ABOUT LEE

Lee Otterholt, born in the US of Norwegian-American parents, lived and worked most of his life in Norway as a professional dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. In Oslo, he founded and led the Center for International Folk Dance. He was a professor of folkloristic dance at the Norwegian National College of Ballet and at the University College of Oslo. He was responsible for the establishment of 4 still-active folk dance clubs and 3 performing groups which have appeared at festivals all over Europe. He also produced teaching materials (videos, books and CDs) on folk dance for use in the Norwegian school system and was one of the choreographers of the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, in 1994.

For the last 20 years Lee has been active on the international scene, teaching at festivals, workshops and camps in Europe, the US and Asia and leading folk dance cruises and tours to many part of the world. In 2003, he moved Laguna Beach, California where he founded the international folk dance performing group “SYRTAKI”. He is also the lead singer in the BalkanBeat band “Zimzala”. In 2015 he received the National Dance Award, presented to him at the San Antonio Folk Dance Festival.

Throughout the pandemic, Lee has regularly appeared on Zoom on Wednesdays and Sundays, keeping folk dancing alive in spite of everything. His teaching emphasizes style...dancing well, not just “getting the steps”. He brings improvisation, self-expression and spontaneity into the folk-dancing traditions and he never loses sight of the fact that recreational folk dancers dance because it is FUN...just as it was fun and meaningful to the village dancers before us.

Lee performing a Zeibekikos in 2011