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WELCOME TO THE 51st ANNUAL
 SAN ANTONIO FOLK DANCE FESTIVAL

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We would like to express our deep sorrow at the passing in 2008 of two of our folk dance teaching icons, Marianne Taylor and Anne Pittman,  Their contributions to the folk dancing community are legend.

VONNIE BROWN (Czech)
Vonnie Brown was born of Norwegian-American family, whom she credits with her love and appreciation of cultural tradition. She holds a Master of Science degree and has taught dance at the secondary and university levels in North Dakota, California, Utah, Washington, and Louisiana. She has also taught in Japan and in the Czech Republic. 

Vonnie has taught at most of the major folk dance camps, including California Kolo Festival, Kentucky Dance Institute, and the Florida, Maine, Mainewoods, New England, Stockton, and Texas Folk Dance Camps. She has also taught many workshops around the country, including those at the Denver Viltis Festival, Laguna Beach Festival, San Antonio Folk Dance Festival, Washington State University Festival, and Wisconsin Folklore Village. 

Beginning in 1972, Vonnie was instrumental in bringing recreational international folk dancing to Louisiana. She is the artistic director and choreographer for the Karpaty Folk Ensemble of Baton Rouge which she founded in 1972. Karpaty accepted two official invitations from the Slovak and Czech Republics to participate in various seminars and performance tours. 

Beginning in 1976, Vonnie made annual tips abroad to study and research dance, primarily in Central Europe (including the Slovak and Czech Republics) and Eastern Europe (including the former Yugoslavia). During her travels she has gathered together a superb collection of folk arts, including original costumes and music instruments. 

In 1986, Vonnie received the San Antonio Folk Festival annual award for outstanding contributions in folk dance. In 1993, The National Folk Organization of the U.S.A. (NFO) honored her, and Slovak government recognized her for the work she has done in the preservation and dissemination of Slovak dance and folklore. Vonnie been very active in the NFO, including serving as the organizations president. She was elected president of the NFO for the period 1999 to 2003. 

Vonnie has had numerous articles published in professional journals. She founded and for 19 years edited the folklore newsletter Folk Dance Scene-Baton Rouge. 

Dances Vonnie has taught include Danish Dance of Greeting, Kendime, Kinderpolka, Krucena, Louky, Sotyskaya, Tance z Kracunoviec, Sekerecka/Basistovka, Shoemaker's Dance, Sudeten Spinradel for Three, Zemlinske Karicke, and Vychodoslovenske Karicke. 

For additional information about Vonnie, please click on Dick Oakes' Phantom Ranch web site.  All of these bio notes and photo were borrowed from Dick. with his permission.   [TOP]

PAUL COLLINS (MC/ Int'l / Contra /Square)

Paul Collins is an accomplished instructor of various types of ethnic folk dance and a caller of traditional American square and contra dance.  He is the founder and director of Ethnic Dance Chicago and co-director of the Door County Folk Festival, now in its 25th year of operation as one of Midwest's most popular and enjoyable dance and music festivals. He directed and produced the University of Chicago International Folk Festival for 12 years. 

 He is director of the C & J Dancers (an ethnic dance demonstration group) and a long-time member and ex-officer and director of the Folk Dance Council of Chicago.  He has conducted dance classes and workshops and organized performing groups for adult and family recreation programs and for school programs in the US, Canada and Europe. 

 Paul's other avocations include, hiking, squash, volleyball, softball, travel, foreign languages, music (classical, jazz, blues, ethnic), sound engineering, opera, theater, model railroading, website development, and exploring new internet technologies.  He makes his home in Chicago. [TOP]

GEORGE FOGG (English Country Dancing)

George A. Fogg was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and raised in the neighboring town of Salisbury.  He began English dancing with the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre, Inc.  In 1968, when the leader and principle teacher retired, the Appalachian Mountain Club's Country Dance Society "Cardigan Dance/Hiking Weekend" needed another teacher/leader. George was selected and has been teaching English Country Dance ever since. For his years of service to the organization, he was made a "Life Member" of the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre, Inc.

In 1968, with Ms. Joe Ray, he started the South Weymouth English Country Dance Group in Weymouth, Mass. George says, "It was out of this group I was able to present my first George Washington's Birthday Ball in 1984."  He has continued presenting the ball ever since.  He is also well known as a regular at the Mainewoods Dance Camp, whether he's on the staff or helping in the kitchen or wherever needed and teaching a dance or two at the evening parties. 

He has been the Dancing Master at the Hartford Playford Ball in Hartford, Connecticut, Sudbury Militia Balls at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Mass., and the Billerica Colonial Minutemen, Billerica, Mass. He holds membership in several dance organizations, including the Country Dance and Song Society of America (CDSSA, Haydenville, Mass.), Country Dance Society (CDS, Boston Centre, Inc.), English Folk Dance & Song Society (London, England), New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA), Pinewoods Morris Men (PMM), and Black Joker Morris Men. He has produced nearly forty Christmas Country Dance Balls and George Washington Birthday Balls. George has been on hundreds of Morris tours, including England with the PMM and Black Jokers.

George has published several folk dance-related books (and has several works in progress), including

For additional information about George, please click on Dick Oakes' Phantom Ranch web site.  All of these bio notes and photo were borrowed from Dick. with his permission.   [TOP]

LEE OTTERHOLT (Balkan)

Lee Otterholt was born in the US of Norwegian-American parents, has lived and worked in Norway as a professional dancer, dance teacher and choreographer.  There he founded the 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 in Norway. He led the latter to festivals all over Europe.  He also produced teaching materials (videos, books and CDs) on folk dance for use in the Norwegian school system.  

SANDY STARKMAN (International)

Sandy Starkman comes from Toronto, Canada, where she taught special education for many years.  Since retiring, she teaches several weekly dance classes. 

 She has been the teacher on nine of Mel Mann's Dance on the Water Cruises and teaches every year at the Kentucky Dance Institute.  Sandy has also taught at many workshops and camps in Eastern Canada and the United States as well as in Australia and New Zealand.  She has taught several teacher training courses for the Toronto Board of Education and the University of Toronto.

Sandy was on the staff of Maine Folk Dance Camp from 1980 until it closed. She has been the  President of the Mainewoods Dance Camp Board and also the President of the Ontario Folk Dance Camp Committee.

Sandy is well known for the easy way she breaks down dances, for getting everyone moving quickly, and for running a fun evening program.  She has been a guest teacher at the Kentucky Dance Institute for many years

Credit to Mainewoods Dance Camp  website for most of the above bio and photo.
 [TOP]

ANDY TAYLOR-BLENIS (Children's Program)
Andy Taylor-Blenis is currently dancing in her 16th season with the Prometheus Dancers.  A native of Massachusetts, she began her dance career in international folk dance and graduated from U Mass/Amherst with a BFA in dance in 1983.

She has performed with the Danny Sloan Dance Company, Concert Dance Company of Boston, Dawn Kramer, Rozann Kraus, Micki Taylor-Pinney, Julie Ince Thompson, Paradigm Dance, Miguel Lopez, Debra Bluth and Sean Murphy. 

Andy is on the faculties of The Boston Conservatory, the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, Green Street Studio and the Folk Arts Center of New England. She has choreographed and collaborated with Eric Bornstein and Behind the Mask Theater as well as The Jeannette Neill Repertory Performances.