|
Dennis Boxell was born in 1940 and grew up in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He was first introduced to the music and dance of the
South Slavs at the age of fifteen. He learned the dances of the
Croatian and Serbian immigrants with the encouragement of Lillian
Kurkowsky of the St. Paul International Institute. While in
Minneapolis, Dennis met
Dick Crum,
noted Balkan folklore researcher, who was then the choreographer of
the
Duquesne
University Tamburitzans, and who inspired Dennis to begin
to develop a professional interest in Balkan dance. His first love
was Balkan dance, and after being exposed to it, he lived in
Yugoslav communities in and around St. Paul, Minnesota, absorbing
their songs and dances and learning about their foods and folklore.
In
1960 and 1961, he was in Europe acting as an interpreter of the
Czech language for the United States Army Security Agency. In 1960,
while on leave in West Germany, he traveled with the National
Ensemble of Yugoslavia “Kolo iz Beograda." The group tour
director, Desa Djordjevic, gave him a private tutor who worked with
him every day on the dances he wanted to learn and bring back to the
United States. This provided an excellent way of observing the
dancing the correct styling of Serbian dances.
In
London, England, he understudied with a Bulgarian dance group
and added a wealth of original Bulgarian material. There, he
studied with Phillip Thornton's Yugoslav Dance Club and Danny
Lumbley's Bulgarian Dance Group. In London he learned his
"original five dances" that were to launch him on his teaching
career. Those dances, familiar to folk dancers in the United States
are
Bavno Oro,
Belo Lence (Vranjanka), Ravno Oro, Sitno Žensko, and
Tresenica.
Dennis has been living in the world of dance, music, and folklore
ever since.
In
1961, Dennis formed a performing group in South St. Paul, Minnesota.
The members of the group were the children of Slavic immigrants,
mostly Serbians. He finished his freshman year at the University of
Minnesota. He traveled West to study Slavic languages at the
University of California in Berkeley (UCB). Enroute to California,
at the annual folk dance festival in the small town of Richland,
Washington (the hometown of
Dick Oakes),
Dennis was "discovered" by
John Filcich,
creator of the San Francisco
Kolo Festival
and owner of the largest Balkan folk dance record and music store in
the United States. John brought Dennis to the Kolo Festival in
November, 1962, where, to great acclaim, Dennis presented his
"original five dances."
His
success at the Kolo Festival brought him to the attention of the
Stockton Folk
Dance Camp, where he taught each of the next five years.
His popularity led him to be the first Balkan dance teacher to teach
an extended national tour, on which he taught not only his "original
five dances," but also Šopsko Horo.
In
1963, Dennis
traveled to the Balkans for more exposure to the arts and
culture which have fascinated him for so many years. He visited and
studied with eminent folklorists such as such as Kiril Dženev and
Raina Katsarova of Bulgaria; Ivan lvancan of Croatia; Nana Stefanaki
of Lykeion Athens in Greece; Pece Atanasovski and Vasil Hadjimanov
of Macedonia; and Milica Illijin and Dobrivoje Putnik of Serbia.
Since 1963, Dennis has made many trips to remote
areas of the Balkans, including the villages of Zvan, Gorno Orizari,
Dracevo, the plateau of Mariovo, and the Resen area in Yugoslav
Macedonia; The villages of Petrovo, Opan, Gorno Oriahovo in Thrace;
Dragoevo, Gigen in North Bulgaria; Luzani, Dalj, Njemci, Gundinci in
Slavonia; Pinosava, Mrcajevci, Neresnica and Vuckovica in Serbia;
And in Greece, Agia Varvara on Crete. Promahi and Orma near Edessa,
and the village of Bouf in the Florina area, Naoussa, Meliki,
Goumenissa, and Vamvakofyto in Greek Macedonia. From these research
trips, he produced in 1965 seven LP albums and 42 single 45’s and
since 1998 over 30 CDs and cassettes. Many of these recordings have
become standards in schools, clubs and colleges throughout the
world.
Dennis
founded and was artistic director of the acclaimed Koleda, perhaps
the best traditional Balkan music and dance ensemble ever formed in
this country and which numbers among its alumni Alex Eppler, Mark
Morris, Marcus Holt Moskoff, Yves Moreau, Mary Sherheart, Jonathan
Frye and Don LaCourse. Since 1985, his award winning ensemble, “Akrites”,
a Seattle based group, has won praise from critics and audiences
alike for their stunning and exciting presentation of authentic
Greek folk dance. His group, the “Ionians”, based in Anaheim,
California, won the coveted “Sweepstakes’ award in competition
against sixty other Greek performing groups from the West Coast.
He has been resident choreographer for the Vela Luka
Ensemble of Anacortes, Washington and guest choreographer for Radost
and Ostali Muzikasi in Seattle, Brigham Young Dancers in Provo,
Utah, Ethnic Dance Theater in Minneapolis, Aman of Los Angeles and
the Croatian group, Zrinski Frankopan of Chicago. In 1972, he
choreographed “Faust” for the Seattle Opera. He has toured the
United States and Canada many times, teaching Balkan dance at
literally hundreds of colleges and community groups.
Acting as an impresario, he has introduced to
the nation such popular teachers as Atanas Kolarovski, Yves Moreau,
Jaap Leegwater and Slobodan Slovic.
From 1991
to 1999, Dennis was the Choreographer for St. George’s Morava
in San Diego. From 1997 to 2001, Dennis was Artistic
Director of Sokoli at St. Steven’s Serbian Orthodox Cathedral
in Alhambra (Los Angeles), and had over 75 students of all ages in
his dance classes. In the early 1990’s, Dennis also worked with St.
Petka’s Avala in San Marcos and Srpska Kruna at Christ
the Savior in Arcadia (Los Angeles).
From 2001 to 2006 Dennis
was Cultural and Dance Director at the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary Serbian Orthodox Church in Fair Oaks (Sacramentoarea),
California.
He currently lives in Buffalo, Minnesota where he remains active as a
Balkan dance and music researcher. Frequently asked to
provide original material for other dance companies, he finds time
to tutor choreographers of Balkan dance materials throughout the
South Slavic community in the U.S.
In 2007 and 2008 he
has introduced a number of new Balkan Dance CDs and DVDs as part of
his recent renewed efforts to rekindle enthusiasm for the basic
village dances of the Balkan countries.
Some of the most popular
dances and dance music introduced by Dennis are: Setnja (music
only), Savila Se Bela Loza, Djurdjevica, Pinosavka, U Sest, Bavno
Oro, Jove Male Mome, Kamenopolsko, Shopsko Horo, Bucimis, Sheikhani,
Ravno Oro, Pushteno (Leventikos). Stankino, Trite Pata, Ovcepolsko,
Zita, Drhtavac, Nebesko, Stara Vlaina, Ajde Lepa Maro, Sitno Zensko,
Tresenica, Tik, Bogdanos, Podaraki, Povoz, Iz Banju Ide and many
more.
back to top of the page
|
