Officers Ball 2023
2023-10-21 13:00 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Veterans Memorial Building, Pleasanton, 301 Main Street, Pleasanton, CA, 94566, United States
The Folk Dance Federation’s annual festival of folk dance with workshops, on-site dinner, dance party, and special attractions returns! This year’s theme is “HARVEST HOEDOWN” so it’s time to find your favorite calico dress, plaid shirt and jeans, neck kerchief, and boots (no spurs, please)! Yeehaw!
Schedule

Price
Time (pm)
Event

1:00
Doors open

$25
1:30-5:30
Dance workshops

$20
5:30-7:00
On-site dinner with the always popular sing-along with Bill Cope (for those registered by October 17)

$25
7:00-10:00
Evening celebration, dances from the workshop and your requests.

Workshop
The afternoon workshop will again feature new and classic folk dances taught by local teachers including

Denise Heenan – Pinewoods Two-Step (Scottish country dance for pairs of couples)
Lothar Narins – Levi Jackson Rose (circle of 5 couples)
Marian Snyder – Watermelon Crawl and Cowboy Hustle (CW line dances)
Loui Tucker – All-Promenade Mixer (pairs of couples)
Craig Kurumada – Bon Odori no Uta and Matsumoto Bon Bon and Ichi Tasu no Ondo (Japanese)
Alan Rothchild – Tzanah (Israeli)
and maybe one more!

The Annual 50/50 Drawing is also a popular event: buy tickets for $1 each and, if your ticket is drawn, you receive 50% of the total ticket sales.
Registration
Officers Ball 2023 Mail-In Registration Register by Tuesday October 17, 2023 to obtain the special all event package pricing (workshop, on-site dinner, and evening party) of $55 and save $15. On-site dinner registration is not available after October 17. New members with coupon pay for dinner only.
Option 1: Mail-In Registration
Download and complete registration form.
Make checks payable to the FOLK DANCE FEDERATION.
Mail the check and registration form to:
Sabine Zappe
153 Race Street
San Jose CA 95126

Option 2: Online Registration
Register online
Our featured image is a publicity photo for the radio program National Barn Dance. Pictured are four couples dancing to the music and square dance caller Guy Colby. 24 March 1940 by WLS Radio, Chicago. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Palomanians Pie Party
2023-12-09 19:00 - 22:00 | St. Bede’s Church Hall, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, United States
The annual Palomanians Pie Party featuring ice cream, refreshments and pie all provided by the Palomanians! Come join us for an evening of dancing and pie.
Nothing to bring, all pies, ice cream, and refreshments will be supplied by the Palomanians. Dances range from beginning to advanced, and all forms (line, couple, and set). Denise Heenan will be our MC.
This year’s Palomanians Pie Party is even more special than usual.
As some know, Denise Heenan, teacher of the Palomanians for over 30 years, is retiring at the end of December. While certainly not disappearing from the Palomanians and the folk dance scene this is Denise’s last month running the Palomanians class.
So….in addition to enjoying a great evening of dancing and enjoying great pies and ice cream provided by the Palomanians, come and say thanks to Denise for a wonderful 30 years of friendship, leadership, and teaching. We’ll have some ‘open mic’ time for people to share their stories and we look forward to seeing you.
Email your requests or questions to pfdcparty@gmail.com
Proof of up to date vaccinations are required. If you’ve been to our parties in the past, we’ve marked you as vaccinated. If this is your first party, please bring proof of vaccination or email us proof at pfdcparty@gmail.com. Masks optional,
Download and share a flier.

