Valina Polka profile picture

Valina Polka

DANCE LESSONS IN HOUSTON! APPLY WITHIN! Check out the new pics from Fasching! My polka dance lesson

About Me

Folk dance teacher, German event Emcee, percussionist and singer for the Das Ist Lustig band, some bluegrass bands and skilled rabble rouser.
* * * * * 2008 CALENDAR * * * * *
April 25 - 27 Emcee for Muenster Germanfest - Learn a folk dance with me!
May 3 Das Ist Lustig with guest Matt Tolentino at Pattison Christ Lutheran Church 11:00am - 3:00pm - German Sausage Festival.
May 10 Emcee and rabble rouser and Das Ist Lustig for Brenham Maifest.
May 17-18 Das Ist Lustig private party.
May 24-25 Reserving the weekend to dance and enjoy watching Polka Freak Out, Brave Combo and more at the National Polka Festival in Ennis!
June 1 - percussionist for Tuna Sin - private party
June 13 - 15 Emcee for Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio.
August 23 Das Ist Lustig 50th Anniversary in San Angelo private party. August 30 - 31 Das Ist Lustig at Westfest: Noon - 1:30 under the West tent.
Sept 11 - 13 Teach dance lessons and rabble rouser Siemens convention -private party
Sept 18 - 21 Emcee for Addison Oktoberfest and TBA Das Ist Lustig.
EXCITEMENT…
FRIVOLITY…
INFECTIOUS ENTHUSIASM!!!
Want your festival wound up?
Want your guests to Loosen up?
You need a skilled Rabble Rouser!
Valina will inspire your guests and get your party to polka. She will turn the dance floor into frolicking fun as unsuspecting party goers are mesmerized while quarry after quarry are lead in polka fun, laughing and unconstrained participation. Ein Prosit, What to do? No one will have to ask. Shunkel lieder, Everyone will lean left and right. Leading a march? No one left in their chair.
Valina has 18 years experience leading audience participation; 9 years as emcee and leading audiences at German festivals and private parties in and around Texas and internationally. In November of 2006, she was the official emcee for the Oktoberfest in Penang Malaysia. She started a polka band in spring of 2007 called Das Ist Lustig. They have already performed at Westfest, Wurstfest, The Texas Folklife Festival, The Friesenhaus Restaurant and many other venues. She has toured with Terry Cavanagh and the Alpine Express. She yodels and sings as a guest with Brave Combo. She also sang with Alpenfest, the Inntaler Musikanten and the Gypsies. She’s played the cowbells as a guest with the Inntaler Musikanten, Terry Cavanagh and Chris Rybak. She performs German folk dances with her partner, Mark Thomann. Valina has traveled Germany, Austria and Holland extensively studying languages and culture. She speaks Dutch, some German and is tastefully costumed in Dirndl or Lederhosen.
Tuned Austrian cowbells, Washboard, Boombas, Folk dance exhibition, dance instruction, Chicken dance, Zillertaller Hochseitsmarch, Herr Schmidt, Paul Jones, Garden Waltz, Seven Step Polka, Ein Prosit, marches, contests, shunkel and singalong, Valina will connect your audience with your band. Don’t leave it to chance - color your event with charm and leadership from the very best!
www.valinapolka.com [email protected]
The spring festival season is coming up! Keep an eye on www.myspace.com/jadasistlustig for dates and times. I'll try to get it all on here as well.
Check in here for information on future folk style polka, waltz and schottische lessons!
Here's a video from Wurstfest! Alex and his band Meixner Music invited Stephan from the Hohberg Buam and me to join in on the Boombas jam with their band. Enjoy.


Myspace Codes: MyNiceSpace.com


I'm totally honored! This certificate is written to me but it is in regards to my new duo Das Ist Lustig for our performance at the 2007 Texas Folklife Festival. There was a mixup in the scheduling and they printed my name instead of the band's name. But we're still totally pshyched about this honor.
Here's a youtube of Terry Cavanagh and I dancing to the music of the Walburg Boys at Wurstfest last year. Watch for dance lessons to be available again and you can do this too!
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My Interests

