Dick Oakes

Dick Oakes grew up in Washington state, where he excelled in trampoline and diving. Dick folk danced a few times at the International Folk Dancers of Richland, his hometown, but it wasn't until several years later, while in the U.S. Navy stationed in San Diego, California, that he really got "hooked." He danced in San Diego at Cabrillo Folk Dancers with Vivian Woll and at the San Diego Folk Dancers, learning styles and teaching techniques from Louis & Nancy Denov, and did his first performing there with John Hancock's Dolina Cigany and Vyts Beliajus' Viltis Dancers.

He received a scholarship to the Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference. Later that year, he was asked to teach a Federation Workshop in Long Beach, which was the beginning of his folk dance teaching "career." He has also received the Elizabeth Sanders Scholarship, the Gandy Dancers Scholarship, Research and Standardization Committee Scholarship, and the Westwood Co-op Scholarship. He went on to teach Federation Institutes in Long Beach, San Diego, Garden Grove, and Los Angeles.

Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, he moved to Los Angeles, then the major center of folk dancing in the Southland, to join the Gandy Dancers and where he married and fathered a daughter.

Dick taught at many folk dance coffee houses in both Northern and Southern California, such as

Dick and Vilma Matchette contributed to a show titled "A Decade in Retrospect" for The UCLA Museum of Cultural History in Los Angeles at the Frederick S. Wright Art Gallery, where works from Asia, Europe, The Near East, Africa, North and South America, and Indonesia and Oceania were drawn mostly from museum collections.

He taught a dance conference in Seattle, Washington, at Camp Long called the "Summer Dance Camp" (July 26-31, 1971), teaching along with Sonny Newman, who directed the camp, and Joan Englander.

Along with his friend Alex Wilson, Dick put on two Floating Kolo Party sessions in Boulder, Colorado in 1972 and 1973.

Dick completed two national / international teaching tours in 1976 and 1977 through Instructours, which was coordinated by Diki Shields. Dick's unique teaching style, humorous presentation, ability to accurately convey not only the steps but, more importantly, the style of many varied nationalities, and feeling for the learning process, make him a much sought after teacher for camps, workshops, institutes, seminars, and conferences.

The sound movies and stereo slides he took in Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia are an entertaining source of folkloric research material – especially those of the Koprivštica Festival during Bulgaria's 1300th anniversary and Romania's Tismana Festival. Dick's dance notes, maps of various countries, folk dance songs, pronunciation guides, and teaching resources also are helpful tools.

As one of this country's fine folk dance performers, Dick has been seen on television in California, Colorado, and Oklahoma – at times directing his own groups for these shows. Dick appeared as a Greek dancer in the Hollywood film for television "Star Maker." He was a member of Anthony Shay's Village Dancers and later a performer with Shay's famed AMAN Folk Ensemble, performing in Croatian, Bulgarian, and Romanian suites.

He also has choreographed suites for the Hungarian performing group Betyárok and the Gandy Dancers.

His other activities and accomplishments are numerous. Active in a leadership role, Dick has held office in several folk dance groups, such as Treasurer of Dolina Cigany, Vice President of Westwood Co-op, and Treasurer of the Gandy Dancers, as well as in the Folk Dance Federation of California (South) as President, Director of Extension, Director of Membership, Parliamentarian, and chairperson of several committees, including Costume, Directory, Finance, Nominating, Special Publications, and Standard Operating Procedures. He was active on the Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference, San Diego State University Folk Dance Conference, and Idylllwild Folk Dance Camp committees, the Beginner Class Committee, the Beginner Festival Committee, the Costume Committee, and the Research and Standardization Committee of the Federation. With Paul Pritchard, Dick was the first co-editor of Folk Dance Scene Southern California's folk dance news magazine and was a staff artist for the Viltis Folklore Magazine (he designed a cover page header, some other graphics, and the cover of Vyts Beliajus' Ave Maria titled "Sveika Marija). He also edited the California Folk Dance Directory and the Rocky Mountain Folk Dance Directory. He wrote the chapter on "Yugoslavian Folk Dancing" in the book from Doubleday, International Folk Dancing U.S.A., compiled by Betty Casey.

Greek Orthodox Church, Western Dioces Annual Youth Folk Dance Festival

Dick organized several folk dance functions and was co-director, with Diki Shields, of the successful Holiday Camp folk dance conference in the San Bernardino mountains of Southern California. (In 1984, Dick and Diki also collaborated by producing the Holiday Weekend of folk dancing in Idyllwild, California.) In addition, he served on judging committees for the Greek Orthodox Youth Folk Dance Festival for the Western Diocese of the Greek Orthodox Church of America. Dick was also elected to the position of Membership Chairman of the Colorado Folk Arts Council, serving with Vyts Beliajus, was on the Advisory Board of the California Traditional Music Society (CTMS), and the advisory board of the AMAN Folk Ensemble. Dick was a contributor to the UCLA Museum of Ethnic Arts Gallery Showing of "The Balkans, Costume and Folk Art." He also was director of the Simi Valley Folk Dancers (Simi Valley, California), the Fort Collins Folk Dancers (Fort Collins, Colorado), and co-directed the Hungarian Ídiom Dancers with Sandy Wodicka.