New Years Eve Dance Party and Second Harvest Fundraiser
2023-12-31 19:00 - 2024-01-01 00:15 | All Saints’ Episcopal, 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA, 94301, United States
Come help Moveable Feet celebrate the arrival of 2024 with an in-person potluck supper and dance party while raising money for Second Harvest, a local food bank!
The combined, New Year’s Eve International Folk Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Second Harvest Fundraiser will kick off on Saturday, December 31, at 7:00 p.m. and wind down not long after we ring in the New Year on Saturday morning. Once again it will be held at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto.
We’ll start with a potluck dinner at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45), followed by dancing from about 8 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Bring a favorite dish to share (label your serving utensils). Moveable Feet will supply drinks, plates, and utensils.
Please make a generous donation to Second Harvest, either in advance or bring to the party cash, checks, or a smart phone to use a credit card. You may also bring cans, jars (peanut butter), bags (rice, pasta), and boxes (cereal, cake mix) to be delivered to SHFB.
Additional notes: Masks appreciated. Parking is free on New Year’s Eve and no time limit in Palo Alto city lots and streets.
Donate to SHFB

Berkeley Folk Dance's Birthday Ball
2024-01-06 13:00 - 17:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
Celebrate 83 Years of Berkeley Folk Dance
In January, BFD starts its 83rd year! Celebrate our birthday with us at the annual Birthday Ball, where we also welcome this year’s new beginners, as well as everyone who’s joined for the first time since last January.
The theme, is Come Fly With Me! Think of all the countries you could fly to!

Schedule

Time
Event
Price

1:00-2:00pm
Lunch
$25

2:00-5:00pm
Dancing
$12

Register

Festival of the Oaks
2024-02-10 13:00 - 21:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
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 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.
Register
DOWNLOAD and share a flier!
Contact Ruthie Gasser for more details.

Cabrillo International 55th Anniversary Celebration
2024-04-20 15:30 - 21:00 | Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062, United States
******SAVE THE DATE******
Cabrillo Folk Dancers are planning a 55th ANNIVERSARY PARTY
>>>>> LIVE MUSIC….POTLUCK!….LIVE MUSIC

Officers Ball 2024
2024-11-17 13:00 - 22:00 | Veterans Memorial Building, Pleasanton, 301 Main Street, Pleasanton, CA, 94566, United States
The Folk Dance Federation’s annual festival of folk dance with workshops, on-site dinner, dance party, and special attractions returns! This year’s theme is Joining Hands Across the Years! Save the date!
Schedule

Price
Time (pm)
Event

1:00
Doors open

$25
1:30-5:30
Dance workshops

$20
5:30-7:00
On-site dinner with the always popular sing-along with Bill Cope (for those registered in advance)

$25
7:00-10:00
Evening celebration, dances from the workshop and your requests.

Workshop
The afternoon workshop will again feature a program of new and classic folk dances taught by local teachers

Aaron Alpert – Mechankot (Israel)
Julie East – Chalypso (US)
Pete Galanais – Koljovo Horo (Bulgarian)
Marija Hillis – Oige ja Vasemba (Estonian)
Judy Kropp – Joc de Leagane (Romanian)
Kamrin MacKnight – Mist on the Mountain (Scottish)
Lothar Narins – Rakkas (Turkish)
Lenore Watson – Contras (US)

The Annual 50/50 Drawing is also a popular event: buy tickets for $1 each and, if your ticket is drawn, you receive 50% of the total ticket sales.
Registration
Officers Ball 2024 Registration Form Register by November 14, 2024 to obtain the special all event package pricing (workshop, on-site dinner, and evening party) of $55 and save $15. On-site dinner registration is not available after November 14. New members with coupon pay for dinner only.
Option 1: Mail-In Registration
Download and complete registration form.
Make checks payable to the FOLK DANCE FEDERATION.
Mail the check and registration form to:
Laura Richardson
1343 Rosalia Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Option 2: Online Registration
Register online

Palomanians Pie Party
2024-12-14 15:30 - 18:30 | St. Bede’s Church Hall, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, United States
The annual Palomanians Pie Party featuring ice cream, refreshments and pie all provided by the Palomanians! Come join us for an evening of dancing and pie. Denise Heenan is MC.
Nothing to bring, all pies, ice cream, and refreshments will be supplied by the Palomanians. Dances range from beginning to advanced, and all forms (line, couple, and set).
Email your requests or questions to pfdcparty@gmail.com
Proof of up to date vaccinations are required. If you’ve been to our parties in the past, we’ve marked you as vaccinated. If this is your first party, please bring proof of vaccination or email us proof at pfdcparty@gmail.com. Masks optional.

