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2022-23
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We have arranged day and weekend workshops to which people come from all over the country - we have
even had people from America and Germany! There are no accents on names and dance titles to avoid font
complications. Note that modern national boundaries mean that some dances are claimed by more than one country.
Janet Woolbar is a very experienced teacher and dancer of general international dances. With over 40 years of experience
she has led countless workshops and overseen SIFD Teacher Courses.
The following dances were taught: Hora de la Inceput,
Chai Zibede, Ai Ghiorgis, Cornish 6 hand reel, Shirto, Lasske Vanocni Kolo, Chiribim, Khorovod, La Pietonelle, Paraslekki,
Dal Johan's Waltz and Enlejo.
Pam Radford specialises in teaching general international dances to beginners. She has taught at the SIFD "Friday Feet"
class in Cecil Sharp House, London, for 12 years. As one of the Sisters of St. Saviours Priory, it was through her
that the Bognor group learnt of the convent in Haiti.
The following dances were taught: Neda Grivne, Sciarazula Marazula,
Allemansmars, Coanwood Stuarts, Zagrodnik, Hora Mare Bucovineana and Baonopstekker.
Tom Bozigian presents a variety of forms of dance material for dancers at all levels, including solo, couple, line,
group, male-only, and female-only. His instruction includes Russian character, Lebanese (dabke), and Greek folk dances.
He presents suites of Armenian dances for exhibition ensembles and gives college and university lectures in Armenian history,
language, and music.
After a four year course in the 1970's, Tom qualified from the Yerevan Sayat Nova Choreographic School with a diploma covering
Armenian folk dance, classical ballet, character dance, and international dance forms. Each year, Tom travels to Armenia to
continue his research, working with various institutions and dance specialists. At the same time, he visits target areas
throughout Armenia and Eastern Anatolia for the purpose of drawing comparisons of original dances from both Armenia and
the Diaspora. In addition to dances of the pre-1915 period and Caucasian Armenian dances, Tom also covers new Armenian folk
dances as well as choreography for stage presentation.
Tom has set innumerable suites of Armenian dances for stage presentations, working with both Armenian and non-Armenian
organizations. Tom has staged Armenian suites for the AMAN Folk Ensemble, the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, the Het
Internationaal Danstheater of Amsterdam, and various Armenian ethnic ensembles around the world. He regularly tours the
Orient and Europe, teaching Armenian dance to international folk dance collectives and groups within Armenian communities.
(Information taken from the article Tom Bozigian
from Dick Oakes' International Folk Dance Resources).
The following dances were taught:
Ambee Dageets, Eench Eemanaee, Khumkhuma (Teen), Sirun Aghchee, Debki Miserlou, Hayr oo Mamoogner, Lorge, Kesabtsi Barer and Tomzar.
Leslie is a specialist in Hungarian dances and an excellent teacher. He teaches dances with his wife Sue and they run two
dance groups in London - Balaton and Doina. They have led workshops at the Eastbourne festival and many other events around
the country.
The following dances were taught: Regi Hejsza, Simi Hejsza, Ugros, Bodrogkozi Csardas, Dudalas es Ugros,
Fercelo, Hoina, and Kapuvari Verbunk.
This event was organised by a group of teachers bringing together dancers from the various folk and circle dancing groups
in both East and West Sussex. All the teachers donated their time free, and people provided raffle prizes, refreshments and
items for sale. The aim was to have a fun afternoon and raise money. Teachers included Janet Douglas, Sue Kewley, Rowena Martin,
Claire Wilton, and Judith Washington.
The events have raised over £900 so far which has been sent to the
Haiti Appeal of the St. Saviours Priory, London and will be used to help the nuns re-establish and continue their work.
Janet Douglas is a recognised teacher of the Society for International Folk Dancing and has a special interest in Turkish Folk Dance.
The following dances were taught: Comudum, Ayrilik, Savsat Bari, Bahare, Fidayda, Hopa Horuna, Iste Hendek, Mendil, Cekme Halaym Basini and Agir Kovenk.
Joan Sach is a recognised teacher of the Society for International Folk Dancing and has danced with the Zivko Firfov Balkan
Folklore Group for thirty years. This group have been collecting village folkdances from Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bulgaria,
Greece and Romania for sixty years.
The following dances were taught: Licko Kolo (the 'Silent Dance'), Repa, Mista, Slavonsko Kolo, Letovanic, Ajd na Levo,
Kalendara, Rukavice, Krice Krice Ticek, Opsaj Diri and Putna.
We applied, never thinking we would be selected but they liked our video, so off we went with a small team of dancers and an even smaller band.
(See our holiday report from the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, July 2009).
This event was set up to try out the dances for the CCPR On Show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2010.
Dalila taught Sepastia Bar and Ambee Dageets, and Janet taught Ya da Kalinushka Lomala and Moy Muzhenka.
A few other recreational Armenian and Russian dances were also taught and Dalila brought along a selection of Armenian Costumes.
