Festival of the Oaks

For the 75th(!) anniversary of the Festival of the Oaks, there will be an afternoon workshop with John Morovich, followed a dance performance, an optional dinner, and an evening dance party.

Refreshments will be provided. Oh, and be sure to shop at (and/or donate to) the pre-owned folk dance costume sale (4:15 pm – 9:00 pm). For members of the Folk Dance Federation of California, there will be a membership meeting during the dinner hour.

Schedule

Time	Event	Price
1:00 pm	Doors open
1:30-4:00pm	Institute with John Morovich	$20
4:00-4:15pm	Dance performance
4:15-5:00pm	Dinner	$10
5:15-9:00pm	International Folk Dancing,Dances from around the world, Institute Reviews & Contras	$18

Special all-day Institutes and Folk Dance evening party package is $34.

John Morovich

John Morovich, born in 1965, grew up in Seattle’s sizable Croatian community. Since 1973, he has studied, taught, and performed traditional music and dance of Croatia and other parts of Southeastern Europe. He was awarded the prestigious Washington State Arts Commission Folk Arts Fellowship for 2001.

He is currently the artistic director of the Seattle Junior Tamburitzans, a 50-member youth ensemble of which he was a performer from 1974 through 1987 and since 2013 has directed Tamburaski Orkestar Kisobran. He conducted the Jele Croatian Women’s Choir and Klapa Ruzmarin in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He was selected as Guest Conductor for the Croatian Fraternal Union of America Junior Cultural Federation Festival held in Chicago, in July 2005.

From 1980 through 2002, he was a featured performer with the Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble and the Ruže Dalmatinke Orchestra. In December, 2001, he erformed in and served as orchestra director for the Croatian Christmas cantata Narodil Se Mladi Kralj, by Tomislav Uhlik of Zagreb, Croatia, which was directed by Mary Sherhart. Since 1979, he has performed with the Sinovi Tamburica Orchestra with friends George, Tom and Tim Jovanovich, Jeff Suhadolnik, and John Major. The band, which participates frequently in the Tamburitza Extravaganzas, now includes Matt Thompson and George’s son Nick. For five years he performed with a balkan-gypsy fusion rock band Kultur Shock, with recent immigrants from the Balkans; and he recorded two albums with the group.

John has taught at many camps and seminars, including the California Kolo Festival in San Francisco, the Balkana Seattle Balkan Camp, the Texas Camp, the East European Folklife Center’s Balkan Music & Dance Workshops, and the Seattle Folk Dance Festival. John has also worked with many folklore ensembles across the United States and Canada. He most recently choreographed for the Ban Jelačić Croatian Dance Ensemble of Penticton, B.C., Canada; Hrvatski Vitezovi; Sarajevo of Vancouver; and Zagreb of Victoria, B.C., Canada, and Ethnic Dance Theatre of Minneapolis. MN. Dances John has taught include Kabanica i Seksera, Grizlica, H’ajd Na Lievo, Mazulka, Okrani Se Moje Kolo Malo, Repa, Sad Moi Dragi u Šumi Kod Koza, Saljsko Kolo, Slavonsko Kukunješče, Sroteš, Sˇ’tiri Snehe, Tanac po Susasko, Veloluški Tanac, and Žena Ide Na Gosti.

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Contact Ruthie Gasser for more details.