Stacy Rose, Dance Instructor
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Feet

7/26/2014

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It is impressive that a small little blister on the smallest of all toes can carry such influence with the rest of the entire body.
Whatever conditioning I'd thought I'd been doing in preparation for Stockton was not enough. At the closing banquet tonight, I sat beside Amy who shared that she, too, had skipped some classes and didn't even go to the "Once Over Lightly" class after dinner. It's HARD to keep up with the schedule! 
My roommate Valerie is a remarkable woman. She gets up in time for breakfast and attends the first class every day. She takes every class, every workshop, attends the Once Over Lightly after dinner, goes to the after party, and gets back to our room between 1:00 and 2:30 am every day. Until I talked with Amy tonight, I assumed everyone was like Valerie. If someone wants to maximize their time at camp, they can learn from Valerie! 
Tomorrow, I'll head home. A nine hour drive north. In the car for nine hours. No dancing. And no feeling badly about skipping a class. Or two. My feet will be so happy tomorrow. 
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Stockton Teachers

7/26/2014

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The caliber of teaching at Stockton is incredible. The Serbian teacher is Bata Marčetić. Watching his feet is mesmerizing! He is like an artist who uses his feet to make brush strokes. So precise and light! Each of the teachers is remarkable. They teach a 55-minute class twice daily. They each participate in an end-of-the-day review. Each teacher takes a turn presenting an hour-long cultural assembly - there is a different one each day. They participate in the after party. Each class is physically demanding to me -- all of the dances are mentally demanding, as well. 

One thing that I noticed in both Bata's class and Jitka (pronounced Yit-ka) Bonušová’s class is that each of these teachers interjects discussion about style just as prominently as they do explaining footwork. Style is not an after thought - it is just as integral to the dance as the steps.  

Jitka is the teacher from the Czech Republic - her partner injured himself a few weeks ago, but she came alone and is doing a fabulous job teaching couple dances. It is her third trip to the United States teaching dances of her country. Over dinner one evening, she told me that she also teaches contra dancing at home. She said it is very popular. (So is country line dancing, but she doesn't like that style of dancing.) In a session of "Dances of all Ages", Jitka shared some beginning level dances that she teaches to children. They were so cute. Jitka is anxious that her English is not fluent, but when she is teaching there is NO misunderstanding about what it is she is instructing us to do. I've learned about having a strong presence from watching her teach. 


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Celebrity sighting at Stockton!

7/24/2014

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Since starting to teach folk dance five years ago, I've used Dick Oakes' website www.phantomranch.net SO MUCH! There is an incredible abundance of information about there. Imagine my surprise at camp when I came face-to-face with a lovely man wearing a name tag that read 'Dick Oakes'. I asked him, "Are you THE Dick Oakes??" We chatted about dancing, being at camp for the first time (he is a first-time camper at Stockton this year, too!), and commiserated about our sore feet.
One of the best parts of my week was attending the camper-led workshop "Dances For All Ages" that Dick taught on Tuesday.

Dick is a fabulous teacher - so knowledgeable about the material, smooth in his delivery of the instruction, affable in every way. Experiencing his workshop was witnessing masterful teaching, and a highlight of my week.
At the end of the workshop, Dick set out a box of things he'd collected over the years and invited us to take one. Pictured above is a painted wooden doll from Yugoslavia. The picture below is me in the presence of greatness -- with Dick Oakes.       

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The whirlwind that is Stockton

7/21/2014

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The end of the first day at Stockton Folk Dance Camp. Repeated advice that has been given to me as a first-time camper is: PACE yourself. 
Today I attended a Salsa Rueda class -- just tons of fun. Way to kick off the whole thing by learning a new style of dance complete with a whole new language. Totally fun. Cesar Garfiaz is the instructor.  Then I went to Roberto Bagnoli's international folk dance class. We learned Sej Bob (not to be confused with Sej Sej Bob, which is a totally different dance), and Te Joci Cu Focul. Fabulous dance! Loved it! Literal translation: to play with fire. This dance is totally on fire. 
I skipped the third class in the spirit of pacing. I attended two sing-alongs: Erik Hoffman's standard folk song repertoire sing-along (We Shall Overcome Some-daaaaaaay) and Rumen Shopov's Balkan singing workshop. Fun! 
In the afternoon, I chose Ercument Kilic's Turkish dance class - new favorite dance Hey Gidi Hey.Then I attended Erik Hoffman's contra dance workshop. He plays fiddle for the workshop while calling. Erik was the first caller for the Coos Bay contra dance series. Between him and Dick Oakes, I've had some celebratory sightings. I had a great chat with some students from BYU about how to get young folks interested in dancing. I had an interesting chat with Jitka Bonusova, a dance teacher from the Czech Republic - she teaches couple dances, but her dance partner sprained his ankle 6 days ago, so she is here alone. She calls contra dances in the Czech Republic - she said they are very popular... most calls are in English (balance and swing; do-si-do; long lines forward and back; right and left through), but other calls are in Czech (circles and stars), 
I danced much of the evening program, but didn't stay for the after party. I hope 30,000 steps is pacing myself appropriately.      

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Return visit of the long-lost dancer

7/16/2014

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Sharon C. is a wonderful, loving woman. She was a dancer in my folk dance class every semester since I first started teaching. Sharon was also an avid contra dancer in our community. Then she took a job on the east coast and left the area. 
But after a three year absence, this week she came back to town for a visit and stopped into class. What a thrill for me to dance with her again! I couldn't stop smiling.
Sharon said she hasn't danced since she left. I noticed two things dancing with her: When we dance with other people, our hearts open and we create a bond with them. And even though Sharon stopped dancing for three years, she was RIGHT back in step as though she was dancing yesterday. Folk dancing gets into our soul - or at least into our muscle memory.      
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Ian's Dance Away Hunger

7/7/2014

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I'm excited to be involved in a wonderful upcoming event. 

Ian, one of the elementary school students from our "Dance Around the World" program, is planning a dinner to raise funds for his church's world hunger program and the local food cupboard. 

Sharon Magnuson, Associate Director of ECLA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in American) World Hunger and Disaster Appeal will make an educational presentation about hunger in various countries around the world. Our dinner will be food from those countries. And Ian has invited me to teach a dance from each of the countries. 

The dances we'll do are:
Moons and Stars Circle - United States
Zemer Atik - Israel 
Syp Simeon - Russia
Chilili - Boliva
Bele Kawe - west Africa
Waves - Hong Kong

I'm honored to be part of this event that will raise awareness and funds to help with hunger at home and elsewhere. I'm impressed with Ian for developing this idea and event; looking forward to helping dance away hunger. Friday, July 18 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 1290 Thompson Road Coos Bay, OR. Dinner is at 5:30 - education and dance at 6:30. 

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