Donation Form
Day Rates
Scholarships
Kitchen Crew
Directions & Maps
What to Bring /
Accommodations
Contacts
Staff
Camp Pictures &
News
Mainewoods
Supporters
Dance Links
Privacy Policy
Susan Anderson (International Folk Musician)
has been actively involved in the folk dance
community since 1962 as an international folk dancer and musician.
She has led international singing workshops for groups, festivals and
schools and has taught folk dancing in the Philadelphia area and beyond.
Her talents are many: she sings and plays fiddle, gaida, balalaika,
keyboard, guitar and tambura. Along with Carol Wadlinger, Susan is a
member of the International
Folk Sounds, a folk dance band that plays for folk dances, festivals,
concerts and special events. In addition, Susan is the president of the
Folk Dance Council of the Delaware Valley, leads a weekly dance and a
monthly international music jam, performs Appalachian clogging with
the Fiddlekicks, and sings with Svitanya, a women's Eastern European vocal ensemble.
|
France Bourque-Moreau (French-Canadian), known for her warmth and charm,
hails from Montreal. For 30 years she has been leading workshops on
French-Canadian and international folk dance for children and adults and has
been training school teachers in this field. Her repertoire includes
hundreds of dances and singing games. She has taught and lectured in North
and South America, Europe and Asia and has written several books on the use
of folk dance in elementary schools. Active in the Orff music education
movement and other international organizations involved with transmission of
folk heritage to children, she produced a CD of French-Canadian
dances and songs for children, Danse, mon coeur danse!, with some of
Quebec's finest folk musicians and singers. At Mainewoods 2010 she will
present a variety of traditional dances from Quebec contras, squares,
quadrilles, and rounds to dance music that won't let you sit down.
France Bourque-Moreau's website
|
Tom Bozigian (Armenian) has an extensive knowledge of Armenian dances
from the pre-1915 period of Anatolya and the Caucasus. Each year he
travels to Armenia to continue his research, working with various
institutions and dance specialists. With these dance specialists he
travels to selected regions of Armenia to film and record. He has
taught at major camps throughout North America, Asia and Europe.
Teaching tours have taken him to five continents. Tom also specializes
in new Armenian folk dances and is an award-winning choreographer who
has set suites on numerous ensembles including Aman Folk Ensemble, the
Duquesne University Tamburitzans and various Armenian ensembles around
the world. He is also a professional percussionist, keyboardist,
vocalist, and leads a folklore orchestra which has produced numerous
recordings. Born of Armenian immigrant parents, Tom teams with
Professor Artush Karabetyan of the Yerevan State Institute to collect
rural dance data and study theory. He graduated from the Sayat Nova
State Choreographic School and also holds an MA in education and a BA
in Russian Area studies.
Tom Bozigian's website
|
Mihai David (Romanian) was born in Bucharest, Romania, and began dancing at the age of eight at the Pioneers' Youth Palace. Two years later, he began attending a School of Choreography in Bucharest, and continued there for eight years. While there, he studied extensively the various forms of dance -- classical ballet, character, modern and folk. Even before his graduation at the age of 17, he was dancing with the Romanian State Folk Ballet Ciocarlia and became their lead dancer. He continued touring with the troupe throughout Europe until his defection to Italy in 1966. A year later, Mihai emigrated to the United States, where he danced with the Boston Ballet Company, and had his own exhibition group within the Detroit, Michigan, Romanian community. He then moved to California and danced adagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. While in the US Army, he danced classical ballet with a ballet company in Augusta, Georgia. Mihai has taught Romanian dance at the San Francisco Kolo Festival, the Stockton Folk Dance Camp, and the Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference. In Hollywood, CA, he opened and operated his Gypsy Camp Coffee House. He was also co-director of the Hawaii and Santa Barbara Folk Dance Symposiums and the Catalina International Dance Festival. Mihai has devoted himself to teaching Romanian folk dance and has introduced many of the most popular Romanian dances being done in the United States and Canada. His teaching tours have taken him throughout the western hemisphere, the Orient, and Australia. Today, Mihai makes his home in Southern California where he operates his own construction company and teaches Romanian dance in his free time.
|
Ahmet Lüleci (Turkish), a native of Turkey, is an accomplished choreographer, dance teacher and performer as well as a researcher of Anatolian culture. He is currently the artistic director of the Boston based Collage Dance Ensemble, which allows him to further his goal of making folk dance and music accessible to a wider audience.
