Dick Crum
Status: Deceased
Specialty: Balkan
Range: Bulgarian, Serbian,
Romanian, and Slovenian
Dick Crum
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Richard George "Dick" Crum was born in the United States on December 8, 1928, of German-Irish extraction and was raised in a Romanian neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he attended Romanian school at the Romanian church. He was the oldest of five children. At an early age, he played with Romanian-speaking youngsters, attended language classes with them, and won their respect as someone interested in learning their dances and culture, as did his sister, Lois. Dick and Lois also went to the St. Louis, Missouri, Folk Dance Festival and traveled to Hibbing and Chisholm, Minnesota, for Serbian Days. When their parents lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a few years, their mom, Florence (Fee Fee) Crum taught folk dancing in a group there.

Dick Crum - Last photo in 2005 Dick started folk dancing in September, 1947, at a group meeting at the International Institute of St. Paul, Minnesota, whose instructor was Morry Gelman. There he also saw Gordon Engler dancing. He also attended the University Folk Dancers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. There, is instructors were Morry Gelman and Dr. Ralph Piper. Morry also was the instructor at another Minneapolis session that Dick attended, the YMCA International Folk Dance Group. At the YMCA in 1950, he participated in a special kolo session led by Michael Herman of New York City.

He eventually was a teacher at an Arthur Murray studio. From 1950, he was with the Duquesne University Tamburitzans for many years, first as a dancer, then as choreographer and technical adviser. During Thanksgiving weekend in 1951, he attended the first annual Kolo Festival in New York City, sponsored by the Folk Dance House (founded by Michael and Mary Ann Herman). Dick was the program director of the Festival of Nations at St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1952 where he mastered dance dialects of many styles of international dance. He also was a choreographer and consultant for the AMAN Folk Ensemble (aka, AMAN International Music and Dance Company). He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1972.

Dick was a perennial favorite teacher among folk dancers beginning in 1951. He made seven research trips to the Balkan countries, doing field work and formal research with many different groups and from village dancers to exhibition ensemble choreographers.

Because of his interest in Slavic languages, he studied and received a Bachelor's degree in Romance Languages from the University of Pittsburgh and an Master's degree in Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard University.

Dick Crum 1957 He taught Balkan dance at all the major folk dance camps in the United States and Canada and for innumerable master classes at colleges and universities. Not only was he a folk dance specialist and authority on Balkan dance, but published a collection of Yugoslav folk songs for recorder and voice.

Dick's interest in Balkan dance was threefold:

ethnographic
Recording dances as they are danced by native dancers, studying dances in their natural context.
choreographic
Presenting dances on stage, involving esthetics and dance adaptation for the stage and for non-dancing audiences.
recreational
United States- and Canadian-type recreational folk dance, utilizing ethnographic and choreographic dances for recreation, physical education, and fun!

For years, Dick was an editor for a foreign-language translation service agency in Los Angeles, California. In addition to English, Dick spoke Spanish, Romanian, and Serbo-Croatian and had a working knowledge of Bulgarian, German, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, and several other languages.

Dick Crum 2002 At a conference in 1996, Dick served as a panelist at a convening of the National Endowment for the Arts entitled "Vernacular Dance in America," which looked at the informal structures that support dance acivity.

In 1999, the board of the East European Folklife Center (EEFC) recognized Dick Crum with a certificate for his lifetime of service to Balkan Music and Dance and his contribution to understanding of cultures. The National Folk Organization (NFO) honored Dick at their May 2002 Annual Conference in Rocklin, California. In a booklet produced by NFO president, Vonnie Brown, "A Tribute to Dick Crum," Dick is quoted, "It is our responsibility to be well informed about the material we are handling. The steps are only one dimension. It is vital we consider the dance within its cultural context." Vonnie also included a portion of an ongoing poem about Dick that begins, "Dick, you scaled the mountain without a stop; you stuck to your dream and reached the top. You cast your spell and made your mark; you are the master and our patriarch!" She also included a list of more than 190 dances that Dick had taught (see below), some "Crums of Wisdom," that included "You could spend your life trying to be Bulgarian, but you'd never make it. No way!" In another booklet, "Crum Table Trivia," produced at the same time, Vonnie wrote a 14-question "Crumisms Quiz."

Some of Dick's "Crumisms" are:

  1. "Bloop-bloops"
  2. "Cranch"
  3. "Dance inside your shoes"
  4. "Earlobes upright"
  5. "Ethnic symmetry" to indicate the same footwork in the opposite direction
  6. "Ethnographical vortex"
  7. "Get you papers here"
  8. "Ker-plop"
  9. "Look less non-Serbian"
  10. "Mixed pickles" (or "Kris Kringle" during the Christmas season)
  11. "No shushing"
  12. "Pantherine movement"
  13. "Period. Paragraph."
  14. "Plain vanilla" that morphed into "Plain yogurt" in later years
  15. "Sore toe"
  16. "Strike a Pan-Hellenic pose"
  17. "...that lurk behind every step-hop in the syllabus of life."
  18. "Your other left foot"

