The Bay Area Country Dance Society Website

Becky's gusto and finesse on the piano reflects a lifetime of playing and touring. Several trips to Cape Breton Island in the 80's and 90's have had a substantial influence on Becky's piano playing. She has played at contra dances with The Fourgone Conclusions, Taconic Tonic, The Moving Violations, and many pickup bands. A regular attendee at East and West Coast Balkan camps for many years, she has dabbled in many styles and instruments, accordion in particular. Balkan bands include Gypsy Cab, Orient Express and Xopo. On her time off from playing music, Becky is part owner and teacher of a Swedish style weaving school in downtown Shelburne Falls.  

Becky: "In 1981, at the age of 21, I left the United States and went to Sweden to study weaving. I was lucky to attend a well known craft school, Saterglantan Hemslojdens Gard, which is located 125 miles north of Stockholm. This school was started in 1922 and still teaches a wide range of traditional Swedish crafts including weaving. I fell in love with weaving and found myself at home with the traditional methods used in Sweden. I am most grateful that I was able to learn my weaving skills in a country that has a rich traditional heritage. My experience in Sweden inspired me to become a professional weaver and for the next thirteen years I earned my living in the United States as a production weaver, selling my wares at national juried shows such as the Crafts at the Castle in Boston and the WBAI Crafts Show in New York. In 1993 I reduced production weaving and began to teach classes out of my weaving studio, Becky's Vav Stuga, in Shelburne, Massachusetts. My students speak for themselves in these student testimonials. When I am not teaching, I am working on a series of publishing projects for my own imprint Vavstuga Press, including translating weaving books from Swedish to English and republishing Swedish weaving books that have gone out of print.  I'm also active as a professional musician in a variety of folk music traditions from Swedish to Balkan to Cape Breton, playing a variety of instruments including piano, accordion, and fiddle."