Landesverband der Donauschwaben, USA

TANZGRUPPEN BERICHTEN

DECEMBER  2008

AKRON TANZGRUPPEN

Forwarded From Akron Donauschwaben, German Family Society

No Current Reports at this Time

CARPATHIA TANZGRUPPEN

Forwarded From Carpathia Donauschwaben

 

Carpathia Jugendgruppe

 

Jugend Gruppe Updates

    Wow where has the year gone? I can’t believe it is the end of the year already. The youth group has had a busy year with the dance competition on Labor Day Weekend. The Youth Group practiced twice a week all spring and summer. Twenty eight kids participated this year in the competition. When competition time came they looked wonderful the girls in their Tracht’s, hair nicely braided, new shawls, boys in their vests and polished shoes. Everybody was nervous, but they sang and danced beautifully. We might not have placed this year in competition but they did great and will always be the fi rst place group for Carpathia. If you are interested in purchasing a DVD that was taped by the Cleveland Group of the entire competition please contact Monica Prybula 248-202-3925 there are limited quantities fi rst come basis. Our next event was the Mexican Night and it was a fun evening. The little and middle group kids did a Mexican dance for us and then the new court was selected. The new court is: Stephanie Talan Queen, Matt Kapraun King, Sarah Tittjung princess and Paul Schwalbe prince. Congratulations to the new court. The New Court and Youth Group would like to invite you to join them at their Konigsball on February 14th, 2009. Please make sure you get your tickets it is going to be a spectacular evening.

    The children have been very busy performing this fall. First, we started with the Donauschwaben Trachtenfest on Labor Day weekend in Cleveland. This is such an important time where they get to meet other children from across the country. It’s a time for them to learn and watch what the other groups are doing. Prior to the Trachtenfest, a group of us met at Kalahari Water Park on our way to Cleveland for some swimming and sun. I don’t know who had a better time-the parents or the kids. Next, the group performed at Mexican Abend. The group performed 2 authentic Mexican dances that they learned. They looked wonderful in their outfi ts and danced spectacular!!!! We have also performed at numerous Oktoberfests including Rochester Mills, Canterbury Village, Port Austin, and Christ Lutheran Church. It has been a great experience for them to be able to dance in public all the dances they practice so hard. Our audiences loved them!

    Upcoming events include Weinlese and Kirchweih. And during this time we will also start practicing for our Christmas program. On behalf of Christine and I, we want to thank all the parents for their support in making this dance group what it is. We appreciate them. And, thank you to our children for always doing their best during performances.

Kulturgruppe Updates

    As this year comes to an end the Kulturgruppe has had a successful year. We achieved our Untergruppe status, had our first dance, gained new members and have grown closer as a group.  Our first dance was a Hoe-Down. This event was a little stressful for us, but we knew that it would be a wonderful fun filled evening. We would have liked to have seen more of our fellow Carpathian’s there to support us, but for those that were there we thank you. You showed us more support and love then we ever could have imagined.

    The hall was decorated to reflect the Old West. Our general store was busy selling buttons, t-shirts and raffle tickets. The chow line was serving chili, hot wings and fries to fill the bellies of the patrons. There was also a photo booth to send home some funny souvenirs for the cowboys and cowgirls. Kulturgruppe members were serving special Old West drinks to the crowd through out the night (seemed to be a crowd favorite as many requested seconds)! The band, Sorgenbrecher, played well into the night and we all had a great time dancing.

    The highlight of the evening was the skit put on by the group. Skits were performed by the old Volksgruppe many years ago, and we chose to continue this tradition for our first dance. The Volksgruppe performed a skit about three robbers known as the Carpathia Brothers. We decided to bring back the Carpathia Brothers and add our own little twists on to the story. The skit was written by Jennifer Blasius, with rewrites taking place by all that participated. The skit took place in an old western brothel house and bar called Carpathia. Three patrons, known as the Carpathia Boys (the drunk played by Chris Kemmer, the playboy played by Adam Zeig, and the intelligent one played by Adam Schwager), are looking for a treasure left behind 25 years ago by the Carpathia Brothers. The brothel house is owned by the niece (played by Jennifer Blasius) of Carpathia Brother Hanz. She, along with the bar manager (played by Carsten Grotloh), allow the Carpathia Boys to find a treasure that she held the clue to.

    The Carpathia Boys searched the area (including an outhouse and the audience) looking for clues to find the missing treasure. Utilizing their own special qualities, the boys were able to solve the clues.  Each time a clue was solved, the boys celebrated with the niece and bar manager their success. Just as the guys fi nd the fi nal envelope, the presumed dead Carpathia Brother “Hanz” (played by returning original cast member, Ron Blasius) walks in to claim his treasure, only to find out the money was gone. It appears the Carpathia Boys mothers (played by Carol Blasius, Linda Tittjung, and Julie La Fave) stole the money and hid it. Hanz also discovered that the three Carpathia Boys were his sons.  Where did the stolen money go? You will have to attend the next How-Down to find out.

    Our annual Christmas party will take place in November, and this year we have several awards that will be handed out. The Kulturegruppe will be taking off the month of December, so we can enjoy the holidays. Practices will resume in January, if anyone interested in joining us please give us a call (586-738-5005) or email (donaudancers@sbcglobal.net)

From All of Us in the Kulturgruppe

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season.

Jennifer Blasius

Volkstanzgruppe Update

    The Volkstanzgruppe is going strong, has had a lot of performances, but we are having more fun than ever!

    In the past three months we have performed at the DKV Kirchweihfest, the Belleville Cathedral Summerfest, for Anheuser Busch Retirees at the Donau Park, at the DKV Oktoberfest, at both the St. Charles and Soulard Oktoberfests, and at Bretz Winery Carlyle Fall Festival. We also participated in the Tag der Donauschwaben Festivities in Cleveland, OH. We looked beautiful in our matching red and black skirts which we are so thankful for - to the ladies from the Trachtengruppe. We would also like to thank those that made the DKV Oktoberfest a success. Although Sunday was rained out due to the storm, I have never seen the Pavilion look as festive as it did on Saturday. We also tried something new this year by coordinating workers for serving food at the Soulard Oktoberfest. Thanks to those that volunteered their time for over the weekend. This allowed us to provide income with a limited amount of work in order to help fill some of the gap left by not having Strassenfest income.

    We are looking forward to some much deserved fun and festive rest over the Holidays. We will continue to practice and plan to learn a few more dances to add to our repertoire for the new year. The Volkstanzgruppe wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

Mittlere Tanzgruppe Updates

     The middle dance group has been very busy this year. We’ve performed for retirement centers, Kirkwood’s Music Around the World concert, Cleveland over Labor Day weekend and various hall activities. Our latest performance was for German American Day on Oct. 4. This was especially fun for our group. After their performance, they stayed for a pizza party and fun and games while their parents worked at the Soulard Oktoberfest. They all had a great time and they danced great, too. Our group has grown this year to 20 dancers.

    We have one final performance this year at the Tag des Deutschen Kulturvereins on Dec. 6. After that, they will start preparing for the Rosenball! They are a wonderful group. Thank you parents for all your support.