Joined the Board July 2020
Hollie Benton has been a supporting member of Tapestry since she and her family moved to the Twin Cities in 2012.  She is a regular at Contradance and has dipped her toes into English Country, Mostly Waltz, Nordic Dance, Zumba, and Morris dancing.  Hollie and her family have hosted a number of exchange students over the years and enjoy international travel.

Tapestry has been part of my life since early 1980's. I started with my last child on my back at a Family Dance. Since I enjoy Contra and English Country. In fact, I met my current husband at a Tapestry dance. I love the music, callers, dances and helpful people. I keep coming back because  I am laughing, smiling and moving my body is an important and necessary part of my life. I recently retired from teaching at a Community College and as a Public Health Nurse. Joining the Board was first choice for putting together my next adventure post-retirement. After dancing I love long walks, reading, singing in a church choir and going to movies with my husband.ription text goes here

Susan has been a regular Contra and occasional International dancer at Tapestry for almost 20 years. She recently became a snowbird, dividing her time between Minneapolis and Tucson, but thanks to Zoom, she can still participate on the Board. Recently retired from the University of Minnesota, Susan devotes as much time as she can to dancing, hiking, and traveling.

Kevin brings 35 years of experience in finance and the banking industry along with serving on several arts board such as the local chapter of the Royal Scottish Dance Society and small Irish arts/theater group. He is active with the cultural Committee for Minnesota Irish Fair, involved with historical reenacting groups and also serves on the board of the local chapter of the Victorian Society of America. Over the years they have organized several period events including Victorian and Regency Era Balls.

 Although new to Tapestry Folkdance Center, Nancy first danced in southern Appalachians in the late 60s and early 70s. Now an avid contra dancer and volunteer, she has experience on boards of several small nonprofits, with which she has coordinated events and served on education, program, volunteer recruitment, and development committees. A poet and retired conservation ecologist, she is an avocational landscape historian, weaver, and botanical artist. She presently invests the majority of her time grand-mothering, volunteering, and gardening.

Art has been participating in the Twin Cities folk dance scene since the early 1980's, both as a dancer and as a musician. He performs with the Flour City Doughboys, a contra dance band, and several Scandinavian dance groups. He loves the unique Tapestry Folkdance Center dance space, appreciates all the hard work and sacrifice that has gone into creating it, and hopes to see it thrive for decades to come.

Mary first came to Tapestry Folkdance Center in the fall of 2022 when they arrived as a freshman to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Mary has experience with contra, international, and polish folk dancing, and is a frequent attendee of Saturday night Contra. They hope to continue to introduce younger people to all of Tapestry Folkdance Center's wonderful programming.

IteIn 1982, seven-year-old Carrie’s love of dance was born out of two events - Micheal Jackson’s Thriller album was released and  her mom took her to the Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker.  She may have been the only seventh grader in her class who enjoyed square dancing in gym. In her 30's & 40's she was surprised to find herself working as a professional fire and hula hoop dancer in Thailand and Burma. Today, a longtime resident of Powderhorn Park, she regularly attends Tapestry’s Zumba classes, and serves as a host and consultant for Dance Church. Carrie hopes to build even more connection with the wide variety of dance and music in our diverse local community.

Hristina first came to Tapestry Folkdance Center in the early 2000s after graduating from the Carlson School of Management and looking for a place that teaches Bulgarian folk dances. She brings passion for international folk dancing and over 20 years of corporate finance experience. Hristina is one of the founders of the Bulgarian School of Minnesota and one of the first events she organized for her community was a Bulgarian folk dance workshop at Tapestry.