DANCING, singing, playing washboard, playing cowbells, laughing, bird watching, traveling, performingPerformance history:As Emcee: · Muenster Germanfest, Muenster, Texas - April 2006, 2007 · Tomball German Heritage Festival, Tomball, Texas - March 2006, 2007, 2008 · Houston International Festival, Houston, Texas - April 2006 · Penang German Society Oktoberfest, Penang Malaysia - November 2006 · Saint Arnold’s Oktoberfest, Houston, Texas - October 2006, 2007 · Addison Oktoberfest, Addison, Texas – September 2005, 2006, 2007 · Texas Folklife Festival, San Antonio, Texas – June 2006, 2007 · Oktoberfest Garden in the Heights, Houston, Texas - October 1997 through 2002 · Houston St Patrick’s Festival Garden in the Heights, Houston, Texas – March 1999 through 2002As Rabble Rouser: · Brenham Maifest, Brenham, Texas - May 2007 · Bavarian Christmas Tenant Appreciation party, Allen Center, downtown Houston - December 2006 · Oktoberfest Our Savior Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas - October 2005, 2006, 2007 · Texas Renaissance Festival in the Arborhaus Biergarten, Montgomery County, Texas – October / November 2005, 2006 · Saltzgitter Mannesmann (formerly Thyssen Steel) annual party, Houston, Texas – October 2006, 2007 · Thyssen Steel Corp annual party, Houston, Texas - 2004Folk Dance Exhibition: · Greater Southwest Chamber of Commerce annual party, Houston, Texas – October 2006 · Bavarian Christmas Allen Center Tenant Appreciation party, downtown Houston - December 2006 · Oktoberfest Our Savior Lutheran Church (Lutherfest), Houston, Texas – October 2005, 2006, 2007
Kinkaid School November 2002, 2008As Member Of A Band:As Das Ist Lustig: Tomball Night, August 2007, Texas German Society Sept 2007, Westfest under the West tent, September 2007, Friesenhaus Restaurant in New Braunfels - various dates fall of 2007, Wurstfest in New Braunfels Nov 2007, Oasis Lifestyles retirement center - various dates 2007, Tomball Hospital Oct 2007, The Dutchman Bar Oct 2007, beechnut Manor Nursing Home Oct 2007, Kinkaid Intertational Fair Jan 2008, Frostwood Elementary International night Jan 2008, Various private parties 2008, National Accordion Convention March 2008, Tomball German Heritage Festival March 2008 · Christ Lutheran Church German Sausage Dinner, Pattison, Texas – May 2007 with Matt Tolentino · Big Woodrow’s on Chimney Rock, Houston, Texas – October 2006 with Wolf Kayser and Chris Rybak · Friesenhaus Restaurant, New Braunfels, Texas - various dates with Terry Cavanagh · Regency in Schulenburg, Texas - September 2006 with Chris Rybak · Terry Cavanagh and the Alpine Express: McAllen Rotary South Oktoberfest - November 2004 - 2006 Salzgitter Mannesmann (formerly Thyssen Steel Corp) Annual party - October 2005 Cullman Oktoberfest in Cullman, Alabama – October 2004 Oktoberfest dance Birmingham German Club in Birmingham Alabama - October 2004 Huntsville Arsenal Oktoberfest - October 2004 Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Texas – November 2004 - 2006 Thyssen Steel Corp Annual party 2002

I'd like to meet:

Everyone who likes polka and beer!

People who want to learn to waltz and polka! People who already know how to waltz and polka and want to do more! I wish I could have met Lawrence Welk. I did meet Myron Floren... People who like polka music and dance in general: Musicians, singers, dancers and artists - creative people. People who like a hot polka and a cold brew any day of the year.

Y'all do exhist, right?


Myspace Codes:

Music:

POLKA: German, Czech, Dutch, Polish, heck, any polka is good polka. Al Meixner Trio, Alpenfest, Alpenmusikanten, Brave Combo, Caitlin and Terry, Chris Rybak, Czechoholics, Das Ist Lustig, Dujka Brothers, Los Super Vatos, Polka Freak Out, Terry Cavanagh and the Alpine Express, Walburg Boys... geez, too many to mention! Country: The old stuff, some of the new stuff and Western Swing. Asleep at the Wheel, Don Williams, Hardwood Brothers, Wild River Band, Tuna Sin, Swing: Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Johnny Dyson's big band, Ronnie Renfro band, Swing Serenade. Classic Rock: various, Eagles Pop Rock: various. Folk: Simon and Garfunkle, Old Blind Dogs, Enya. In a class by himself: Spike Jones

Movies:

I like almost any movie with dancing and singing in it. South Pacific, The King And I, Sound Of Music, Oklahoma, Singing In The Rain, Grease, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins... I also love a good comedy: Ferris Bueller, Princess Bride, Dumb and Dumber, IQ, Real Genius, Benny and Joon, National Lampoon's European Vacation...

Television:

OH! That's what that box with knobs and a moving picture is all about!Okay, I still watch MASH reruns...Don't think I'll ever get tired of them. I love the Simpsons - especially the episode Brave Combo was on! Dancing with the Stars, Lawrence Welk (on channel 8) If I had Satelite TV, I would probably watch the Big Joe Polka Show.

Books:

The Pern series and the Rowan series by Ann McCaffrey. Currently reading the Chronicles of Pern. My friend GW lent me Ludwig II, The Mad King Of Bavaria - How interesting was his life! What a creative and fantastical mind, but such a lonely soul. The Myth series by Robert Aspirin, All the Harry Potter books. Stephen King, The Scarlet Letter, The Texas Polka News... I think when I finish the sci fi series I'm reading now, I will delve into some history books about all of the European royal families. They lived such different lives! I also want to read about the European artists - Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh... Half Price Books will love me!

Heroes:

The US Military, Firemen, and people who care about others without judgement. ...and musicians...

My Blog

2008 Tomball German Heritage Festival

As most of you already know, I work for the Tombal German Heritage Festival.  I schedule the entertainers, stage manage and emcee the event every year.  I was very lucky to have some of the ...
Posted by Valina Polka on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:56:00 PST

time off - what better place?

Working all day, then spending our evenings cleaing, moving furniture, painting, reorganizing, condensing, rehearsing music, church choir, meetings with the Pastor, performances and reh...
Posted by Valina Polka on Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:23:00 PST

Polka news brief

Springtime is full of long awaited outdoor events chock full of POLKA MUSIC!!!  My family and friends just returned from Hidalgo in South Texas and the Borderfest.  Borderfest is a huge inte...
Posted by Valina Polka on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:13:00 PST

off the subject...read at your own risk!

You know it's going to be a good day when the last bite of your cheerios looks like a smiley face!
Posted by Valina Polka on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:51:00 PST