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North American Federation of German Folk Dance Groups |
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1995 Seminar: Dances of BavariaSigi & Ishild Ramstötter Teisendorf, Bavaria, Germany July 1995 |
Sigi Ramstötter was born in 1929 near Neukirchen, Bavaria, in an old Bavarian family. His ancestors are very musical. At the age of 13 he began his musical education and learned to play the accordion and trumpet. He joined the local brass band, and worked his way up to director. He made friends with Georg von Kaufmann, a renowned collector and instructor of German Folk dance. He learned from his friend and continued on after von Kaufmann's death in 1972. Herr Ramstötter has also over the years added the harp, and yodeling to his knowledge.
Herr Ramstötter lives in Teisendorf, a village on the Autobahn between Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria where he operates a tour bus business while pursuing German volk dance and music. Herr Ramstötter formed a volk music dance band called "Tanzlmusi" (Dance Music) and with them he has appeared over 70 times on radio and television in Germany and over 40 times on Austrian stations. In 1993, German President Richard von Weisäcker presented him with the German Federal Republic Order of Merit for his work in folk music conservation.
He instructed dancers from across the United States and Canada with a program that began on Friday evening, resumed Saturday morning and continued through Sunday noon. The attendees received a packet of materials describing the dances which were taught. The package consisting of the dance instructions, printed materials and six meals at Germania Hall was available with options for those unable to attend for the entire weekend.