He has taught in nearly 100 cities in the United States and Canada and taught Balkan dances to hundreds of Chinese folk dancers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Kowloon China. Among these cities are

Traveling with his wife, Carol, Dick also taught folk dances on one of Rae Tauber's OPA! Folklore Tours through Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia, and on one of Mel Mann's Dance on the Water cruises to Alaska. Dick and Carol moved from Southern California to Colorado's front range.

In 2008, Dick donated hundreds of his folk dance records and most of his folk dance notes and books to the Society of Folk Dance Historians in Austin, Texas, run by Ron Houston.

Among his Awards, Dick received the National Folk Dance Organization U.S.A. "Preserving Our Heritage Award" for a lifetime of achievement in folk dance and folk arts, and also the San Antonio Folk Dance Festival "National Dance Award" in recognition of contributions to folk dancing in Texas and in the United States, both in 2014. Also, in 2014, he taught a "Dances for All Ages" class at the Stockton Folk Dance Camp.

Dick dropped out of the teaching and dancing scene in the late 1980s after his left knee gave out. He had surgery to replace his left and right knees and resumed teaching again until November of 2015, at which time he hung up his opanci because of severe osteoarthritis in both feet.

In 2017, Marshall Cates, outgoing president of the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc., presented Dick with a Service Award "in appreciation of decades of dedication and service."

1939 – Born.
1949 – First introduction to a "folk" dance (Pop! Goes the Weasel), Physical Education Class, Richland, Washington.
1955 – First attempt at international folk dancing, Richland, Washington.
1957 – First serious folk dancing, San Diego, California.
1958 – PerformedVyts Beliajus's Viltis Dancers and John Hancock's Dolina Cygany.
1960 – First of several folk dance scholarships received to the Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference.
1960 – First of hundreds of workshops taught in the United States, Canada, and the Orient.
1964 – Taught at the opening of The Intersection, the first of many folk dance coffeehouses in Southern California.
1965 – First editor of Folk Dance Scene, Southern California's folk dance magazine.
1967 – Taught first of many folk dance camps at the Santa Barbara Folk Dance Conference.
1969 – Contributor to the UCLA Museum of Ethnic Arts Gallery Showing of "The Balkans, Costume and Folk Art."
1971 – Taught the "Summer Dance Camp" in Seattle, Washington with friend and camp director Sonny Newman.
1972 – Put on the first "Floating Kolo Party" with friend Tink Wilson in Boulder, Colorado.
1972 – Elected to the position of Membership Chairman of the Colorado Folk Arts Council, serving with Vyts Beliajus.
1972 – Played the dumbek and tûpan for a Boulder International Folk Dancers performance.
1973 – Taught at the Lighted Lantern Folk Dance Camp, substituting for Vyts Beliajus (and taught each subsequent camp till it closed).
1976 – First of two teaching tours of the United States sponsored by InstrucTours.
1980 – Performed with such ensembles as AMAN Folk Ensemble, Betyárok, Gandy Dancers, G.T.E.V. D'Isartaler, and Westwind.
1981 – Toured Balkan countries of Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia on Rae Tauber's Opa! Folklore Tour to the Balkans.
1982 – Contributed article on Yugoslav dance to the book International Folk Dancing U.S.A. by Betty Casey.
1983 – Founded the International Folk Dance Club (now Empire Grange International Folk Dancing) in Fort Collins, Colorado.
1985 – Founded the Simi Valley Folk Dancers in Simi Valley, California.
1986 – Member of the first advisory committee of the National Fok Organization U.S.A.
1987 – Elected President of the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
1988 – Elected to the Advisory Board of the California Traditional Music Society (CTMS).
1988 – Taught on a Mel Mann's Dance on the Water cruise.
1990 – Served on several judging committees for the Greek Orthodox Youth Folk Dance Festival.
2000 – Designed and built his personal PhantomRanch.net website, featuring folk dance articles, artwork, dance descriptions, resources, and more.
2002 – Designed and built a website for the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
2010 – Designed and built a website for the Ethnic Express Folkdancing Club of Las Vegas.
2014 – Taught the "Dances for All Ages" workshop at Stockton Folk Dance Camp.
2014 – Received the National Fok Organization U.S.A. "Preserving Our Heritage Award" for a lifetime of achievement in folk dance and folk arts.
2014 – Received the San Antonio Folk Dance Festival "National Dance Award" in recognition of 'contributions to folk dancing'.
2015 – Taught the North-South Teachers' Seminar in northern California with Cristian Florescu and Sonia Dion.
2017 – Received a "Service Award" in appreciation of 'decades of dedication and service' to the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
2018 – Designed and built a website for the Society of Folk Dance Historians (SFDH).
2019 – Retired from teaching folk dance.

Dances that Dick has taught at camps, workshops, seminars, institutes, and conferences include the following.

Click a dance to view the dance notes.