The Bay Area Country Dance Society Website

Staff - The Organizing Committee:

Your Hosts and Hostesses for the Fall Ball are:

• The Fall Ball committee led by Heather McKay
• Artistic Director Jenny Beer
• Our orchestra consists of Craig Johnson, David Strong, Stan and Susan Kramer
• Workshop wonders come from Jenny Beer and David Newitt, along with Craig Johnson and David Strong
• The rood awakening sound is by David Newitt
• Grand poobah of potluck and other cuisine miracles: Alice LaPierre
• Volunteer extortion and press gang is led by Victoria Williams
• Our regent of registration (be nice to her!) is Helena Ivatt
• All hail the duchess of decorations, our own Victoria Meyn
• The website is entirely the fault of Ric Goldman
• Committee members doing a good bit of everything include Anne Miller-Bagwell, Ellen Simms, and Tom Colton

Gary began dancing in 1970 when he joined an international group in Hanover, NH.  In 1976, he discovered English and American   dancing when he went to Pinewoods Camp for the first time.  His dance life was changed forever by that experience (although he still does international dancing).

In 1981, he began teaching English and American country dancing on a regular basis, and in 1982 he wrote his first English Country dance, inspired by a John Galway recording of "Le Basque" by Marais.  That was the first of, perhaps, 25 "collaborations" with famous composers (Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, et. al.). Gary has published a series of five books of his dances called The Calculated Figures.  In his other life (other than dancing), Gary is a recently retired college professor who taught, among other subjects, Statistics and Applied Mathematics.  Some people have said that his analytical orientation influences the dances he writes.

We are pleased to be able have some of his books for sale at the Ball itself.  We urge you to patronize this talent in our dance community.