Slava, the Oklahoma City International Folk Dancers' performance group, has performed dancers from around the world since the early Eighties.
 
Joan Chambers, who has been folk dancing since 1968, said, "The folk dance group is a very close-knit group of people, and we've been sort of a family for years. I think of it as a village " a small village of our own that meets every Monday night."
 
From 7-10 p.m. every Monday, the dancers meet at First Unitarian Church, 600 N.W. 13th. At every session, the hardwood floor there echoes footsteps and music from around the world, as well as nonstop socializing.
 
DANCES THE WORLD OVER
Since its inception in the early Eighties, Slava has performed all over the state of Oklahoma at locales and events ranging from nursing homes to the Festival of the Arts, Global Oklahoma and 21 years of WinterTales.
 
"The performance group is a service to the community," said Beverly Rapp, Slava member and public relations director. "It's a way to let people know that we're here, and to interest the public in coming and joining in on folk dancing.
 
"Also, it's entertaining (and) provides a bit of culture, because people get an opportunity to see Serbian dances, Romanian dances, Israeli dances, and they're not going to be able to see that anywhere else." "Timothy Bradford