MOUNTAIN

PLAYSHOP

OUR TEACHERS

Our teachers this year will include a range of local legends who have a wide variety of experiences.  They are known for their skills and repertoire and are eager to share them with the community. 

Beth Zweigoron

Beth Zweigoron established her dancing legs at University of Illinois IFD and then moved on to Minneapolis where she danced through a few decades with University of Minnesota IFD and Tapestry Folk Dance Center where she eventually served as President. She now dances with Greenville IFD which she founded in 2000 and keeps up her skills and repertoire by attending local, national and international workshops as often as her other life allows. She will be sharing favorite selections from Tineke and Maurits van Geel’s 2018 Caucasus Tour.

Mike Schafale

Mike Schafale has been doing international folk dancing since a chance encounter with it in Durango, Colorado in 1983.  He has danced with the Raleigh group since late 1983.  He also enjoys playing guitar with Svirachi and other folk dance bands, as well as other instrumental and vocal music.  Other interests include paddling, hiking, backpacking, ecology, and botany. 

Ruthy Slann

Ruthy Slann is a native of Israel and an avid dancer. She travels in the Southeast and beyond to teach Israeli Folk Dance workshops for adults and children, and attends many dance workshops in the US and Israel.  Ruthy hosts the Karmiel USA  workshop at The Mountain in Highlands, NC on Labor Day weekend.  She was the assistant course coordinator for the annual Karmiel Summer Course for foreign teachers and dancers for 16 years.  She was on the Fred Berk Blue Star staff from 1990 until its last summer of 1998. She is cheerful and friendly, and her enthusiasm for dancing can be dangerously contagious.

Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor has been doing international folk dancing for 44 years and has been the dance leader for the Oak Ridge Folk Dancers for over 35 years.  Paul enjoys gardening, hiking and traveling and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Debbie Bateman

Debbie has led the dance ministry at Hope of Israel Messianic Congregation for over twenty years. She loves crafting new choreography and incorporating the language of Israeli dance into the art of worship.