For all his seriousness about folklore, however, Dick was not beyond humor. At times he would wear a vest with "Colorful Ethnic Native" on the back. A workshop he gave titled "From Folklore to Fakelore" was a hilarious, hands-and feet-on demonstration of how true folk dance "evolves" from village amusement to some unrecognizable balletic enterprise suitable for touring and tourists. Maybe the epitome of Dick's humorous bent can be found in the Hungarian Waltz Quadrille, in collaboration with Gordon Engler, which originally appeared in a spoof edition of Mary Ann Herman's Maine Folk Dance Camp daily newsletter, the Pioneer Press, in 1962. Dick and Gordon wrote take-offs on every section of the Pioneer Press, then substituted their own mimeographed versions for the originals that everyone found at their tables at breakfast! Dick also was known for interjecting humor into his dance instruction. The following is attributed to Dick's quick wit:

  1. Beginning dancer: Knows nothing.
  2. Intermediate dancer: Knows everything, but is too good to dance with beginners.
  3. Hotshot dancer: Too good to dance with anyone.
  4. Advanced dancer: Dances everything, especially with beginners.
Dick was also leader of the "Ethnic Police," complete with helmet, badge, and whistle given to him by his groupies in Minnesota around 1980. He also used fictional characters in his teaching, such as "Harald J. Underfoot (Ethnic Choreologist)" and "Doris Ding-dong."

Dick consulted for and supervised many fine recordings of ethnic dance music on the Folk Dancer, Xopo, and Du-Tam labels, which are available from your local folk dance recording outlet.

Among Dick's publications, articles, record syllabi, and workshop syllabi are

  • A review of Slovenski ljudski plesi (2 vols.) with Josef Brožek. Volume I, Slovenski ljudski plesi primorske, by Marija Šuštar; Volume II, Slovenski ljudski plesi koroske, by France Marolt and Marija Šuštar (Ljubljana, 1958). Journal of American Folklore, LXXII (1959), 362-363.
  • "'Authenticity' in Podravina Dancing--A.D. 1868." The Tamburitzan, III, No. 3 (1960), 2.
  • "Balkan Dance." Folkdance Progression, eds. Miriam Lidster and Ester Tamburini, Belmont, 1965, 3-15.
  • "Balun-Istrian Folk Dance." The Tamburitzan, III, No. 4 (1960), 2.
  • "Costumes." Viltis, 55:1 (Mar-Apr. 1955), p.14.
  • "Dances of the Baranja." The Tamburitzan, III, No. 3 (1960), 1 and 8.
  • "Dances of Prigorje." The Tamburitzan, III, No. 2 (1960), 1.
  • Dick Crum Book, The: Vranjanka and Other Jugoslav Songs and Dances, 24pp, Hargill Music Press, New York, New York, 1957 (reprinted 1958).
  • "Isn't it too bad that the old dances are dying out?" Let's Dance, Nov. 1974, p.4-5.
  • "No Kissing Allowed in School!" A Virginia Dancing School in 1784 (Co-author)
  • Old-Tyme Kolos. Softcover. Los Angeles, California: Tamburitza Extravaganza, 1993. (22 dance descriptions.)
  • "Some Backgrouind on the Kolo in the United States." Viltis, XII (1954), p.4-5.
  • "Some Notes on the Dances of Medjimure." The Tamburitzan, III, No. 2 (1960), p.8.
  • "The Rŭčenica." Folk Dance Scene, Volume 19, Number 3 (1984), p.2-3.

Dick was last seen at selected folk dance conferences, principally in a Master-of-Ceremonies role. He died at home on December 12, 2005, at the age of 77, and his ashes were interred in a family space in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is missed by all.