Since arriving in North America in 1985, he has taught many workshops and camps throughout the United States as well as Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Holland, England, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain and Australia. He has set innumerable suites of dances for the stage working with dance organizations around the world.
Some of the notable performing ensembles with whom he has worked include AMAN of Los Angeles, BYU dancers of Provo, BUDLET of Hong Kong, LES SORTILEGES of Montreal, and VINOK of Edmonton. In his native Turkey, he choreographed for HOYTUR and TURHOY of Ankara, ANADOLU UNIVERSITESI of Eskisehir, BUTFOD of Bursa and FOLKTUR of Istanbul. In 1991 Ahmet joined the Artistic Staff of AMAN as resident choreographer. Ahmet Lüleci's website
|
John Matulis (International Folk Musician) has been actively playing music for international folk dancing in the greater Philadelphia area and beyond, since 1967, when he joined the Penn (University of Pennsylvania) Balalaika Orchestra as its first accordionist. He then started a career as musician and orchestrator for various instrumental and dance groups, including Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Janosik Polish Dancers and Igra Balkan Performers. For six years, John directed the Penn Balalaika Orchestra, during which time he selected the repertoire, arranged music and taught bass domra and all sizes of balalaika. He is director and founder of ZIMA Eastern European Ensemble, a small instrumental and vocal performing group. He also performs (irregularly) as soloist for Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Russian, Scandinavian, Serbian, German, French and Italian events. John is especially known in folk dance circles for energetic, well-paced performances at parties and his huge repertoire of folk dance tunes.
|
Yves Moreau (Bulgarian) lives in Montreal and is recognized as one of North
America's foremost exponents of Bulgarian dance and folklore. He has
lectured and conducted workshops in Bulgarian and Balkan dance throughout
North America, Europe, Asia and Australia and choreographed stage suites for
various amateur and professional dance companies worldwide. Yves speaks
Bulgarian and is a regular contributor to various folk music and folklore
programs for Canadian radio and television. He has presented several papers
at various conferences on ethnomusicology and folklore in America, Asia and
Bulgaria. In 1980, Bulgaria awarded him with the order of Kiril and Metodi
(1st degree) for his work popularizing Bulgarian folk culture in North
America and in 2008, for his 60th birthday, he received the Presidential Medal
and letter of congratulations from Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. Yves Moreau's website
|
Lee Otterholt (Balkan and Beyond) teaches international folk dance at workshops and festivals in Europe, the US and Asia and leads folk dance cruises and tours to many parts of the world. He founded the Norwegian Center for International Folk Dance and was a professor of folkloristic dance at the Norwegian National College of Ballet and the University College of Oslo. He was responsible for the establishment of four folk dance clubs and three performing groups that performed in festivals throughout Europe. He also produced teaching videos, books and CDs on folk dance for use in the Norwegian school system. In 1994 he was one of the choreographers of the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
|
Barbara Pixton (International Folk Musician) began playing her mother's button accordion at the age of eight. She moved on to the piano, obtaining a degree in piano performance from Boston University. A folk dancer for many years, in the early 1990's she and her husband Tom Pixton began playing for dances. Since then they have put together several bands, played at music festivals and dance camps all over the US, published a music book, and made several recordings. Barbara has picked up skills on many other instruments including double bass, santouri, guitar, flute, violin and panflute. In 1994 she started the International Music Club under the sponsorship of the Folk Arts Center of New England. She is known for her wonderful ability to pull together amateur musicians for music-making and merriment.
|
Richard Schmidt (Polish) received the lifetime achievement award from the Polish government for his dedication in promoting Polish culture abroad. His love and passion has always remained the vibrant and beautiful dances of Poland such as the obereks, kujawiaks, polkas and mountaineer dances, to name a few. He became the artistic director of the Polish-Canadian Folk Ensemble "Podhale" of Montreal in 1991. His folk dance teaching and choreography has been complemented by trips to Poland and studies under many specialists. He has choreographed and taught for folk ensembles in Canada and the United States, and at many international dance camps.
