Brooke, John, Brian, Anthony, & Julie
Brooke Peters is the President and Acting Secretary of the San Antonio
Contra Dancers. She is also the editor of the group’s quarterly newsletter,
“The Gypsy”. Brooke started contra dancing in 1979 in Washington, D.C., dancing intermittently over the
next 10 years. She became a regular contra dancer during graduate school in
Seattle. She is now learning to call contras. In addition to contra dancing,
Brooke
enjoys East and West Coast Swing, Cajun, Zydeco, Blues, Waltz, and English Country
dancing. She also enjoys scuba diving and international
travel. Professionally, Brooke is combining her nursing
background and massage therapy training to promote health, wellness and life
style change in individuals wanting to be healthy and active well into their
senior years.
John Polizzi, Publicity, began contra dancing in 1988. He’s danced in Dallas, Indiana, and Wisconsin. He’s a retired machinist who, despite being a Caller-in-Training, claims to have no additional contra dance talents other than attempting to get the amplifier to work right. He’s interested in antique autos and antique wood boats. John lives "out in the boonies", where he likes to tease the other local residents.
Brian Schill, Band Representative, is a regular member of the Cactus Canyon Contra Band. He’s been playing the fiddle since the mid-1970s, and started contra dancing around the same time. He’s also a regular at the Thursday evening Celtic session at the Brew Moon in San Antonio. He makes his living as a psychotherapist for troubled youth. A confirmed do-it-yourselfer, when Brian’s not busy restoring his old house, he enjoys woodworking, gardening, cooking, reading, and home brewing.
Anthony Risenhoover, Treasurer, is the board member newest to contra dancing. He was convinced to come to his first contra dance during a canoe trip in June 2001. He’s been dancing regularly in San Antonio, with occasional trips to Austin and Houston, ever since. When Anthony isn't working on treasury reports, learning to call contras, building contra dance signs, or completing some other contra project, he is renovating his house or skeet shooting with friends. He is also a very active member of the Sierra Club.
Julie Gossell, Hospitality Coordinator, is responsible for arranging local housing for out-of-town bands, callers, and dancers. She is one of our Callers-in-Training. Julie has been a part of the contra community since 1996, but has been dancing since around the age of 18 months. Rumor has it, she grew up dancing Scandinavian dances in the streets of Minnesota. When she is not dancing, Julie is an elementary school teacher. She packs and serves exquisite "in-flight lunches" during carpools to out-of-town dance weekends.
New 2003 Board Members:
Lissa Bengtson, Exhibition Dance Coordinator, is long-time folk dancer and a firm believer in "contra dance evangelism". One of the best ways to introduce people to contra dancing is to show them how much fun it is. Contra dancers have been asked to perform for many organizations and venues in the past, including the Institute of Texan Cultures, the King William Fair (part of San Antonio's Fiesta), and the IFCC. Lissa dances with several other groups, and is also the lead instructor for the "Callers In Training" program. For more on Lissa's activities, see http://www.ifcchouseconcerts.com.
Lee Dodge, Callers-in-Training Coordinator, has been contra dancing for a number of years, and folk dancing prior to that. He enjoys other types of dancing, whitewater kayaking and canoeing, hiking, and astronomy and astrophotography. Lee is interested in environmental activities and is an active member of the Sierra Club. When having to work for a living to support his many hobbies, he works at Southwest Research Institute on improving emissions from gasoline and diesel engines by developing computer models to predict their performance and emissions and by doing experiments to confirm those predictions.
Tom Kane, New Member Coordinator
Ex-Officio: Linda Moran, Webmaster