New Years Eve Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Fundraiser
2024-12-31 19:00 - 2025-01-01 00:15 | All Saints’ Episcopal, 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA, 94301, United States
Come help Moveable Feet celebrate the arrival of 2025 with an in-person potluck supper and dance party while raising money for Second Harvest, a local food bank!
The combined, New Year’s Eve International Folk Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Second Harvest Fundraiser will kick off on Tuesday, December 31, at 7:00 p.m. and wind down not long after we ring in the New Year on Wednesday morning. Once again it will be held at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto.
We’ll start with a potluck dinner at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45), followed by dancing from about 8 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Bring a favorite dish to share (label your serving utensils). Moveable Feet will supply drinks, plates, and utensils.
You may donate early to Second Harvest Food Bank at impact.shfb.org/MoveableFeet24
so your support will be available immediately
Donate to SHFB
Please make a generous donation to Second Harvest, either in advance or bring to the party cash, checks, or a smart phone to use a credit card. You may also bring cans, jars (peanut butter), bags (rice, pasta), and boxes (cereal, cake mix) to be delivered to SHFB.
Additional notes: Parking is free on New Year’s Eve and no time limit in Palo Alto city lots and streets.

Festival of the Oaks
2025-02-08 09:00 - 17:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
For the 76th Festival of the Oaks, there will be a morning workshop with Liina Teose, followed by optional lunch, a dance performance, and an afternoon dance party. Refreshments will be provided. Oh, and be sure to shop at (and/or donate to) the pre-owned folk dance costume sale (12:30 pm – 4:30 pm). For members of the Folk Dance Federation of California, there will be a membership meeting during the lunch hour.

Schedule

Time
Event
Price

9:00am
Doors open

9:30am-12:00pm
Institute with Liina Teose
$20

12:00-1:00pm
Lunch
$15

1:00-5:00pm
International Folk Dancing with dances from around the world, dance performance, and Institute reviews & contras
$20

Special all-day Institutes and Folk Dance afternoon party package is $35.
Liina Teose
Liina Teose Liina was born in Portland, Oregon. At two years of age, she made her debut as a folk dancer in Tulehoidjad (‘Torch Bearers’), the Portland Estonian folk dance troupe led by her mother. Her mother was born in Estonia and fled in 1944. Liina learned Estonian folk dances in the displaced persons camps in Germany, where she lived for five years before migrating to the US.
Liina became the leader of Tulehoidjad in 1985 and has continued as its director for 38 years. The troupe, founded in 1950, has performed at all of the West Coast Estonian Days, many world-wide ESTO festivals, mass folk dance performances in Estonia, as well as countless local and regional festivals. It is truly bearing the torch of Estonian dance, culture, and traditions.
In 1999, in Tallinn (Estonia) City Hall, she was awarded the Ullo Toomi Award for her work. This award is given by the Estonian Folk Dance and Folk Music Association each year to the most outstanding Estonian folk dance director of the year. Liina is the only folk dance director living and teaching outside of Estonia to receive this award.
In 2016, Liina, together with her mother, was awarded the 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award by the Estonian American National Council in recognition for her work in promoting and preserving Estonian folk dance and music. Through folk dancing and music, Liina and her mother have been instrumental in keeping Estonian culture alive in the United States, Canada, and other locations outside of Estonia. Liina’s first year teaching at Stockton Folk Dance Camp was in 2024.
Register
Contact Ruthie Gasser for more details or to send dance requests for the afternoon party.

