Westwind International Folk Ensemble performing at World Dance

Westwind International Folk

Westwind International Folk Ensemble fosters appreciation for the rich legacy of ethnic arts from around the world and within our own multicultural society. By educating and entertaining diverse audiences through dance, music, song, and story, we convey the essential spirit of the cultures portrayed and enhance understanding of the human family.

Bulgaria

  • Women's Cetvorno

    This Cetvorno is from the Sop region of Western Bulgaria where the virtuosity of the women dancers is highlighted by quick, intricate steps to a complex rhythm. The Cetvorno suite was purchased along with the Sop costumes from Dennis Boxell.

  • КУКЛИ (Doll Dance)

    The Westwind Doll Dance was taught by Dennis Boxell. It is based on the Margarita Dikova choreography "Kukli" (dolls) as performed by the Philip Koutev Bulgarian National Folk Ensemble. A gadulka player brings to life a story danced by four dolls — two female dolls who quarrel over a Major Domo, and a shepherd doll who enters to calm them with his kaval.

  • Sop Suite

    The Westwind Sop suite was purchased along with the costumes from Dennis Boxell.

  • Thracian Suite

    The variety of rhythms and the complexity of steps and figures are characteristic of the music and dances from the Stara Zagora region of Thrace. Women's songs open the suite as families gather in the village square. The men show their power and strength dancing the Cestoto, followed by a Rucenitsa — one of the few dances that allowed men and women to dance together. Dances taught by Dick Crum. Staging by Marcus Moskoff and Allen Nixon. Musical arrangement by Marcus Moskoff.

Canada

  • French Canadian Suite

    The music of French Canada borrows heavily from Irish, Scottish, English and French traditions as well as from Native Canadians. From the Montreal and Saint Lawrence regions come a solemn Native Canadian clog dance, lively French children's game dances, a broom dance, and a waltz clog — the predecessor to the "time-step" in American tap dance. Presented to Westwind by Dennis Boxell.

Hungary

  • Hungarian Suite

    Haunting folk melodies are combined with spirited dances in a suite of women's material, collected from the Palóc and Szatmár regions of Hungary. Szatmár material choreographed by Csaba Pálfi. Palóc karikázó collected from Andor Czompo. Staged by Marianne Blackshere.

Macedonia

  • Rugovo

    The Albanian minority living in Macedonia retains many of its national customs and folk traditions, including Rugovo. This dance is a representation of a death and resurrection ritual, performed to demonstrate territorial rights. Adapted for the stage by Neal Sandler.

Mexico

  • Nayarit Fiesta

    This joyful Mestizo fiesta is from the coastal state of Nayarit. In traditional Mexican society, dances at the fiesta allow young men and women to mingle freely under the watchful eyes of their elders. Tequila drinking leads the dancers into a competition of balancing bottles and glasses on their heads. The dancing concludes with raised machetes representing the maguey plant — symbol of the revolution against the Spanish landowners. A pre-trumpet era mariachi orchestra lends a Spanish colonial flavor.

Russia

  • Russian City Quadrilles

    At the end of the 1800s, Russian gentry imported dance instructors from Western Europe to help them become more continental. Such is the inspiration for this peasant spoof on the affectations of their own nobility — familiar western dance motifs in a humorous satire.

Ukraine

  • Тернополя весілля (Wedding from Ternopil)

    "Ternopilska Vesilya" — a presentation of a courtship and wedding from the region of Ternopil, Ukraine.

USA

  • American Suite

    A rich tapestry of American folk traditions: Laments (sorrowful melodies of unrequited love), Shape Note Hymns (four-part harmonies from The Original Sacred Harp), Play Party Games (dance-games done to vocal accompaniment when dancing was frowned upon), Set Running (a form of circle dancing and antecedent of square dancing), Tall Tales, Appalachian Clogging (improvisational tapping from the mountains around Asheville, NC), and the East Texas Knockdown — an exciting medley of steps danced in friendly competition until the dancers are "knocked down". Arranged by Neal Sandler.

  • Sea Shanties (Songs and Dances of Whaling Men)

    These work songs of deep water sailors created a common rhythm to "all pull together" — sung to raise the anchor, hoist the yards, and adjust the sails. Field recordings and research on maritime song are held by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The competitive hornpipe dance featured steps imitative of hauling lines, pumping bilges and climbing rigging.

Westwind International Folk Ensemble on stage

Resources on lived cultural heritage

Archives and research bodies that document how culture is passed on in living communities.

Neal Sandler

1931–2012 · Director, teacher, mentor

Neal Sandler with Westwind International Folk Ensemble

Neal Sandler directed Westwind in the Bay Area for decades, mentoring generations of folk dancers. Read his story.