Some excerpted from past issues of Folk Dancer and others of general interest.

Belgium and Hungary with Friendship Force International (FFI) by Mirdza Jaunzemis, September 2019.  FFI is a non-profit cultural organization focused on promoting understanding, cultural education and citizen diplomacy through homestay journeys.  Mirdza reports on her first experience with this alternative travel option.  (https://www.friendshipforce.org/)

Greek Dancing on Kea With Vaggelis Dimoudis by Murray Forbes.  The full tale of getting from southern Spain to a folk dance workshop in Greece, by way of Russia.  August 2019.  An excerpted article appears in the February 1, 2020 Folk Dancer magazine.

God’s Country by Mirdza Jaunzemis – a memoir of growing up in Northern Ontario.

Multi-person and multisensory synchronization during group dancing by Lea Chauvigne and others, Human Movement Science, Vol 63, February 2019, pp 199-208.
Fourteen dancers from the Hamilton International Folk Dance group participated in a research study that looked at various factors that affect group synchronized dancing.  Hand holding was found to have the strongest influence on synchrony.

JUSTIN SLATER WINS THIRD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
by Bill Gladding, Tavistock Gazette – June 4, 2016
Justin and Fred won their 3rd World Doubles Title and Justin won his 3rd World Singles Title. Justin is the second person ever to win both the singles and the doubles at the same time.  Justin and Fred are the second father-son team to win the doubles title.  The linked article is excerpted, and printed here by permission.

Folk Dancing: Then and Now  by Dr. Stefania Szlek Miller.
This is the compilation of a five-part series on the history of the Ontario Folk Dance Association.  The original articles appeared in Folk Dancer magazines between December 2011 and February 2013.
See also The History of OFDA 1969-1994 compiled by Marg Murphy

Mouse over photo to view slideshow or click on photo to view photos on Flickr.

Blast from the Past
A Blast from the Past: OFDA Photos from Years Gone By


Behind the Scenes – Secrets of Our Success   by Ruth Ostrower
An article about Ruth’s more-than-20-year stint, beginning in 1973, on the staff of the Ontario FolkDancer (as it was then called). It appeared in the April 2012 issue.

Chile in the Springtime by Murray Forbes
An article on a trip taken to Chile in October 2012.

Spain to Toronto Via Croatia, Part 1 by Murray “Indiana” Forbes
An article on a trip taken in 2011. It was split between the April and June 2012 issues. This Web version is text-only.

RIKUDIYAH 2012 Israeli Dance Festival for Children by Doris Strub Epstein
The festival took place in Toronto on March 25, 2012. Unpublished due to lack of space in the June 2012 issue.

A Surreal Ping-Pong Adventure by Fred Slater
An article about a Toronto ping-pong tournament he took part in on April 4, 2012; not published in the Folk Dancer but still entertaining.

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