Live Music with Taraf de Akácfa
2025-03-16 19:00 - 21:30 | Park Hall, 9400 Mill St., Ben Lomand, 95005, United States
Join Cabrillo Folk Dancers for a very special live music dance party with Hungarian traditional music band Taraf de Akácfa. Doors open at 6:30pm. Sponsored by the Cabrillo Folk Dancers. More details

Taraf de Akácfa
Taraf de Akácfa was created in 2014 by traveling street musicians who serendipitously met in Budapest, Hungary in an international collective house on Akácfa street. The founding members of the group came from the United States, Sweden, Hungary and France, and eventually chose to stay in Budapest, where they experienced constant musical inspiration and could share their common passion for Eastern European and Balkan folk music. Their current musical repertoire is predominantly centered around Romanian lăutarească, Moldovan and Transylvanian folk music, and they also perform a variety of folk music from the Balkans. Read more…

Officers Ball 2025
2025-10-04 13:00 - 22:00 | Veterans Memorial Building, Pleasanton, 301 Main Street, Pleasanton, CA, 94566, United States
The Folk Dance Federation’s annual festival of folk dance with workshops, on-site dinner, dance party, and special attractions returns! The theme this year is “FUN-ding the Future.”
The Officers Ball is also an important fundraiser for the Federation Scholarship Fund. Its Annual 50/50 Drawing is a popular feature: buy tickets for $1 each and, if your ticket is drawn, you receive 50% of the total ticket sales. Consider bundling the 2026 Federation Folk Dance Wall Calendar with your ticket purchase and pick up the calendar at the Ball.
Schedule

Price
Time (pm)
Event

1:00
Doors open

$25
1:30-5:30
Dance workshops

$20
5:30-7:00
On-site dinner (for those registered in advance)

$25
7:00-10:00
Evening celebration, dances from the workshop and your requests.

The special full package price of $55 (workshop, dinner, and party) may purchase all until September 30, 2025.
Workshop
The afternoon workshop will again feature a program of new and classic folk dances featuring local teachers. Dances to be taught will be provided in late September. The tentative list of instructors include:

Adony Beniares – Čapkan Dimčo (Macedonian, non-partner)
Craig Blackstone – Fjaskem (Swedish, mixer)
Marija Hillis – Three’s a Crowd (US, trio mixer)
Judy Kropp – Bridge of Athlone (Scottish, set)
Lothar Narins – Karkmarocka (Rusyan, non-partner)
Alan Rothchild – Hora Vrânceana (Romanian, non-partner)

Donate
Because of a matching grant, all donations made at or before the end of the Officers Ball that are designated for scholarships will be doubled. Donate ONLINE or bring cash or check to the Officers Ball.
DONATE to Scholarship
Registration
Officers Ball 2025 Registration form Register by September 30, 2025 to obtain the special all event package pricing (workshop, on-site dinner, and evening party) of $55 and save $15. On-site dinner registration is not available after September 30. New members with coupon pay for dinner only.
Option 1: Mail-In Registration
Download and complete registration form.
Make checks payable to the FOLK DANCE FEDERATION. If you are still planning to come for the entire event, email Sabine at Treasurer@folkance.com and tell her you will bring a check to the Officers Ball. Do NOT mail a check now.

Option 2: Online Registration
Online registration has ended.

Łowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble 50th Anniversary Dinner and Dance
2025-10-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596, United States
The Łowiczanie Dancers and Directors warmly invite you to attend their festivities celebrating 50 years of dance and tradition, cultural, and educational service to the Polish community and the greater Bay Area!
Łowiczanie celebrates a gala Dinner-Dance in San Francisco promising a sparkling evening of art, auction-bidding, dancing to live and DJ’d music, delicious Polish cuisine, retrospective slideshow projections, and delightful surprises for our guests.
Early Bird tickets for both concert and dinner will be available soon through the Lesher Center for the Arts Box Office – stay tuned!

Palomanians Pie Party
2025-12-13 15:30 - 18:30, 2026-12-12 15:30 - 18:30 | St. Bede’s Church Hall, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, United States
The annual Palomanians Pie Party featuring ice cream, refreshments and pie all provided by the Palomanians! Come join us for an evening of dancing and pie. Denise Heenan is MC.
Nothing to bring, all pies, ice cream, and refreshments will be supplied by the Palomanians. Dances range from beginning to advanced, and all forms (line, couple, and set). Email your requests or questions to pfdcparty@gmail.com
Please stay home if you are sick, and please wear a mask if you are unsure or have been exposed to someone with a contagious illness. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

