Dances from Brittany and Albania
with Sibylle Helmer

Saturday, February 20: 2–4:00pm EST

Online via Zoom – To benefit the Folk Arts Center of New England

Sibylle Helmer has been teaching for more than 30 years in the international folk dance world, especially in the Netherlands but also in Belgium, England, Austria, Italy and Canada. She attends workshops of various teachers at home and abroad in order to keep up with the latest developments and continuously increase her knowledge. With her foundation Dansevent.nl, she organizes workshops, courses and festivals in the Netherlands with teachers from the Netherlands and abroad.

After her studies to become a French and Dutch language teacher, she stayed for six months in Paris as an au-pair. It was there where she first encountered Breton music and dance. Many summers after that, she went to Brittany for courses and festivals and thus her first specialty, Breton dance, was born.

Since 2010 she has been going to Albania regularly to learn more about that country’s dance, culture, history, and language. And so now she has developed her second specialty: Albanian dance. This week’s workshop will feature dances from […]

Kolos and Konversation
with Steve Kotansky

Saturday, January 30, 2–4:00pm EST

Online via Zoom – To benefit the Folk Arts Center of New England

Steve will present an afternoon of kolos for all “kolo maniacs” of yore with a focus on “Old Tyme Kolos” as they still survive in Hungary and Vojvodina. We will revisit old favorites such as Veliko Kolo, Kukunješće, Gajdaško, Malo Bunjevačko Kolo, and others. The presentation will including film materials.

Steve Kotansky danced with the prestigious AMAN Folk Ensemble plus many other groups, before becoming a dance major at the University of California at Los Angeles. He made his first research trip to Hungary and former Yugoslavia in 1970. While living in Germany for a number of years, Steve took advantage of his proximity to Balkan and Eastern European countries to pursue the study and research of their dances. He also lived in Bucovina for a while learning local folklore.

Most recently, Steve has been researching Albanian and Roma dance from the Diaspora and continues his work and research in Balkan and Central European countries. He is particularly interested in dance culture as it […]

San Diego Folk Dance Center Prepares to Welcome Chinese New Year!

February 6, 2021, 6:30pm to 10pm Pacific Time

Out with the Rat and in with Ox! Let’s prepare to welcome in the Chinese New Year of the Ox with some Chinese dances!
Also featuring Gail Wilson’s favorites and lots of Steve Kotansky dances!

• 6:30 p.m PT: Social time, and Zoom audio and video checks
• 7:00 p.m PT: Kin and Chin will teach us Chinese dances for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Then we’ll be highlighting favorite dances of Gail Wilson, our featured member of the night, as well as Steve Kotansky dances. What a great mix!
• Request dancing at the end as host and time allow.

To connect, go to the San Diego Folk Dance Center website Newsletter at: folkdancecenter.org/newsletter.html. Scroll down the page to “Join Zoom Meeting” and click on the link.

See you there!
Chin Yu and Kin Ho