DanceFlurry Organization Board members are residents of Albany, Columbia, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, and Washington Counties. They represent participants of all the types of dances sponsored by the DFO, and several are also musicians.
We invite you to help further the goals and objectives of the DFO by volunteering with a committee. For information on committees and current projects, contact us at info@danceflurry.org.
President, Kevin Musick (he/him) Chair, Outreach Committee, Albany Contra Dance organizer. I am an avid contra dancer, occasional swing dancer, and member of the Albany Contra Dance organizing committee. I have been attending the Flurry Festival since at least 2016, and dance at a number of events in the northeast. I joined the DFO Board for the first time in 2020 and have served as chair of the outreach committee, the Program Support Committee, and task forces for bylaw revisions and strategic planning. I have also become involved in helping with sound at a number of dances I attend from the Hudson Valley to western MA. I enjoy being able to contribute to this organization and to the great dance community that it serves. In my day job I work full-time as an electron microscopist, specializing in TEM and STEM based analysis.
First Vice President, Amanda Stickney Chair, Diversity Policy Work Group. I grew up learning clarinet and going to the school dances and found the local dance scene in 2010. Since then, I’ve been a committed swing, blues, contra, and Latin dancer, and learned new types of dancing while attending several Flurry festivals. I work in the museum field and have been involved with many public disability forums. Since being on the DFO board, I have helped to compose a new Diversity Policy and worked with the Community Culture Committee to establish ways for people to get more information about events and to find help with transportation. I am looking forward to seeing what might be possible with the DFO and bringing dancing to existing and new audiences.
Second Vice President, Andrea Ferster I have practiced law in Washington, DC for 32 years, focusing on advising and representing nonprofit organizations on a variety of issues, and have also served on and held leadership positions in a number of DC-based organizations and with the DC Bar (www.andreafersterlaw.com). In 2022, I became licensed to practice law in New York State, which is now my primary residence. As a regular attendee at various DFO dances, including the Flurry Festival since 2014, I benefit from DFO’s events and would like to support DFO in any way that I can be helpful, including by continuing to provide pro bono legal assistance to DFO. I am also interested in supporting DFO’s efforts to have a more diverse and inclusive dance community.
Treasurer, Noel Kropf (he/him) Chair, Finance/Audit Committee. My family and I are avid dancers, singers, and musicians. The Flurry Festival is just about nirvana for us. I have been gratified over the past three years to help DFO and the Flurry community come back from the pandemic stronger than ever. I help organize and produce the Zlatne Uste Golden Festival of Balkan music & dance. I volunteer as sound engineer and talent booker for the Poughkeepsie Contra Dance (HVCD). Previously I worked as a software developer and CTO at Datacap Inc. and IBM, and volunteered as treasurer of Lake Celeste Association, Inc.
Secretary, Marie Bruschi I have been active as a dancer and volunteer in the area for decades, beginning with the the Eighth Step dances, when I was on the board for several years in the 70’s including one year as Chair (when we worked with First Pres Church after the fire to rebuild and improve that original basement space). My husband Ron Bruschi and I recently completed 12 years of organizing the DFO’s Cajun and Zydeco dance series, and have taught Cajun, Zydeco & Irish Sets at past Flurry Festivals. We currently teach Irish Sets and Cajun dance for a variety of organizations. I was inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Hall of Fame in 2019 for promoting and keeping Irish Set Dance alive in this region. I try to understand how & why people learn to dance, develop confidence and get hooked and am dedicated to preserving traditional dances to live music with experienced instructors.
Peter Himmelman I began contra dancing as a teenager in the Utica area and attended dances in Syracuse and Cooperstown before becoming a participant and a tech and sound crew volunteer at festivals such as the Flurry, Adirondack Dance Weekend, and NEFFA. I have also been involved with Burning Man for a number of years. I work for a firm that constructs costuming, puppets and commercial and convention displays, and am also enrolled in courses and teacheEnglish as a Second Language. I particularly enjoy seeing young dancers at events and ams interested in supporting social dancing and working to ensure the future of community-based dance events. In addition to contributing my experience with working on a number of events, I may be able to help with the DFO’s social media objectives.
Jordan Knicely (he/him) I joined the board in 2021, after first attending the Flurry in 2016 and volunteering in 2019. On the board, I have been serving on the Media and Nominating Committees. My primary community is blues and swing, but I love the variety that the DFO offers—from the pub sing to contra and the fiddle classes.
Andrea Nieves I am a contra and swing dancer who also plays the fiddle, and joined the board after serving as a Dance Ambassador for the Albany Contra Dance series. I am working on restructuring of the Outreach and Media committees and expanding our Outreach efforts.
