Andy Taylor-Blenis
Dance Instructor, International Dance

Andy Taylor-Blenis is the daughter of Marianne and Conny Taylor, cofounders of the Folk Arts Center of New England. She began international folk dancing as a young child and was certified as a teacher in Scottish Country Dance at age 17. Andy graduated University of Massachusetts at Amhurst with a BFA in dance and minor in Social Anthropology. She began her contemporary professional career in 1983 dancing with numerous choreographers,  danced with Prometheus Dance Company for 20 years while raising her 2 children and teaching. She continues to teach international folk dance through the Folk Arts Center of New England and Mass Movement, as well at private and public schools and universities.

Andy is the artistic director of Mladost Folk Ensemble, a youth IFdance group she founded in 2006 in honor of her parents. They learn songs and dances from all over the world which they then share with the public through events and performance. Andy is also currently artistic director for the RSCDS Boston Scottish Country Dancers, Back Pocket Dancers, an intergenerational company that tells stories through narration, music and dance, and the Wheaton College Dancers at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. In addition to folk dance, Andy continues to teach modern and jazz dance to all ages.  Dance builds community and shows how rich a country we are through our shared cultural traditions. Andy loved teaching here at Folklore village back in 2012 and is looking forward to being in this wonderful community again.

Sarina Partridge & Heidi Wilson
Singing Instructors

Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader, educator and activist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs — especially songs that grow out of time spent in wild places. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading of her own original songs; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; performing and teaching vocal harmony folk music music she’s studied with master teachers around the world; and performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song – her own musical lineage. Sarina has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses harmony singing as a modality to help folks develop a sense of wonder and belonging in this wild world around us.

Heidi Wilson’s passion is to share songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, and make room for grieving and healing. As a member of Heartwood Trio, Heidi is thrilled to be performing The Well Tree, their original storytelling musical, for audiences of all ages.  She has also been exploring the traditional music of her Swedish ancestors and loves to share old songs of the forests and fields. Heidi has been leading community singing groups in Vermont for the last 15 years including work with the Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture, Village Harmony, Burlington Integrated Arts Academy, Young Tradition Vermont, and the Unitarian Church of Montpelier.   HeidiAnnWilson.com 

Ireri Andrea Muñiz Ortega
Mexican Embroidery Instructor

Ireri Andrea Muñiz Ortega was born in Mexico City and grew up in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. She is a textile artist and started learning to embroider in 2017. Through embroidery she found a way to express the richness of Mexican culture through fabrics and threads. After learning contemporary stitches and natural dyes, she began exploring traditional Mexican stitches and techniques such as tenango and randas.

Ireri Andrea Muñiz Ortega moved to the United States at the beginning of 2021, and this milestone led her to continue celebrating traditions and honoring her roots. After meeting Gabriela Marvan, founder of the Mexican Folk Art Collective, Ireri Andrea became involved in the first Driftless Region’s Day of the Dead Celebration in 2021. She served as a lead volunteer by organizing the construction of the ofrenda (altar), announcing explanations about the meaning of Day of the Dead to visitors, and harvesting the iconic flower of this celebration, the cempasúchil (marigold). For Andrea, being part of this event has great cultural, emotional and collective value. She enjoys sharing this tradition that has inspired her to continue connecting with who she is and where she comes from.

In 2022, Ireri Andrea became a member of the Mexican Folk Art Collective and participated in the art residency for ArtStart in Rhinelander, WI, where she taught traditional Mexican art and traditional board games with an introductory Spanish vocabulary to 200 5th graders. Her work was on display for the installation “Cercano” in 2022 for ArtStart in Rhinelander. 

Embroidery allows Ireri Andrea Muñiz Ortega to continue connecting with her Mexican heritage and culture. She will be sharing the traditional styles of Purépecha embroidery from Michoacán and Tenango embroidery from Hidalgo during the festival.