Margot wrote the below article which appeared in the April 2006 issue of Gary Hayman’sU.S.A.web site ZydE-Zine.

Margot, has been teaching Cajun dancing since 1995 at venues and Music Festivals.  For more information and to see the biggest Cajun/Zydeco web site in America go to Gary Hayman’s web page at http://users.erols.com/ghayman  

ZYDECO COMES TO NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL IN AUSTRALIA – Easter, 2006.

By Margot Hitchcock, from Melbourne, Australia.

Margot Hitchcock, Cajun Queen of Melbourne, in her continuing efforts to promote and keep alive Cajun and Zydeco music in Australia, has been accepted to teach Zydeco dancing at the National Folk Festival in Canberra, Australia during this coming Easter. http://www.folkfestival.asn.au/

Margot promoted and had Ray Abshire, Cajun Accordion musician from Louisiana, come over last year to the National Folk Festival in Australia to play for her Cajun dance workshop and concerts with some Melbourne Cajun musicians, and the festival paid his air fare.

For this year’s festival Margot applied to teach Zydeco dancing with Mark Stoltz of Lake Ann in Michigan, USA and the festival has agreed to pay his air fare over to teach with Margot.

Margot met Mark through a Cajun/Zydeco web site forum in 2000 where he was offering to teach Zydeco dancing. Margot emailed him and they have been corresponding ever since. Through Mark, Margot met another friend, Garry Kaluzny of Ann Arbor, Michigan who has a Cajun Band and web site. http://acs.madonna.edu/~kaluzny/cajun They were both going to the Cajun/Creole festival inAugusta in West Virginia in 2001 and Garry invited Margot over to join them.

(A report of this was written up in an earlier ZydE-Zine. [See: http://www.homestead.com/cajunzydeco/files/articles/a011209.htm )   or my page on my trip in 2001.

Mark and Margot went to the Zydeco dance classes led by Mona Wilson and had fun learning Zydeco dancing. Mona is a very good teacher and taught them well. Garry went to the Cajun Accordion lessons and after the festival Margot and Garry travelled down to Louisiana for the Cajun French Music Awards Festival.

As Margot already knew Mark she offered him the job of teaching with her as he has been teaching Zydeco and Cajun dancing with his band “K Jones and the Benzie Playboyz” for some years at various festivals and functions in the U.S.A. www.benzieplayboyz.com

Mark has an infectious smile when he is dancing and it shows in his joy and love of the Cajun music as he dances. His email address says it all – – liv4danc@hotmail.com as his dedication to Cajun and Zydeco music is to live for his dancing. He has a new web site which has been created for his love of Cajun music – www.cajunsmile.com

The band playing for their dance workshop and a Zydeco dance and concerts will be a Canberra based Cajun/Zydeco band called “Allez-Gator”. www.geocities.com/allezgatorau

Margot began teaching Cajun dancing at the National Folk Festival in Australiain 1995 and has taught at festivals and venues ever since. Margot also plays her unique Rub-board (frottoir) and Cajun triangle with various bands in Melbourne, Interstate and also in Louisiana on her three recent visits to the U.S.A.

Margot and Mark Stoltz had a lot of fun teaching about 200 people who came to their Zydeco dance workshop at the National Folk Festival.  At night they held a Zydeco dance with the Canberra band Allez-Gator where people were having a lot of fun dancing.  Margot at one stage was invited up on stage to play Cajun triangle and Ruboard with the band. The Allez-Gator band also played for a concert spot another day where Margot and Mark Zydeco and Cajun danced and were then invited up on stage to play with the band. Margot and Mark also ran a ruboard workshop and Mark has so much fun at the festival that he wants to come back another year.

Margot never stops in promoting Cajun musicians in Melbourne and her love for teaching Cajun dancing. In her role as Cajun Queen and Honorary Cajun, Margot is dedicated to sharing this unique music and dance from Louisiana with her fellow Australians. Her belief is that Cajun music is for dancing and the desire to pass this on so that others can share in the “Joi de Vivre – Joy of Life ” experience..