Dayton, Ohio

1996 Honor Dancer Charles Castellano

Charles Castellano began taking dance lessons at the Kettering Night School in 1965. In 1971 he joined the Miami Valley Folk Dancers, and has, since that time, been a most loyal and valued member. In 1975 he joined the University of Cincinnati Folk Dancers. He presently dances with the Cincinnati Folk Dancers. Besides folk dancing, Charlie enjoys both square dancing and round dancing. He was a member of the Open Squares and Silver Squares square dance groups in Miamisburg, and has danced with the Miami Valley Round Dancers. Currently he dances with the Dayton Square Dance Club, the Date'N'8's, and the Washington 2x4's.

Beyond the boundaries of the Miami Valley, he has attended the Pittsburgh Folk Dance Camp and, for many years, the Oglebay Camp in West Virginia. For 15 years he annually attended KDI, the Kentucky Dance Institute.

Within the Miami Valley Folk Dance group he is probably best known for his contributions to the Scottish Country Dance repertoire. He has taught and reviewed such group favorites as The Bees of Maggieknockater, Let's Have a Ceiligh, Postie's Jig, Ayrd of Coigah, and Double Slxsome. He is well versed in the Scottish tradition. Since 1975, he has danced with the Cincinnati group of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, and has attended many Scottish Country Dance workshops in both Cleveland and Canada. During the early eighties he joined, and danced with, the Dayton Scottish Country Dancers.

In addition to Scottish Country Dances, he has taught Irish (Sweets of May) and Polish dances (Cyt Cyt), and has helped to promote an international collection of line dances. He enjoys seeing dances properly done and often finds, and shares with members of the group, directions for dances that he finds of interest. Several times he represented the Miami Valley Folk Dancers by teaching dances at the TriCity workshop, an annual event which brings together folk dancers from Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati.

In addition to helping with the dance repertoire, he often quietly attends to details that help the group function smoothly. For years he made the coffee and participated in the annual task of cleaning the pavilion. More recently, he spent an afternoon last fall rearranging the storage closet so that the boxes of dance directions were more accessible. And almost everyone has noticed that he still straightens the chairs on Thursday evening before leaving the pavilion.

For twenty five years of active participation in the activities of the Miami Valley Folk Dancers, for his many contributions to the dance repertoire, and for setting a fine example for all members of the group, the Miami Valley Folk Dancers are proud to recognize Charles Castellano as the MVFD 1996 Honor Roll nominee.

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