Kate Parr. Contra dance is a “passion” of mine, and I have attended a variety of dance events in the northeast and Canada. This includes the Festival where I have also volunteered on the Lost and Found Committee. I try to volunteer wherever I can with groups that support the community, and have been involved with The Dandelion Romp (Oberlin College’s annual contra dance and folk music festival), the Cleveland Butterfly Twirl contra dance weekend, and helping to organize other local dances. I have observed the challenges and characteristics of various dance and music events led by independent organizers in my region and believes there are advantages to a regional collaborative approach like the DFO. I am interested in learning more about how the DFO operates, while at the same time providing a larger view of contra dancing outside the Capital Region and contributing my skills as an organizer and accountant to events and financial management.
Ray Qin (they/them) began dancing in college and is a “Jack of all trades” when it comes to dancing. I love the variety of the Flurry Festival, thoroughly enjoy trying all different kinds of dance, and observe that each style has a format based on competition and a format based on community. I am interested in people talking about their own culture in terms of dance language, the history and background of dance types, and learning a different perspective on a culture via dance. I recently graduated with a degree in computer science and am currently working in the field of biomedical research. Potential areas of board involvement include helping with website/app development, computer work in general, outreach, and fundraising. I love the community building aspect of social/traditional dancing, and in helping people to understand each other better through the language of dance.
Anne Seeley Though I have always enjoyed dancing, I found “a certain magic” in contra dancing and the Flurry Festival. After relocating to the Capital District, I decided that the DFO was the natural place for me to give back to the dance community. Since joining the board in 2023, I have been involved with revising the By-laws, developing a Diversity Policy, and chairing the Nominations Committee. I really enjoy sampling the various Capital area dance programs that DFO is involved with, e.g.,: Contra, English Country, Cajun/Zydeco, and International/Folk. Newly-retired from a career in environmental protection and public health, I now have some time to devote to other interests and activities, and I hope to continue contributing my experience and skills to help support — and hopefully to help grow — the traditional dance community..
Emeritus Members
Paul Rosenberg, Founder, DanceFlurry Organization From the late 1980’s to early 2000’s, I organized a few contra dance series. In 1988, I founded and organized the Flurry Festival (until 2005); I have been organizing a monthly family dance since 1994, and organize two community dance series which began in 2010. I also founded and served on the Board of Directors of the DanceFlurry Organization.
I have been leading dances throughout the northeastern United States since 1986. In recent years, I have shifted from being a contra caller to a family and community dance caller.
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 play recorder and sort of play fiddle.
Patti Melita, Founder, DanceFlurry Organization I grew up in a family of church choir and barbershop harmony singers. Although I studied classical piano and voice for several years, my 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 Dance Flurry 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. In 1996, with producer and arranger Peter Ecklund, world-renown coronet player, I recorded “Swing It!” a collection of vintage tunes arranged for the most discriminating dancers and listeners.
At swing dances around the northeast I have been the leader of Patti-O and the Hip Hooligans (5 instruments and my vocals) and have been seen performing in various venues with Peg Delaney on keyboard and Linda Brown on bass, a group known as The Gals Who Play Jazz, sometimes joined by a sax and drums. I also do club dates with various accompanists. During 2019 I have made a new, soon-to-be-released recording with Peg Delaney as producer and arranger.
For several years I have been on the board of the Swingtime Jazz Society, an organization that presents concerts each year featuring local jazz musicians. I have also been on the board of A Place For Jazz, an organization that presents concerts each Fall, featuring internationally known jazz artists, and for several years have been on the board of the Albany Musicians’ Union, Local 14 AFM, and was the President of the New York State Conference of Musicians for several years (a subsidiary of AFM). I am still a member of both the Albany and Schenectady Union Locals.
Jen Brown, Past President 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.
Will Anderson, Past President I was elected to the board in 2019; elected as Vice President in 2020, and served as President in 2023. I am involved with the Swing and Blues dances with the region and occasionally teach at those events. After the shortfall of the 2023 Flurry Festival, I helped to establish the Fundraising Committee and worked with other committee members to raise over $130,000. I believe that new members are the lifeblood of any organization, and that dance provides a fun and structured social activity that has an incredibly positive impact on all people of all ages.
John Guay, Past President. I’ve enjoyed contra dancing for almost 40 years and 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. 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.
Bill Matthiesen, Past President Dance and music have been such life-changers for me! So I’ve worked o
n 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 been really a good community. My “day job” was creating videos for educational, industrial, non-profit and small business clients. As a member of the Spare Parts band, I 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.
Shira Love (she/her), Past President I’ve been contra dancing since I was 15, and learned about the DFO through attending the Family Dance when my kids were little. We now go to contras together, and I play fiddle with the Megaband. I joined the Board in 2016, and after leading a 2019 publicity initiative served as president from 2020-2023. Throughout the pandemic shutdown and our return to dancing, I worked on reengaging the board’s committees, clarifying governance, operational, and pandemic-related policies, supporting the Board’s work around inclusivity and community culture, and getting our events up and running again. In 2023, I moved over to Flurry Festival planning as the festival’s Administrative Manager.