It's that time of year again! America celebrates Thanksgiving, and this American living abroad, sans turkey and trimmings, celebrates by thanking two sets of organizers who have hired me regularly for events.
As everyone who knows me understands, I love visiting new places and teaching new groups. But it's also a special delight to have places and events I return to regularly, making friends and developing communities and watching dancers progress over time.
First, my thanks to John and Nancy Newbold, who have hired me every year since 2007 (with me missing 2016 through no fault of theirs) to conduct one or both of their balls for the Remembrance Day Weekend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I just returned from Gettysburg a few days ago after conducting both balls, and I was reminded once again how wonderful it is to be welcomed year after year by the Remembrance Day Ball regulars and to be able to bring new material to such a friendly group, savor the joy of leading groups of such varied skill levels successfully through dances, and simply see everyone having such a good time. (And those chocolate-framed favors...mmm!)
Second, my thanks to Oleksii Kryvenko and Svetlana Evsyukova, organizers of three Vintage Dance Exchanges and three Waltz Weekends in Kyiv, Ukraine, from the spring of 2016 to just a few weeks ago. My being able to visit and teach the same core group repeatedly half a dozen times over a few years has resulted in a small group of dancers with the skill set that makes me happiest, understanding both the common and the distinct elements of modern (cross-step) and historical (19th and early 20th century) dances and being able to combine them smoothly and switch easily between different styles and types of music. That's something I haven't had since the end of a seven-year stretch of regulars in my old Monday night classes. It makes me unbelievably happy as a teacher to see a group of dancers really work at these fundamental skills (not always the most fun process!) until practice pays off with this level of achievement. All credit to Oleksii and Svetlana as organizers and as teachers who review and reinforce what I teach when I visit. And extra thanks to Svetlana for her superb partnering as well!
Having events with both sets of organizers in one month this year was magic.
Thanks.
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