Tom Roby began folkdancing as an undergraduate at Swarthmore College and has been passionately pursuing it ever since. As a teacher, Tom is especially well versed in Balkan line dances, improvisational Hungarian dances, and English & American set dances, which he calls regularly. He also has a keen interest in other couple dances, both choreographed and led/followed, e.g., waltz, zwiefache, Scandinavian, and Lindy.
He has taught at the New England Folk Festival ("NEFFA"), the Arcata Folkdance Festival, Ashkenaz (Berkeley), and in various local groups around the country. He frequently partners with Marjorie Nugent for teaching Hungarian and Balkan dances. He has called English dances with Bare Necessities in Dartington Hall (Devonshire) and the Assembly Hall in Bath, England. He was the Dancing Master for the 2004 BACDS Playford Ball and the English caller for the BACDS Spring Weekend in Monte Toyon.
Tom's teaching style is clear, lively, and fun. He gets people moving to music as quickly as possible and communicates styling points efficiently. Beginners and advanced dancers alike enjoy Tom's infectious enthusiasm and relaxed attitude. His sense of humor and quick wit speak for themselves.
Tom was an active leader and teacher in the MIT Folk Dance Club from 1986-1991, where he learned many dances that are rarely done anymore. During a two-year postdoc in Japan, Tom danced regularly with the Tokyo Scottish Blue Bell Club and the Balkan group "Xoros". He also attended workshops with Tom Bozigian, Joe Graziosi, Atanas Kolarovski, Yves Moreau, and others, where they taught at about three times the pace of a typical North American workshop. He then taught folkdancing for PE credit at Reed College (1993-95), and to local groups in Madison, WI (1995-97). Since moving to the Bay Area, Tom has taught Balkan dancing at Ashkenaz, the Albany YMCA, the Stanford International Folkdancers, and the Berkeley Folk Dancers weekend at Monte Toyon (assisting Neal Sandler). He has also taught Hungarian dancing at Ashkenaz, and called contras and English dances for groups from Sacramento to Monterey.
Here are links to
Here are links to some useful folkdance resources.
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