RODGER FRENCH
AKA “Lenny DeLuxe”, Rodger is an accomplished accordionist, percussionist, and juggler. Since 1978, he has served as a theatre musical director, orchestra musician, vaudeville entertainer, and clowning instructor. At Sing & Swing Week, in addition to his vaudevillian and accordion duties, you can also find Rodger behind the drums every night keeping the rhythm at our dances. Rodger has performed as a solo as well as half of the clown team, Lenny & LeBanana, appearing at events as varied as The New York Festival of Clown Theatre, New England Vaudeville Festival and Ben & Jerry’s Road Show. Currently, Rodger is Musical Director for The DeLuxe Vaudeville Orchestra and performs regularly as “Ropin’ Rodger” with Cowboy Envy, a Western Music outfit. Rodger performed in the Off-Broadway production of Shlammer, a Jewish-Gangster-Vaudeville show written by Dan Froot. To rave reviews, by the way. Rodger has also performed at the White House. For no money. Twice.www.deluxevaudeville.com

JEFF HERSK
Jeff’s business card says it all: “Upright bass in a variety of styles.” In his three years in Asheville, Jeff has quickly become a fixture on the local music scene, playing and touring with jazz, swing, old-time, contradance, klezmer and bluegrass bands, and most notably with Grammy Award-winner David Holt and the Lightning Bolts, and contradance superstar Larry Unger. In his former home of Nashville, Jeff assisted with classes at the Nashville Jazz Workshop where he studied jazz with bassist Roger Spencer and pianist Lori Meecham, and recorded and produced a CD with his contradance band, Carnival Knowledge, titled A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing.

MICK KINNEY
“He sure do play them horse teeth!” quipped clarinetist Stranger Malone of Mick’s barrel-house piano style. Along his musical journey, Mick has played stride piano at Manhattan’s Swing 46 with veteran tap dancer Harold Cromer (of Stump & Stumpy), fiddle with Creole jazzman Al Broussard in New Orleans’ French Quarter, and lap steel at Louisiana’s Cajun Rendezvous. He has performed at McCabe’s in Los Angeles, the Bluebird in Nashville, and on NPR’s Mountain Stage. A versatile accompanist, he has also worked with John Hartford, Sarah Guthrie, Vic Chesnut, Victoria Williams, and REM’s Peter Buck. Mick is also a composer/lyricist par excellence, and his “videos for the ear” reflect his eclectic background. His recording of original songs, Nothing Left to Chance, was named ‘Critic’s Choice’ by Creative Loafing, and ‘Best Unknown Artist’ by Stomp and Stammer. Currently, Mick is working on a CD of old-time Georgia fiddle tunes, as well as a recording of his original ragtime piano compositions titled, Tango Rag Time. www.efolkmusic.org

CATE MORRILL
Cate Morrill is a Certified Wu Dang Instructor and a Certified Advanced External Qi Healer. She has created two videos on T’ai Chi, and has appeared on WABC-TV in New York and on more than 20 other stations across the country. Cate is the source for an article on WebMD, and was a guest speaker at the American Physical Therapy Association convention in 2005. Her work was featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and she has trained healthcare workers and others in her “Movement Improvement – T’ai Chi for Balance and Mobility” program. In addition to her workshops and lectures, Cate is president of Shoulders Down, Inc. and teaches regular classes at her Rising Phoenix T’ai Chi studio in Atlanta for such clients as the employees at Coca Cola World Headquarters, the staff at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, the clients at Meadowbrook Head Injury Institute, the clients of the Center for the Visually Impaired, senior citizens, and others. www.risingphoenixtaichi.com

CIS HINKLE
Sometimes called “the Aretha Franklin of dance callers,” Cis has been teaching and calling contra and square dances since 1985. She is one of the country’s most popular callers and has been featured at events all over the US and beyond, including dance festivals in Canada, England, and Denmark. She has a particular expertise in calling contemporary contras and fast moving, western-style squares. You’ll feel like her voice is weaving and winding around the dance floor with you! Cis considers dance-calling an art and as one of its masters, she says, “I put a high premium on fun!”

DENISA RULLMOSS
Denisa (known as “The Queen” to kids everywhere) will once again bring her exuberant, creative energies to the Gathering. She is a multi-talented and innovative organizer who has managed to retain a child’s viewpoint on the world while remaining a fully-functioning adult! In addition to being the homeschooling mother of two teens, and part-time nanny to toddlers, Denisa is the Coordinator for the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) Kid’s Village. With shaving cream, parachutes and donuts being tools of her trade, she also provides wild & wacky games and activities for families and kids at LEAF. Her past accomplishments include co-founding the newspaper Mothertongue: A Progressive Parenting Source; Panther Paws, a public school newspaper for and by kids (funded by a grant from the Asheville City Schools Foundation), Kindred Kids, the Mothertongue paper for kids, and the newsletter HOME (Homeschooling Opens Minds Everyday). As a kid’s crafts & games specialist Denisa is excited to bring her silly songs, cool crafts and good times to the Gathering for the 13th year, as she teaches and coordinates the Children’s Program during Sing & Swing/Dulcimer, Celtic, Old-Time and Fiddle Weeks..