MultiCultural Dance Day
Donna Barrett teaches community belly dance classes, most recently at Columbia-Greene CommunityCollege, Copake Grange, and the Mountain Top Library in Tannersville. She has performed at Hudson Hall, Club Helsinki, Columbia-Greene Community College, and the Black Arts & Cultural Festival in Hudson; Taghkanic Hills Performing Arts Center in Craryville; Bridge Street Theatre and Greene County Council on theArts in Catskill; and in Kingston at BSP, Green Kill Art Center, and the Arts Society of Kingston. In addition, Donna is a dancer and percussive member of Kuumba Dance and Drum Academy.
Anna Mayta grew up in Chile is a dance improviser, choreographer, educator and dance artist. She graduated from Empire State College in June 2001 with a BA in Dance in Education. In November 2008, she received a certificate to teach yoga from Svyasa Swami Vivekananda Yoga University in Bangalore, India. In 2006, she was awarded a dissemination award from the Dutchess County Arts Council in Poughkeepsie, New York. In October 2020 she was accepted to Bethany Arts Center residency in Ossining NY. Where she choreographed a solo dance inspired by the idea that men and women are equal. In 2022 she was awarded a grant from CREATE to choreograph a piece about the stories of the Latinx community in Hudson NY dealing with linguistic prejudice Ms. Mayta teaches the Spanish language through movement in addition to fusion dance, which centers on the incorporation of African, Classical Indian, Flamenco, Chilean, Modern and Latin dance styles. Anna Mayta has performed at Dixon place and Spoke the Hub in NYC, in Bangalore India, Boston MA, Maine and around the Hudson Valley. She has collaborated with artists such as Gigi Oppenheimer, Maiko Hata, Joan Belmar and Elena Mosley. She has choreographed for the D’amby Project, SolesBare Dance Collective, and The National Ballet of Zimbabwe. Currently, Ms. Mayta directs her dance company, Mayta Fusion Dance Company, which is located in Hudson NY. She teaches, choreographs, and performs throughout the Hudson Valley area.
Medicare 101
Maria N. Smirensky is a licensed insurance agent authorized to represent Medicare products. Ms. Smirensky has over 30 years of experience in Benefits and Human Resources consultation. She is actively involved with trade associations to keep up to date on the changing landscape of benefits. In addition to educating on Medicare, Ms. Smirensky works in the not-for-profit sector as a Director of Human Resources. She obtained her MBA from Empire State College and her M.S, EmpL from Shepard Bard College of Law. Ms. Smirensky’s goals continue to be about providing education so individuals understand what benefit options are available to them.
Living with Black Bears
How to Speak Dog pt. 2
October 23, 2022 | 4:00 PM
Becky Stowe is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, KA. After a long career in publishing, she went back to school to study Animal Behavior and has been working with dogs since 2009. She currently trains in the Immersive Training Program at Hudson Valley Dog Farm (www.hudsonvalleydogfarm.com) and deploys with the ASPCA’s Behavior Services Team to work with dogs rescued from puppy mills, hoarding cases and dog fighting cases. She works with private clients through her own business, Second Act Dog Training (www.secondactdogtraining.com), specializing in Shy/Fearful dogs. She is owned by two dogs: Merlin the Australian Shepherd and Buck the Mutt, who have taught her a LOT about “speaking dog.”
Copies of Lili Chin’s illustrated book Doggie Language will be available for sale, proceeds going to the Claverack Free Library.
Instrument Repair Cafe
October 26th, 2022 5:00 PM
Mike Pagnani is performer, instructor, and scholar of traditional music. Apart from leading Pub Sings and playing with the bluegrass fusion band Beer Stained Fiddle, he performs solo as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Mike has been teaching traditional and other music to kids and adults in New York’s Hudson valley for over a decade through individual lessons, group classes, and educational performances. In 2018 he founded Little Red Productions, which specializes in small scale music production, retails regular and specialty strings and accessories, and conducts minor repairs and setups of instruments.
Jonathan has been in the business of repairing and making violins for 16 years. A multi-instrumentalist, he studied violin with Gennady Filimanov of the Seattle Symphony, and composition with grammy winning composer Joan Tower. He is active professionally playing jazz with The Lucky Five and as a freelance studio musician. Jonathan also teaches violin, viola and beginning cello. He is a co-founder of Temple Violins.
Weekly Programs at the Library!
