President, John Guay - I worked 25 years as a service tech in the foodservice industry. I've enjoyed contra dancing for 30 years but could not commit to helping out.  Early retirement has given me the time to work with the DFO. Naturally I met my wife at a contra dance. While my wife and I dance less now, we play a lot more music.  She plays piano and I play the hammered dulcimer.  We jam a lot around Saratoga at the Parting Glass Celtic Sessions, farmers markets and the occasional contra or barn dance.  We do dress up and play for revolutionary war enactments.  Since my family roots are in Quebec (both English and French), we attend festivals and dances up there five or six times a year. The Quebecois tunes really appeal to us, so we've helped create more interest in them locally.

Treasurer:

Rich Pisarri - My first dance experience, Zydeco, was seven years ago at a DanceFlurry sponsored event.  Since then I've enjoyed Swing, Contra, Tango, and Cajun. I love the DanceFlurry organization for the wide variety of  dancing and live music it sponsors.

 I began volunteering as a member of the Flurry Festival cash crew and now look forward to serving the organization as Treasurer. Professionally, I have been an auditor for 32 years.

Josh Snitkoff

Secretary: Kate Sanger

Melanie Axel Lute

Patricia Stevens

Mark Berman

Lauren KeeleyMember at Large has been swing dancing for 3 years primariliy focusing on the lindy hop, charleston, and blues. She is also vey involved in performing swing and was a member of a swing team in the mid-west and teach choreographies to the RPI Swing Club. She and her husband Walter hope to continue to promote and teach the lindy hop, blues and popular swing choreographies in the Capital District. Lauren's collaborations with the DFO began recently as a private instructor and organizer of the Albany Lindy & Blues Exchange and she hopes to continue to partner with their great organization in the future. See www.walterlauren.com for more information.

Terry Kinal

Member at Large - I have been a college teacher for 45 years. My wife and I started contra dancing ten years ago, and now also do English country and some swing. We attend many festivals as well as local dances. My interest in introducing traditional dancing to a wider community prompted me to serve on the DFO board. Besides dancing, I enjoy bicycling, hiking and solving puzzles. 

Laura Perrault

Member at Large -Dancing saved my sanity.  I discovered contra dancing after leaving a long-term relationship. It was comforting to be touched by inspiring music, physical rhythm & movement and human touch and laughter. There are so many great musicians, dancing styles and music festivals to enjoy. I'm enjoying giving back some time and energy to the Flurry Festival and DanceFlurry Org.  I'm now Director of the Adirondack Dance Weekend in Sept.on Lake George. In my other life, I'm a Registered Nurse and teach nursing in Albany. I was raised on Long Island but loved to hike, kayak, ski and enjoy nature upstate so it was easy moving here in 1980. We have a small pack of beagles, canoes and kayaks at our house.

Gabriel Holmes

Member at Large -  If you had told me seven years ago that I would ever make a halfway decent dancer, I wouldn't have believed you. It's a great honor to be part the DanceFlurry Organization, which pulls together so many kinds of types of dance, and in so doing helps build a stronger dance community and promotes cross fertilization between various types of dancing: swing, contra, ballroom, international folk dancing, you name it. My own preferences lie with contra as well as modern western square dancing (just made it through "plus"). Through all of life's up and downs, I hope that I'll always be able to come back to dancing. See you all on the dance floor!

Janice Joyce (Second Vice President) - I work with the First Friday Swing dance committee and volunteer at the Flurry Festival. I have attended the Flurry for years, and contra dances. I served on the board for 3-4 years at Stillpoint Interfaith Retreat Center and served as president of the board for one year. I have been on various committees with the American Marketing Assoc and the Ad Club to plan specific events and currently serve as a member of the Communications Committee for the Women’s Fund of the Capital Region, an offshoot of the Community Foundation and United Way. In addition, I have been a member of various professional organizations such as the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America). Dancing has so many wonderful attributes: it’s a form of expression, great exercise, good clean fun, safe way to meet new people, etc. I would like to explore ways to bring in new members and promote the DFO. One of the benefits of attending the Flurry Festival has been the opportunity to explore all kinds of dancing, from folk to belly to English Country to Dances of Universal Peace.

 Paul Rosenberg,

DanceFlurry Board Emeritus - I have been leading dances throughout the northeastern United States since 1986. In recent years, I have been one of the busiest callers in North America, working over 200 dance engagements a year. I am known for my gentle but energetic, encouraging style, concise teaching, and offbeat sense of humor. My programs consist of community dances from the Hudson Valley, United Kingdom, Appalachia, and New England, as well as international folk dances and African-American singing and playparty games. I love teaching traditional dances to children (as a visiting arts educator) in elementary schools and leading novices in community dances at festivals, community celebrations, weddings, family reunions, birthday parties, family dances, Girl Scout dances, and other gatherings. I also call contra dances and perform at numerous major festivals and events around the Northeast. I play recorder and fiddle. I founded and organized the Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY for eighteen years; Fiddlers’ Tour, a weekly fiddle tune jam session in the Albany area; and have been organizing a monthly family dance in Albany since 1994. I also founded and served on the Board of Directors of the DanceFlurry Organization.

Bill Matthiesen,

DanceFlurry Board Emeritus - Dance and music have been such life-changers for me! So I've worked on the board for many years to help keep our wonderful event going. We have a really nice group of folks on the board and creating the festival, the Adirondack weekend and all the other local dances -- it's really a good community. My "day job" is creating videos for educational, industrial, non-profit and small business clients. And we travel most weekends to play for contras, vintage dance, tangos & couples dances. Any extra time goes to publishing music books (like The Waltz Book series) and historic dance music recordings. We also really enjoy hiking, cross country skiing and traveling to foreign places.

Patti Melita,

DanceFlurry Board Emeritus - I grew up in a family of church choir and barbershop harmony singers. Although I studied classical piano and voice for several yearsMy real love proved to be traditional jazz. After singing in jazz and dance bands for a while, I took a hiatus from performing.  Paul Rosenberg, helped me rediscover my talent by clandestinely putting me on Flurry Festival program in 1990, singing with a swing band. I found myself right at home at the microphone. Since then I've been singing at festivals, swing dances and jazz clubs throughout upstate New York and New England. I was a long-time co-director of the Flurry Festival and, with Teresa Broadwell, coordinated the DanceFlurry Organization's monthly swing dance events for 16 years. I am also an official dance consultant for the annual Falcon Ridge Festival in Hillsdale, N.Y.  With producer Peter Ecklund, I recorded "Swing It!", a collection of vintage tunes arranged for the most discriminating dancers and listeners. Presently can be seen performing in various venues with Peg Delaney on keyboard and Linda Brown on bass, a group known as The Gals Who Play Jazz.

Jen Brown DanceFlurry Board Emeritus - I like Lindy hop, Blues, East Coast Swing, Contra, and Salsa dancing. I joined the board in 2005 and served as president from 2010-2013. Other roles included 2 years as Treasurer, a finance committee member, and a seat on a variety of other committees. I also volunteered for the monthly swing dance and still volunteer with the annual Flurry Festival. Working with the DFO has always been rewarding, helping to bring great music and dance to the region with dedicated volunteers and talented musicians and teachers.