New Years Eve Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Fundraiser
2025-12-31 19:00 - 2026-01-01 00:15 | All Saints’ Episcopal, 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA, 94301, United States
Come help Moveable Feet celebrate the arrival of 2026 with an in-person potluck supper and dance party while raising money for Second Harvest, a local food bank!
The combined, New Year’s Eve International Folk Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Second Harvest Fundraiser will kick off on December 31, at 7:00 p.m. and wind down not long after we ring in the New Year next morning.
We’ll start with a potluck dinner at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45), followed by dancing from about 8 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Bring a favorite dish to share (label your serving utensils). Moveable Feet will supply drinks, plates, and utensils.
Donate to SHFB
Please make a generous donation to Second Harvest, either in advance or bring to the party cash, checks, or a smart phone to use a credit card. You may also bring cans, jars (peanut butter), bags (rice, pasta), and boxes (cereal, cake mix) to be delivered to SHFB.
Additional notes: Parking is free on New Year’s Eve and no time limit in Palo Alto city lots and streets.

Berkeley Folk Dance's Birthday Ball
2026-01-10 12:00 - 16:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
Berkeley Folk Dancers will be 85 years old this year! Save the Date! Join us in welcoming our new members and celebrating!
Things have changed in the last eight decades, and things have continued. Costumes can be anything that you have fond memories of: your prom dress, a Grateful Dead t-shirt, a tuxedo from a significant event, what you wore on your best vacation. anything that you treasure.
Lunch: 12 noon. $15
Dance: 1 – 4pm. $12

Dance Party with Da! Mozhem
2026-01-24 16:00 - 19:00 | Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062, United States
Dance to your favorite international tunes with Da! Mozhem and Cabrillo Folk Dancers. Doors open at 4 pm; music starts at 4:30 pm. Potluck between the two sets of music!
Be sure to bring tips for the band. If you are not well please stay home.
Da! Mozhem
Da! Mozhem at the San Francisco Free Folk Festival Da! Mozhem plays and sings high-energy pan-Balkan music for the joy of dancing. D!M is a group of friends who have been playing together for well over a decade. The group has veterans from many excellent folklore bands such as the People’s International Silver String Macedonian Band, Born to Drone, Westwind, Sviraci, and the Slavonian Traveling Band. The band plays with emphasis on Bulgarian, Macedonian, and ex-Yugoslav traditions. Several members frequently travel to the Balkans to learn more about the folkloric music of the region. The group plays on traditional instruments unique to the region as well as modern instruments.

Festival of the Oaks
2026-02-07 09:00 - 17:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
For the 77th Festival of the Oaks, there will be a morning workshop with Andy Taylor who will teach dances of Carpathian Europe, followed by optional lunch, an afternoon dance party, and more. Refreshments will be provided. Oh, and be sure to shop at (and/or donate to) the pre-owned folk dance costume sale (12:30 pm – 4:30 pm). For members of the Folk Dance Federation of California, there will be a membership meeting during the lunch hour.

Schedule

Time
Event
Price

9:00am
Doors open

9:30am-12:00pm
Institute with Andy Taylor
$20

12:00-1:00pm
Lunch
$15

1:00-5:00pm
International Folk Dancing with dances from around the world, dance performance, and Institute reviews & contras
$20

