Special guest stars with Goddess of Arno  

Patsy Gregory  - our fabulous dance teacher and dance leader, discovered the fascinating rhythms and tricky footwork of Balkan dancing as a teenager when she was active in her hometown international folk dance club in the late 1950's. Since that time, she has participated in recreational and exhibition Balkan dancing as a dancer, teacher and choreographer in Utah, Florida and New Mexico. In recent years, Patsy has concentrated on promoting Balkan dance in its more natural setting: THE DANCE PARTY WITH LIVE MUSIC. She had been attending Balkan-American ethnic music and dance events, both public and private, and found dancing to live music to be infinately more satisfying than executing choreographed dances to recordings. Feeling that dancing is the natural way to appreciate traditional dance music, she has developed methods of teaching basic dances quickly in party settings to allow both ethnics and non-ethnics to enjoy Balkan music to its fullest. European and American Balkan ethnics alike often comment that Patsy "dances like our best."



Joey Friedman  - clarinet and alto sax, has been playing the clarinet and the alto sax in Los Lunas school concert, jazz and marching bands, and The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezband for over six years. He reguraly attends the East European Folklife Center's (EEFC) Balkan music and dance camps in Mendocino, California, where he plays in the Balkan brass band under the direction of Michael Ginsburg (of 'Zlatne Uste') and has studied clarinet with vituosos Goce Dimovski, Lefteris Bournias and George Chittendon (of 'Ziyia' and 'Edessa'). Joe has also studied Klezmer clarinet with the virtuoso Klezmer clarinetist Margot Leverett at Klezmerquerque 2004 and 2005.



Jamie Edmunds ("Dzemo")  - guest solo vocals and alto sax, has been playing the alto sax in ABQ school bands and The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezband for over five years. She sings in the select Women's Choir at PAPA (Public Academy for the Performing Arts) and is a former member of Svirka women's Balkan chorus. Jamie has attended EEFC's Balkan music and dance camps where she played with Joey in the Balkan Brass band, studied alto sax with George Chittendon, and has studied Bulgarian singing with Kremena Stancheva and Tsvetanka Varimezova. She has also studied privately with Bulgarian singers Daniela Ivanova and Radostina Kineva. In the summer of 2004, Jamie and her mom attended the Amala School of Rromani music, dance and language in Valjevo, Serbia. This summer (2005) she will be spend a month in Serbia working for The Amala School.



Vinka Cook  is our dear friend who is of Chilean-Rom decent. She is a teacher in ABQ and often performs with Goddess of Arno as a guest solo singer. Vinka often helps us with translations and the pronounciation of Romani words.  Keep a lookout for a new CD of Vinka's songs accompanied by Goddess of Arno.