Mady Taylor Status:   Active Specialty:   Balkan, Greek Range:   International	CLICK TO ENLARGE
Madelyn "Mady" Taylor holds a Master's Degree in Dance Ethnology from the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1958, as an undergraduate in English Literature, she began her passion with dance ethnology, and ethnomusicology. While attending the University of California, Berkley, in 1959, she studied with famed dance educator, Lucile Czarnowski, who was one of the architects of the Folk Dance Federation of California (North). Mady was a charter member, choreographer, soloist, and women's director with the Balkan section of Dr. Anthony Shay's AMAN Folk Ensemble (aka, AMAN International Music and Dance Company), originally known as UCLA Village Dancers, and taught the repertoire to all new members for the company's first three years. Later she helped design, organize, and teach at the "AMAN Institute." During the 1960s and 1970s, she performed with Elsie Dunin's Yugoslavian UCLA Group, as well as with her Hungarian group, Betyarok. Mady was a member of Westwind (Neal Sandler-International), Hadarim (Shlomo Bachar-Israeli), American Liberty Assembly (Robin Evanchuck-American Traditional), and Vince Evanchuk's Ukrainian company. Mady passed on this rich legacy by teaching a myriad of folkdance classes--from children's dance classes at The Intersection, to adult Balkan classes at Mihai David's Gypsy Camp. For six years she was married to Marty Kozak. She taught the first Balkan dance classes at "Sweet's Mill," forerunner to the Mendocino Balkan Music & Dance Workshop, while married to Ed Leddel (for 10 years), well-known tapanji with AMAN and Pitu Guli. Ed was loved and is missed by local folkdancers and ethnic communities alike. For a number of years in the late 1980s, Mady served as assistant to Miamon Miller, while he directed the EEFC Balkan Camps in Mendocino, California, and Buffalo Gap in West Virginia. After moving to Greece in 1995, Mady began studying Greek traditional dances with Yiannis Konstantinou (Lyngistes) and Marina Xristofaki (Dora Stratou). While living in Athens and on Kalymnos, Mady attended workshops featuring Greek traditional dance and customs, taught by master teachers from many different geographic zones. In Greece, she represented the United States folkdance community at four international conferences, three of which were sponsored by UNESCO. Now living again in Los Angeles since 2002, she continues to take courses in Greece, Europe, and in North America. Mady has been choreographer of ethnic material for stage, screen, and television, such as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and "Beverly Hills, 90210." As the first multi-cultural consultant and teacher with Performing Tree, beginning in 1976, she developed teacher training and student workshops in folkdance forms. Mady taught and produced International Folk Dance Festivals for children at schools throughout Southern California. For young adults, she has taught various dance forms at UCLA, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine Universities. Also in 1976, Mady developed a local dance/exercise program for the Southern California branch of the Arthritis Foundation. What started as an in-the-chair stretching program for seniors at the Westside Jewish Comunity Center, under the encouraging eye of Athletic Director, Eli Sherman, became the prototype for the National Arthritis Foundation exercise and movement programs. With a growing demand for this kind of program, in 1977, Mady, together with Rosmarie Ocasio and Joyce Dace, created "Joint Efforts," replete with training classes for trainers, teachers, and students. They wrote manuals, made videos, and taught this method and helped certify teachers throughout the United States. By the time Mady left the AF to move to Greece, there were fifty students per class, five days a week! Besides dancing with Sherry Cochran-Kirk's Balkan Class at Cafe Danssa for many years, in July 2004, with long time folkdance buddy, Ian Price, Mady started Café AMAN. This has been held the second Saturday each month since its inception. Ian takes care of the music half, that is, arranges for various bands, a number of which he plays with and directs, while Mady handles the dance half. She invites friends from the folkdance community to guest teach, as well as teaching occasionally herself. As of March 2007, this popular Balkan, Greek, Middle Eastern dance/music event has a new home in the Pacific Arts Center in West Los Angeles. Last but not least, Mady is very busy with her family. Her daughter, Heidi, is married to David, and they have three children and Munchie, their beagle. Her son, Eric Leddel, is married to Sharon, and they have two children. Mady loves "grand-kid and puppy sitting;" walking, especially in the rain; Pilates and Yoga classes; reading; listening to classical music; going to movies and the theater; assisting musician friends with their concerts; producing ethnic dance events; and spending quality time with family and close friends. As for folkdancing, Mady says that on the very first day of her very first folk dance class with Annamarie Steinbiss, in the UCLA Woman's Gym, she saw people dancing Eleno Mome, Hambo, Drmeš iz Zdenčine, and Marklander. "I have been extremely lucky to have had the best of the best teachers in the world and will never forget the shock and awe--my mouth dropped open and my eyes were wide with wonder--I did not want to miss anything by blinking! Cupid put an arrow in my heart that very moment, and he has never taken it out!" Mady puts emphasis on women's dances and styling. Dances she has taught include Et Dodim Kala, Harmonica, Hora Chassidit, Hora Mamtera, Hora Neurim, Kuma Echa, Oy Yossel Yossel, Hashir Sheli, Tsama Tsama, and Yellow River.

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