Acknowledgments

I’ve written a fair number of academic books, and not a single one of them has been possible without the help of many people.

The two people who deserve the greatest thanks are Shirley Hauck and Nancy Bannister. Not only have they been my co-instructors in the class this book was written for, but they have also both been careful readers, proofreaders, and all-around contributors to the volume. Not only that, they are incredibly knowledgeable folk dance experts, great friends, and fabulous dance partners. Couldn’t have done this without them.

Comments from Pegge Vissicaro, Dean Brown, Stacy Rose, Mady Newfield, and Martha Adwdziewicz have greatly improved the text. But all remaining errors are mine. Three of my linguistics graduate students have also made significant contributions to this volume. Asma drew the beautiful costume pictures in chapters 3–10 and 18. Saman Meihami used his technical wizardry to get ChatGPT to produce accurate and authentic costume pictures in chapters 11–17 and 19. John W. W. Powell brought his expertise in geographic information systems to help me with many of the maps in this volume. Thanks also to Sherry Cochran and Joan Hantman for some assistance with some last-minute pictures.

I would like to thank the Musical Instrument Museum, Howard Yoffe, Heidi Harley and Art Torrance for permission to use images from their instrument collections in this book. I would also like to thank Cheryl Casey for her assistance in setting up PressBooks for me, and Stacy Rose and Martha Awdziewicz for catching many embarrassing errors.

This text wouldn’t exist were it not for the DNC179A class. Thanks to Jory Hancock for encouraging me to teach it and for facilitating its approval. Every student who has taken the class has taught me something, and I thank them all for their enthusiasm and feedback. I’d like to thank, in particular, the many students who have come back year after year to help me teach the class as preceptors. These include: Anna Bogstad, Jacob Bratka, Courtney Davis, Jaelyn Dennis, David Feagin, Allison Glazer, Andre Glukhovskiy, Elana Goldberg, Sidney Kizer, Levi Kuruc, Gabe Lykins, Katie North-Morris, Grace Potter, Abigail Simon, Juliana Siml, Joey Talerico, Bella Warfield, Jane Weiser, and Blake Zimmermann. Some of these students also helped me out by posing for pictures and videos in chapters 24–26. Their images are used with permission.

The editorial board of the Folk Arts Center book series (Kumu Kawika Alfiche, Martha Awdziewicz, Jeannette Geslison, Steve Kotansky, Barbara Merson, Mady Newfield, Holly Plotner, Carolyn Ramm, Tom Roby, Paul Tong, Marcie van Cleave, Pegge Visscaro, and especially Stacy Rose) deserve great thanks for their feedback and comments on the book proposal. Similarly, the Executive Board of FAC (Almas Dossa, Ron Wilkinson, Carl Lazarus, Carolyn Ramm, Alex Blenis-Gittens, Miranda Johnston, Phil Mason, Barbara Merson, Anna Stevens, Dana Sussman, Susan White and most significantly Jim Madigan) for their incredible support for the Folk Arts Center books project.

I wouldn’t have done folk dancing without first having some excellent teachers myself. These teachers include, in no order whatsoever, Ann Kyle, Ann Smreciu, Andy Hoffer, Helen Winkler, Ira Gessel, Judy Silver, David Skidmore, Karen and Bill Faust, Nancy Bannister, Shirley Hauck, Marilyn Richards, Jaap Leegwater, Bianca de Jong, Sue Rose, Stacy Rose, Joan Hantman, Andrea Haber, Karen Bennett, Sherry Cochran, Laureen MacLaren, Yves Moreau, Bora Özkök, Lee Otterholt, Ira Weisburd, Ahmet Lüleci, Alix Cordray, Sonia Dion, Cristian Florescu, Tom Bozigian, Sheree King, Andy Taylor, Chris Ricciotti, Rick Gittleman, Rick King, Una Lennom, Sherry Cochran, Daniel Sandu, Mady Newfield, Yves Moreau, France Bourque-Moreau, Marcie van Cleave, Henry Temchin, Šani Rifati, Hennie Konings, Joe Graziosi, Maurice Peretz, Michael Ginsburg, Steve Kotansky, Iliana Bozhanova, Roo Lester, Tineke and Maurits van Geel, Željko Jergan, Marcia Schran, Roberto Bagnoli, Greg and Becky Deja, Suze Stentz, Shlomo Bachar, Tom Roby, Marcie van Cleave, and Janet Taylor-Yeracaris.

In addition to the above, I have danced with some wonderful people over the years. In Calgary and Toronto, Laura Klein Di Lembo, Catherine Dunkell, Ken Charkow, Michael Wagner and many others. In Boston, Dana Sussman, Heidi Harley, Lenore Cowen, Mari Boyar Young, Julia Poirier, Sue Flint, Deniz Ertas, Carol Allman-Morton, Corey Spence,  Kim Shively-Ertas, Spike Dean, Ian Flynn, Frances Klein, Jonathan Young, Martha Sullivan, Chaya Bromberg, Henry Goldberg, Colin Ferguson, Jack McCreless, Janet Nelson, Katy Burns, Patrick Yacono, Dean Allemang, Chip Prince, Tom Pixton, Jared Polens, Elizabeth Newman, Paula Rosenstock, Lucy Hale. In Michigan, Bruce Sagan, Judy Barlas, Marlita Reddy-Helmfelt, and Liz Mustard. In Tucson, Barb Whittlesey, Sara Heitshu, Susan Hitchens, Raven Siva, Harvey and Marjana Gardner, Lilly Jeffries, Dave Dennis, Martha van Winkle, Lorien Tersey, Mike McGarry, Andy and Nancy Ingerson, Paula Schlusberg, Gerry Spinks, Bob White, Elaine Dow, Sally Lefko, Howard Yoffe, JoAnn Gentry, Gwen Butler, Tim and Laurie Long, Bella Vivante, Sam Singer, Courtney Cartwright, Charry Stover, Ellen and Mike Evanoff, Stuart Moody, Brenae Bailey, Susan Knutson, Lynn Maners, Karen Seger, Beverly Foster, Alice Pringle, Marjorie Barrett-Gultepe, Tim and Valerie Quarto, Joanne Wolf, Katie Popiel, Shoo Shoo Blum, Rosa-Maria Mejia, Christopher Francis, Mia Hansen, Samanthi Hewakapuge, Deborah Beaumont, Triste Longcore, Joan Hilman, Mark Heitlinger, Erika Okamura, and Ron Vosacek. On the internet: Martha Awdziewicz, Joyce Story, Adony Beniares, Cricket Rayburn, Randi and Murray Spiegel, Ron Sherman, Vita Hollender, Eileen Hug, Gail Elber, Jane Lorenzen, Kathy Molga, Paul Collins, Bronwyn Bjorkman, Mirinisa Stewart-Tenco, Juancarlos Battilani, Bill Cope, Vicki Maheu, Holly Plotner, Diane Baker, Iver Cooper, Silvio Lorenzato, Larry Weiner, Sally Jenkins, Jo Crawford, Loui Tucker, Joyce Clyde, and Dale Adamson. I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone important. If so many apologies.

Finally, of course, I rely always upon the support of my close friends and family, Heidi Harley, Art Torrence, Fiona Carnie, Morag Carnie, Jean Carnie, Aoife Carnie, Nechtan Carnie, and Crònan Carnie.