She also lent costumes to our girls for the performance.
Nicolae is highly regarded throughout Romania as the best dancer from the Banat region.
He has danced in many ensembles in Banat since his childhood in a village in the Banat mountain region,
and he is currently the choreographer of the "Timisul" (amateur) ensemble in Timisoara.
The following dances were taught over the day: Hora (Pe Timp), Hora (Pe Contratimp), Ardeleana de la Rugi,
Ardeleanas (type 1 & 2).
Dalila, who is Armenian, was born in Cyprus in 1974. Once she discovered her love of dancing she joined various
ethnic folkdance classes. She was a founder member and principal dancer of the Arax Armenian Dance Group run by the Tekeyen
Cultural Association in London. She has travelled with groups both in England and abroad, and has appeared twice at the
Eastbourne International Folk Dance Festival. Currently Dalila is director of Akhtamar Armenian Dance Group. She also gives
solo performances for charity and takes workshops in Armenian Folk Dance. Dalila is the principle Armenian dance teacher of
the Society for International Folk Dancing (SIFD).
The following dances were taught over the day:
Assoulis, Karoun Karoun, Yerek Vodk, Im Gousans, Chour em Arec, Sasna Polzare, Erzroomi Shoror, Teen, Lourke, Shkgerdan Aghchic, Shatakhi Shoror.
Angie Saravelaki is a performer and teacher with
Dora Stratou the Greek national folk dance group which is based in Athens. She has taught Greek folkdance at several
different venues in Britain in the last few years.
The following dances were taught over the weekend:
Issos and Pentozalis(Kos), Tripatos, Pyrgysikos, Patitos and Siganos-Ytrehatos(Chios), Soysta and Pana Horos(Karpathos)
Syrtos and Kritikos(Rhodes), Syrtos, Zeibekikos, Aptalikos and Karsilamos(Mytilini),
Syrtos Divaratikos, Manetas and Ballos(Kefalonia), Pentozali(Crete), Syrtos, Hasapikos, Hasaposervikos and Olmaz(Erythrea),
Tik, Kotsari, Seranitsa and Tromahton(Pontos).
Paja & Madelon Milic are well known to Balkan enthusiasts and have taught at the Eastbourne
international folk dance festival, the Society for International Folk Dancing (SIFD) Summer School and earlier
weekend folk dance courses at Bognor Regis.
Paja is from Banat, an area in Serbia which is characterised by
its particularly 'leg-tangling' dances. He and Madelon have performed and taught folk dance extensively in Europe
since he moved to Holland over thirty years ago. They joined Ciga and Ivon Despotovic and helped popularise the
international folk dance movement in Holland.
The following Yugoslavian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Posiv Kolo, Ripna maca, Ljiljino Kolo and Porodinka Kolo(Serbia), Bracno Oro(Albania), Vaskino Oro, Kopacija-Malesorks and Svekrvino oro(Macedonia),Berouska tesko oro and Maki Maki(Gypsy).
The following Yugoslavian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Cupino kolo (Serbia / Kosovo), Romo Cocek (Macedonian), Lajkovacko kolo (Serbia), Ajsino oro (Albania), Bracno oro (Albania), Vlaski tanc (Vlaski) , Berovka (Macedonia), Pristinka (Kosovo) and Svatovka (Serbia)
The following Yugoslavian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Sano Duso / Vranjanka (Serbia - Vranje), Posla rumena - Tmo mome (E.Serbia), Strumicka Petorka (Macedonia), Legnala Dana (Macedonia) , Kolubarski vez (Serbia), Dragisino kolo (Serbia), Bufcansko (Macedonia), Cuperlika (Macedonia), Lesnoto (Macedonia), Kacerac (Serbia), Trbjanac(Serbia) and Florinka (Gipsy), Cacak (Serbia), Srba (Serbia)
The following Yugoslavian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Pembe (Macedonian), Cica Obrenovo Kolo, Carapanka kolo, Gajdasko Kolo, Vo Krusevo ogin gori, Pristinka (Kosovo), Malo Vlasko Kolo, Bobino kolo, Vajta n' Elbasan (Albanian), Kratko Vlasko Kolo and Gnjilane (Kosovo)
B.R.I.D.E were the UK contacts for this holiday. Members of B.R.I.D.E. joined other English dancers as well as a large Dutch contingent to learn Macedonian dancing in a hotel on
Lake Ohrid just a few hundred yards away from Tito's old summer residence.
The theme for the dance course was the folk dances from Ofcepolsko region of Macedonia.
The dance teacher was Vlade Janevski, a former dancer of the professional folk dance ensemble "Tanec" from Skopje.
Rodna Velickovska was the Folk Song Teacher, an ethno-musicologist working at the Folk Lore Institute in Skopje who regularly cooperates with Vlade Janevski in seminars and other projects.
(See our holiday report from the Song and Dance at Lake Ohrid).
