is highly regarded for her creative and rich piano accompaniment for English, American and Scottish dance. Her most recent appearance at a BACDS camp was with Barley Moon (along with Daron Douglas) at Fall Weekend in 2003; she also plays with Earl Gaddis in Woodlark, and has recorded an excellent solo piano tape. Here is Karen's listing on the Dance Gypsy.

is a well-respected teacher and dancer of border, molly and South Midlands (often mis-called Cotswold) ritual dance. An English expatriate, Graham is squire of the Vancouver Morris Men, whose excellent dancing and superior performance values have made them standouts at morris ales and folk festivals.

is a rabid, irrepressible mandolin, banjo and guitar player, known to dancers across the country for his fine musicianship and philosophy of Stuntology. He's played with Uncle Gizmo, Reckless Ramblers, and other fine bands, and been a favorite at BACDS camps since 1990. To find out more, see Sam's website

Kevin Carr's (OR) powerful fiddling forms the backbone of the Hillbillies from Mars French Canadian and Irish repertoire. Kevin plays a killer bagpipe, tells stories, and sings as well. His Celtic music background makes him a strong part of Wake the Dead, and you may have heard him as part of QuebecQuasi as well. More info at Kevin's music website

"But I *am* dancing! It's just that my partner is electronic and has a lot of knobs!" is how Nick responds when asked why he's listening to music instead of dancing. Highly regarded by dancers, callers, and musicians for the attention that he pays to the needs of those on and off the stage, Nick is the house sound engineer for the San Francisco, Berkeley, and Sonoma contra dances and the Berkeley experienced English dance. Taking equal joy in producing contra, English, and other folk and couple dance music of the highest quality, Nick's credits as lead or assistant sound engineer include numerous BACDS events and camps (English Week, Fall Weekend, Fall Ball, Sierra Swing, and local tours by The Flying Romanos, Pete Grassby, and Four in a Bar), the first two NBCDS Mad Robin English balls, the San Francisco Free Folk Festival, and the Fairfield (IA) Folk Arts and Dance Co-op's annual Bare Necessities dance weekends.

Daron Douglas plays English country dance and contra dance fiddle with a background of a traditional Appalachian upbringing. She thanks her grandmother for the gift of her ballads and gardening preoccupation. She has played with the Knoxville Early Music Project, the Hominy Mamas and the contra dance band Misbehavin'. Daron has been on the staff of CDSS dance camps and at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. She now lives and plays music in New Orleans. She was at Fall Weekend as part of Barley Moon in 2003, and at Mendocino English Week this year. We're glad to have Daron back at camp.

is a full-time dance musician, having played fiddle and viola for a mixture of English, Scottish, American, international and couple dancing for nearly 40 years. A founding member of Bare Necessities, he's also heard on many other recordings, including Mary Lea's "Cascade of Tears". Earl was a very popular member of the BACDS English Week staff this year; his presence enhances any camp. Earl's website

of Virginia has called New England, old-time, traditional western and modern western dancing for over 20 years and has published numerous books of his squares and contras (the "Dance All Night" series). He's recognized as a master choreographer, and it's a treat to finally have him at a BACDS dance camp.

for the past decade has been pursuing her passion for American popular songs of the '30s and '40s with the vocal trio Cats and Jammers. She also plays Irish trad music and is part of "Wake the Dead". For more information, see Sylvia's website. Sylvia has been a popular song leader at earlier Fall Weekends, and brings a different repertoire to camp.

is known for her tone, expressiveness, and general butt-kicking on the violin and viola, playing in such bands as Bare Necessities and Yankee Ingenuity. She's run dance musician's courses at Pinewoods, in one year played and taught at both Sierra Swing and Mendocino English Week, and appears on well over a dozen recordings. In addition to extremely fine English and contra music, Mary is known for playing expressive and emotional tango waltzes. Her other bands include BLT, MGM, and Cafe Paradiso, and her vintage/couple dance recordings, Cascade of Tears and Gypsy Wine, have been very well-received. See Mary's web page for more info.

is very active in the world of traditional dance music (Contra, English, and vintage dances) as a mandolinist, banjoist, and musette player (French button accordion) and a teacher. He also specialises in accompanying hammered dulcimer players on guitar, and has worked and recorded extensively with such players as his wife Karen Ashbrook (CD Celtic Café), Steve Schneider (CD Momentum), Nick Blanton, and occasionally Maggie Sansone, Jody Marshall, and Ken Kolodner. Paul also performs with the Irish band Ceoltoiri, with the mostly French Ensemble Tympanon, and conducts and arranges music for the dulcimer ensemble Carillon. With Daron Douglas and Dave Wiesler he's part of Goldcrest, a very popular English and contradance band. More info on Paul at this link.

Joseph's calling of English country dance, contras and squares combines cool dances, clear teaching, youthful perspective and respect for tradition. A frequent caller at dance weekends and camps, Joseph will lead contra dancing on Ken McFarland's Egyptian tour next year. He's active in both the gendered and gender-free contra movements. A contra dance choreographer, his dance "Oh, Geez!" (in "indecent" formation) is well-known and widely danced. See Joseph's website for information.

has been an English country dance musician and teacher for over 25 years and is a founding member of Bare Necessities. With Bare Necessities she's released ten recordings; alone or in other combinations, quite a few more. Her piano appears on the soundtrack of the Ken Burns documentaries "The Civil War" and "Lewis and Clark". Jacqueline is a dance researcher - she reconstructed "Barbarini's Tambourine" - and teacher, whose infectious love for the dance and music inspire her dancers. Learn more about Jacqueline here

Larry Unger (MA) plays guitar, banjo, bass and piano among other instruments and is interested in old time and blues as well as contra dance music, and has written well over 600 tunes. His Bay Area tour earlier this year with Eden Macadam-Somer is remembered for well-attended contra dances and a delightful house concert. Larry's bands include Reckless Abandon, Uncle Gizmo, Notorious, the Reckless Ramblers, Big Table, and others. His many recordings include contra dance and couple dance music. There's more at Larry's website