Special all-day Institutes and Folk Dance afternoon party package is $35.
Register Online
Download, print, or share a flier.
Andy Taylor
Andy Taylor’s passion for international folk dancing began at a young age, nurtured by her parents, Marianne and Conny Taylor, co-founders of the renowned Folk Arts Center of New England. Growing up, Andy was immersed in the vibrant Boston folk dance community. The Taylors regularly hosted large-scale events, bringing in international dance teachers from far and wide. Andy had the opportunity to assist with teaching, learning and experiencing dance through her parents’ pioneering vision. At age 17, Andy was certified to teach Scottish Country Dance. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Social Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her professional dance career spans over 40 years of performing with local and international choreographers, including a prolific 20-year tenure with Prometheus Dance. She continues to teach International Folk and Contemporary dance forms in schools, at public functions, and in other spaces.
Andy is the artistic director for multiple groups. She leads the Boston Scottish Country Dancers in local performances and serves as artistic director for the Back Pocket Dancers, an intergenerational ensemble that tells stories through narration, movement, and music. Since 2009, she has been artistic director of the Wheaton College Dance Co. A contemporary company at Wheaton College located in Norton, MA. In 2006, following her father’s passing, she founded Mladost Folk Ensemble, a youth folk dance troupe, continuing the spirit of both her parents’ work. A unique part of her heritage, Andy also recorded and produced a CD of Austrian Jodels (yodels) from a book by Werner von Trapp, a project originally produced by her father, Conny Taylor. She continues to teach this Austrian-style yodeling tradition.
Recently, Andy was deeply honored to collaborate with Mike Protenic, an experienced folk dance teacher and performer. For the past 20 years, Mike has meticulously researched the music and dances of the Rusyn, Lemko, Hutzul, and Boyko people of Europe. These are historically significant dances, collected by Mike’s grandfather, Johann, in the Austro-Hungarian regime between 1893-1903 and passed down through his family. Mike has since reconstructed them from old notes and stories. Andy is privileged that Mike has asked her to teach and share these rediscovered dances with recreational folk dance communities while he is unable to do so.
International Folk Dance was Andy’s beginning and remains her truest home in dance. For Andy, dance is a vital process of breathing, growing, and exploring the self. It is a powerful force for community building and a gift that provides health, friendship, and lifelong connections. More about Andy…

Live Music with Ezgija
2026-03-28 19:00 - 21:30 | Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062, United States
Live music dance party with the Ezgija band at the Live Oak Grange! Doors open at 7 pm; Ezgija plays 7:30-9:30. $15 sliding scale.
Sponsored by the Cabrillo Folk Dancers.
Ezgija
EZGIJA is a Santa Cruz based band specializing in dance tunes from the Balkans, Turkey, and surrounding regions.

Mad Hatters Tea Party
2026-07-18 14:00 - 17:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
The Berkeley Folk Dancers’ Beginner class is hosting their July party with a mad hatter theme.

Officers Ball 2026
2026-10-03 13:00 - 22:00 | Veterans Memorial Building, Pleasanton, 301 Main Street, Pleasanton, CA, 94566, United States
The Folk Dance Federation’s annual festival of folk dance with workshops, on-site dinner, dance party, and special attractions returns! The theme this year is “FUN-ding the Future.” Workshop instructors include Craig Blackstone, Memo Keswick, Andy Paros, Ina Tacheva, Lenore Watson, and Alex Shadle.
The Officers Ball is also an important fundraiser for the Federation Scholarship Fund. Its Annual 50/50 Drawing is a popular feature: buy tickets for $1 each and, if your ticket is drawn, you receive 50% of the total ticket sales. Consider bundling the 2027 Federation Folk Dance Wall Calendar with your ticket purchase and pick up the calendar at the Ball.
OFFICERS BALL REGISTRATION
Online registration coming soon…

New Years Eve Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Fundraiser
2026-12-31 19:00 - 2027-01-01 00:15 | All Saints’ Episcopal, 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA, 94301, United States
Come help Moveable Feet celebrate the arrival of 2027 with an in-person potluck supper and dance party while raising money for Second Harvest, a local food bank!
The combined, New Year’s Eve International Folk Dance Party and Lucy Chang Memorial Second Harvest Fundraiser will kick off on December 31, at 7:00 p.m. and wind down not long after we ring in the New Year next morning.
We’ll start with a potluck dinner at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45), followed by dancing from about 8 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Bring a favorite dish to share (label your serving utensils). Moveable Feet will supply drinks, plates, and utensils.

Please make a generous donation to Second Harvest, either in advance or bring to the party cash, checks, or a smart phone to use a credit card. You may also bring cans, jars (peanut butter), bags (rice, pasta), and boxes (cereal, cake mix) to be delivered to SHFB.
Additional notes: Parking is free on New Year’s Eve and no time limit in Palo Alto city lots and streets.
