Joe began his formal pursuit of the study, documentation, and propagation of traditional Greek dance during a semester-abroad program in Athens where he worked with noted folklorist Ted Petrides (1975). Concurrent with his research in 1978 and 1980, he directed the Meraklides Folk Dance Troupe. In 1982, under the sponsorship of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ethnic Folk Arts Center, he directed the Greek Music Tour. He was also principal editor and author of an accompanying booklet on Greek music, dance and instrumentation.
From 1983 to 1989, Joe was co-founder and instructor and dancer for the Greek-American Folklore Society in Astoria, NY. Since 1984, he has taught traditional folk and urban dances of the Greek peoples for various organizations throughout the United States and Canada, including major dance camps, weekend seminars, and retreats for both professional and amateur dance troupes as well as social clubs, community and church groups, and folk dance organizations all over the United States.
In 1990, Joe was invited to teach Greek dance in Japan and Taiwan,
returning
in 1992. Joe was also a guest lecturer on Greek dance and music for the
ethnomusicology departments of the Universities of California Los
Angeles
and Santa Barbara (UCLA and UCSB). Since 1985, he has served as
advisor
and judge for the annual Folk Dance Festival (FDF) held under the
auspices
of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of the Western States.
Joe is co-founder and co-director of the annual World Music & Dance Camp at Cape Cod, Massachussetts.
Borrowed and edited from Bio on Phantom Ranch web site
Penny Brichta is a well known Israeli Folk Dance teacher in the
Chicago
area, welcomed with enthusiasm and affection at regional festivals such
as Door County and the Folk Ball. She has studied both in Israel
and the US, participating in numerous workshops with leading Israeli
dance
choreographers.
She is a former dancer, leader and occasional choreographer of the
Nitzanim Israeli Dance Troupe.
Penny teaches at the Northwestern University Israeli Dance session,
the most popular Israeli folk dance group in the Chicago area.
When not dancing, Penny works in Human Resources and hangs out with
husband Robert and daughter Gina.