Jan Knoppers is a versatile performer and teacher who teaches folk dances from all over the world, specialising
in those of the Far East. He works in Holland bringing performances to schools as part of the Dutch policy
of international cultural education.
The following international folk dances were taught over the weekend:
Moustabeikos (Greek Macedonian), Kostilata Thessalia (Greece), Ka'afe (Georgia), Dzaghkats Baleni (Armenia),
De Valse Zeeman (Holland), Syrtos Nisyros (Greece), Kalya Bandi (India), Lagu Sopo Sopo (Molucca) and Khanty-Mansi
(Siberia).
Hennie Konings studied Russian folk dance in Moscow with Tatyana Ustinova and Olga Zolotova. He learned many Russian dance styles, both choregraphed for stage and the living folklore of the villages. In 1986 he ended his career as a performing dancer and dedicated himself to the teaching of Russian folk dance; he has since become a leading Russian dance pedagogue in Europe, the USA and Asia. His visits to England have made him well known and very popular.
The following Russian folk dances were taught over the weekend: U menya molodoy muschena,
Ti ne stoy kolodyets, Oy na gorke kalina, Na Yegora, Korobuschka, Simuschka, Doroschka, Notschka,Ureke and Ivanouna (Semonouna)
The following Russian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Kubanskaya Liricheskaya, Ljublja ya Kazachenjku, Seyu-rassjevayu, Slobozhanskaya Poljka, Zapletisja Pletjen, U nas pod ljesom, Zeleneye Zhito, Padespanj and Lenochek
Ibrahim Rizevski started dancing with 'Lola Ribar' in Belgrade in 1972. By 1977 he was artistic
director, solo dancer and drummer. From 1982 he was a professional dancer in the military ensemble in Belgrade, but
now lives in Zurich and is artistic director to 'Sloga'. He has given many workshops on traditional Macedonian folk
dance in Switzerland, France, Yugoslavia and Holland. His first appearance in England was at the Eastbourne festival
in 2003,
The following Macedonian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Iovano Iovanke, Potrcano, Trite
Stupki, Belasicko, Kalajdzisko, Bukite, Kumanovka, Jeni Jol and Staro Cunova Velosko Oro
Maggie is a recognised teacher of the SIFD. She teaches a general range of international folk dances and has a special interest in Russian, Romanian and Armenian dance.
Greek dance is another important speciality and she has danced with several Greek performance groups.
The following Greek folk dances were taught on the day: Tapinas, Bella Olimbia, Karatzova, karagouna, Tou Ganbrou and Ajde Jano
The following Greek folk dances were taught on the day: Ikariotiko, Sammarina, Zonoradiko, Zeybekiko, Tikfesko, Tai-Tai & Halai
Ersin Seyhan comes from the southeastern part of Turkey, but his teaching embraces all areas of modern and
historic Turkey. He lives and works in Holland where he has an active performance group (Ozan), and helps organise the
annual Zetten Balkan festival. Ersin first came to Bognor Regis in Feb 2000, and has returned to give several successful
workshops since.
The following Turkish folk dances were taught over this weekend: Ali Bey, Mendil, Tulum romen, Gelin Halayi, Ege Karsilamasi, Ramze, Trakya and Yaylalar
The following Turkish folk dances were taught over the weekend: Canoynare, Ayrillik, Bablekan, Bahare, Ham Cocelek, Agir Kovenk, Fidadhe, Fadike and Drida
The following Turkish folk dances were taught over the weekend: Istanbul Kasap, Cayda cira, Livan oy, Yaylalar, Gumbur, Hayat, Tulum Havasi and Guzeller
Eddie Tijssen teaches Bulgarian folk dances at Zetten Balkan festival and is a gifted Bulgarian dancer. He
has led many workshops in England, including the Eastbourne festival. Eddie has also arranged guided dance holidays to
Bulgaria.
The following Bulgarian folk dances were taught over the weekend: Okopsko Pajdusko Horo
(Okop / Trakia), Rusan na Ruska dumase (Sopluk), Ginka (Pirinska / Makedonia), Ivan Kalinu Dumase (Trakia),
Gigensko Horo (Severnjasko), Lazarski Danets (Dabrudia), Svornato Horo (Rhodopite), Gagauzko Horo (Dobrudia), Graovsko Horo (Sopluk) and a Pravo
Ciga and his wife Ivon popularised international folk dancing in the Netherlands. After a long illness he wanted to visit Belgrade
before he died and wanted it to be a folk dance festival. So his friends organised this festival so that for a final time Ciga
could be promoting his national heritage. We were the UK contact for this festival. The teachers were Vladeta Vlahovic ('Curca'),
Svetislav Trifunovic ('Trifa'), Milan Graovac ('Grale'), Ibrahim Rizevski ('Ibra'), Dragan Micic ('Mica') and Paja Milic ('Paja').
(See our holiday report from the Christmas YU-Folk Festival, Belgrade).
Photos