This was the first picture I took, thinking that the night setting on my camera might work well as I was sitting in the back of the arena in the dark. It made the dancers a blur, so I switched to the action shot setting with much better results. It does give you a good idea that dance is about motion, and how difficult it is to capture it in a single frame.
The Mid-East Dancers. Yes, they were belly-dancing. ;-)
The Russians.
The Bulgarians (from the back).
The Bulgarians (from the front).
The Pomeranians. They are clapping with their shoes on their hands. And yes, they are dancing in front a huge American flag. This is what being an American means to me, where all these cultures come together.
The Thai.
The African-Americans. These are definitely action shots! These girls can move!
The African-Americans (again).
The Serbians.
The Serbians.
The Irish.
The Ukranians are always a huge crowd-pleaser. You never seen any old guys doing this dance!
The Ukranians!
The Ukranians.
The Poles (from Krakow). The beauty of folk-dancing is that you don't have to be some skinny little bean pole. Big girls can do it too! Anyone who is interested can be part of it!
Latvians (These could be Lithuanian, too. I always get them mixed up. My apologies if I've labled it wrong.)
I am in awe of these costumes. The skirts are woven beauties!
The Poles (Syrena)
Another action shot of these whirling skirts and flying colors!
The Croatians.
Croatian Dancer from the back.
Croatian Dancers. At the Serbian stand, CL saw and heard a Croatian lady talking with a Serbian. It just brings tears to my eyes -- they would be fighting each other, hating each other in the old country. Here in Milwaukee, WI (of all places!), they are both "Balkans." They laugh together, eat together, and dance together.
The Italians. This is another wonderful "happy" dance that brings tears to my eyes.
Action shot of the Italians banging their tambourines.
The Greeks. Note the handkerchiefs.
The Bavarians. I have to say, I consider this dance cruel and unusual for the ladies. They have to spin and spin and spin in one place while the men are off doing manly knee-slapping and clapping. Then they dance together for a while, then it's back to the spinning and spinning.
The Scotts - of course they are one of my favorites! There is no such thing as a quite bag pipe!
Action shot of Scottish kilts flying high.
Schnitzl from Bavaria. (Aka pork loin sandwich, good with mustard and a pickle.)
Rakviki (little coffins) from the Czech Pastry Stand. First stop at the Folk Fair!
Thank you to Mr. Cramer (my high school Latin teacher) for taking so many language classes down to the folk fair through the years. I was in 9th grade when I first went to this window on the world, and I've loved it ever since! Where else but New York City can you see so many people together and celebrating their cultures?