Dances Dick taught include Ajd' na Lijevo, Ajde Noga za Nogama, Alunelul, Ana Lugojana, Arap, Ardeleana cu Figuri, Arkan, Baba Djurdja, Bačko Kolo, Ballos, Balun, Banatski Madjarac, Bătrinescu (Bătrinească), Bela Rada, Bibersko Kolo, Bitoljka, Bohinjska Sustarska, Boiereasca, Bosarka, Brîul Pe Şase (Brîuleţul din Muscel), Bučimiš Bunjevačko Momačko Kolo, Ca la Balta, Ca la Uşa Cortului, Čačak, Čačak (Long), Caluşerul, Čamčeto, Cigančica, Ciganka, Cigansko Horo, Ciganskoto, Ciocârlanul, Ćiro, Čoček (Ramo Ramo), Cone Milo Čedo, Corăgheasca, Csárdás, Čuješ Mala (Šušu Mile), Čukarište Kokonješte, Czardáš, Dajčovo Horo, Deînvîtit, Deninka, De vam kazem bračo moja (Pepper Dance), Devetorka (Tri Godini), Devoyche Devoyche, Dhrtavac, Divna Divna (in Serbian Medley III), Divotinsko Horo, Djurdjevka, Doiul, Dopasi, Dravčevka, Dorčolka Kolo, Drmeš, Drmeš for Three, Drmeš iz Zdenčine, Dučec, Dunavsko Horo, Dura, Džangurica, Ekizlisko Horo, Erdeljanka, Ersko, Ersko Kolo, Fatiše Kolo, Gaitanaki, Gankino Horo, Godečki Čačak, Goja Ples, Gružanka, Haj! Haj! Boze Daj!, Hajd' na Lijevo, Homoljanka Kolo, Hopa Hopa, Hora de la Câmpulung, Hora Dreaptă, Hora Mare, Igraj Kolo (Igra Kolo), Igraj Kolo na Dvadeset i Dva, Igrajte Nam Muzikaši, Igrale Se Delije, Întoarsă, Jambolsko Pajduško Horo, Jambolsko Pajduško II, Jeftanovićevo Kolo, Jove Malaj Mome, Jovano Jovanke, Kabanica i Seksera, Kačerac, Kalajdžisko Oro, Kalendara Kolo (Kolo Kalendara), Karagouna, Kasapsko Horo, Katuše Mome Katuše, Kazlanuško Mŭko Horo, Keleruj, Kilimarsko Horo, Kiša Pada, Kokonješte, Kolenike, Kolubarski Vez, Kopačka, Kopčeto, Korčovo, Koso Moja, Kostursko Oro, Krecavi Ketuš, Kriči Kriči Tiček I, Krivata, Krivo Kuče (in Serbian Medley III), Krivo Sadovsko Horo, Kukuneško Horo, Kukunješte Kolo, Lesnoto Oro, Levačko Kolo, Lički Tanac, Ličko Kolo, Lomsko Kolo (in Serbian Medley III), Logovac, Ludo Kopano, Madjarac, Makazice, Makedonsko Devojče, Malo Kolo, Mangupsko Kolo, Mazulinka, Mehmede, Milica, Minka, Mista, Moja Diridika, Moravsko Kolo, Mŭžko Trojno, Narodno Horo, Natalijino Kolo, Nebesko Kolo, Ne Odi Dzemo, Neda Grivne, Neda Voda Nalivala, Niška Banja, Nojkatoliš Obični Rej, Oj Jelo Jelano, Opša, Opšaj Diri, Ordan Sedi, Orijent, Oromnia, Pajduška, Petrunino Horo, Pirot Dance Medley (Serbian Medley II - Što Mi Omilelo, Pošla Rumena, Lile Lile, Piperana), Pleskovac Kolo, Plevensko Pajduško, Pljeskavac I, Pljeskavac II, Plovdivska Kopanica, Po Zelenoj Trati, Pobelelo Pole, Pokupski Drmeš, Polster Tanc, Posavski Drmeš, Posavski Ples, Poskakusa, Poskok, Potrkan Ples, Povrateno, Povurnato Horo, Pravo Šopsko Oro, Pravo Takijsko Horo, Preplet (Mangupsko), Presjekača, Purtata Fetelor, Pušnoto Oro, Pušteno Oro, Răčenica for Three, Radikalka (Devojačko Kolo, Haj Haj Bože Daj, Radikalko Kolo, Rukavice s Prstima), Radničko Kolo, Ratevka, Razvruštanata, Ripanjsko Kolo (Kolo from Ripanj), Ripna Maca, Rokoko Kolo, Rukavice, Rumenka, Rumunjsko Kolo, Ruzmarin, Sa, Sărăcia, Sarajevka, Sârba in Trei Ciocane, Sareni Chorapi, Savamaljsko Kolo, Scoteš, Seljančica (Đačko Kolo), Serbian Medley III (including Divna Divna, Krivo Kuče, Lomsko Kolo, and Vasino Kolo), Šestinski Drmeš, Šestorka from Bela Palanka, Šetnja, Sitno Kopanica, Sitno Šopsko Horo, Skudrinka, Slavjanka, Slavonian Medley (including Presjekača, Ajde Noga Za Nogama, Slavonsko Kolo, Moja Diridika), Slovenian Waltz, Sofisko Šopsko Horo, Šokačko Malo Kolo, Šop from Trun, Šotiš, Srbijanka, Šroteš, Srpkinja, Štajeriš, Stari Šotiš, Što Mi e Milo em Drago, Sukačko Kolo, Šustarska, Šušu Mile, Šuster Polka, Svadbena Polka, Svadbeni Rejc, Svatbeni Rejc i Svadbena Polka, Svrljiski Čačak, Syrtos Silivrianos, Syrtos Rhodu, Ta Potresena, Tandora, Ţărăncuţa, Ti Momo, Trava Trava, Trgovačko, Tri Godini, Trite Pâti, Trite Pâti from Gergebunar, Trojanac, Trŭgnala Rumjana, Tsakonikos, Tsamikos from Epirus (Sixteen-count Tsamikos), Turopoljski Drmeš, U Šest Koraka (Moravac), Užicka Čarlama, Veliko Kolo, Vranjanka, Za Poyas, Zaječarka, Zaplanski Čačak, Zaplet, Žensko Krsteno, Zetovsko Oro, Zibnšrit, Žikino Kolo, and Žita Kolo.

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