|
Ann Smith (Scottish Country Dance) was born in the United Kingdom and came to the United States in 1966. After finding the Royal Scottish Dance Society in New York City, she grew to love Scottish Country Dancing. In 1975 she became a certified Scottish Country Dance teacher and has since started two groups on Long Island and a Demonstration Team. Scottish Country Dancing is enjoyed worldwide, giving Ann the opportunity to teach in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand as well as the United States. Renowned for not only her superb and delightful teaching but also for her artistic culinary feats, Ann is a favorite of Mainewoods campers.
|
Sandy Starkman (International Folk Dance) has taught folk dance classes and workshops in Canada and the U.S., has been the featured teacher on several of Mel Mann's Dance on the Water cruises, teaches every year at the Kentucky Dance Institute, and has taught folk dance teacher training courses at the university level. Sandy is well known for the easy way she breaks down a dance, for getting everyone moving quickly and for running an outstanding evening program. She joined the staff of our predecessor, Maine Folk Dance Camp, in 1980 and has also served as President of the Mainewoods Board of Directors. She is also Chair of the Ontario Folk Dance Camp.
|
Loui Tucker (Israeli) has taught Israeli dance for over 25 years. Her Monday night Israeli dance class in Sunnyvale is one of the most popular dance venues in Northern California and draws 90-110 dancers every Monday night. She is intimately familiar with the material.
Loui started international folk dancing in 1972 and began specializing in Israeli dance in 1978. She has a huge collection of music (going back to LP's and 78's), dance notes, videos, etc. She attends several dance camps per year that are devoted exclusively to Israeli dances.
For several years Loui taught the "Beginner/Repertoire" component of Camp Ramah Rikkudiah in Ojai, Calif., a weekend Israeli dance camp held in January every year. She has been a frequent teacher at Beverly Barr's Camp Hess Kramer held in the fall every year. She also led or co-led the "Miss-A-Step" sessions (group tutoring on the most difficult dances taught during the day) at Chagigah Dance Camp, a weekend workshop in Wisconsin for Israeli dance. She also has twice been the Israeli dance instructor at Stockton Folk Dance Camp.
Despite the emphasis on Israeli dance, Loui remains what she calls a "generalist" and leads a popular international folk dance group that will celebrate its 30 year anniversary in 2010. She is currently the President of the Folk Dance Federation of Northern California and also serves on the Board of the Stockton Folk Dance Camp.
Loui Tucker's website
|
Bill Wadlinger (International Folk Musician) came into dance music-making via folk dancing, having founded Beaver College Folk Dancing with his wife Carol in 1977. He was a founding member and first president of the Folk Dance Council of the Delaware Valley. He became a music widower in the 90's when Carol began "playing out." In self-defense, Bill dusted off his guitar, acquired a mandolin, tamburas, and most recently a charango. Bill plays with SPUDS, our Philly area open contra band and attends various jams. Like Carol, his wife, and Susan Anderson, Bill plays with International Folk Sounds (the IFS). In addition to playing music and dancing, he is interested in the process of setting music for printing on the computer, and has set a number of the IFS pieces in print for band use. Bill maintains the website for
Beaver Folk Dancing at Or Hadash
and for the IFS, as well as the IFS' Facebook group.
|
Carol Wadlinger (International Folk Musician) started playing music when she was five years old. Her
first instrument was the piano, and at ten she switched to the flute. A
few years ago, she added the English concertina. Along with folk musician
Susan Anderson, Carol is a member of the International
Folk Sounds, a folk dance band that plays for folk dances, festivals,
concerts, and community events. She also plays in various contra dance
bands, a klezmer band, a concertina band, and a small ensemble that plays
at synagogue. She particularly enjoys encouraging adults to make music
with others. When she is not busy playing music, she is on the floor
dancing. She and her husband Bill started and ran the Beaver Folk Dance
group in the Philadelphia area for over 25 years. She only wishes she
could play music and folk dance at the same time.
|