Denis Zhukov is a balalaika performer, teacher, laureate of prestigious international competitions, founder of the children’s orchestra of Russian folk instruments, as well as several musical projects, including “Bryatz Guys”– The new age of balalaika. He is originally from the Ukrainian city of Yevpatoria, and was educated at the Gnesin’s Russian Academy of Music. Denis participated in many recording sessions, live broadcasts and concert performances as a soloist and artist of various orchestras and ensembles. He is active in touring and educational activities, repeatedly came to the USA to participate in the educational program “Sight and Sound of Traditional Russian Music” In 2022, his EB1A (extraordinary ability) petition was approved by the US Immigration Service, and he moved to California, where he continues his career as a musician.

Guzel is a musician and teacher with 17+ years of experience. She graduated from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, Russia, majoring in domra. Guzel is a Laureate of all-Russian and international competitions, and the Grand Prix at the international festival “Mediterranean Legend” in Spain. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California where she continues to perform and teach.

Originally from Ukraine, Alexander is currently the conductor of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra and the Artistic Director of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble. He is a prolific choral and orchestral arranger, an accomplished pianist. He has composed music for a number of Ukrainian productions, stages musical dramas, and arranges for the Toronto Orchestra and Shevchenko Ensemble

Irina and Aleksei Lutcenko both studied at the Academy of Far Eastern Arts in Vladivostok, Russia. In 2017, the two artists decided to settle in Quebec, Canada. The love of music and the complementarity of their instruments, bayan and domra, are at the origin of the success of this family. Russian folk music has conquered the hearts of many audiences in Russia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Canada thanks to the interpretation of these two musicians and the original sound of their instruments. The musicians also take an active part not only in the artistic life, but in the social life of Montreal: their performances are warmly welcomed by residents of long-term centers, rehabilitation centers and palliative care.

Sarah Jane Nelson is an author and musical performer based in New England. Her book Ballad Hunting with Max Hunter: Stories of an Ozark Folksong Collector was released last year by the University of Illinois Press as part of their Music in America Series. Thanks to Eastern European grandparents in Hartford, Connecticut and an accordion-playing father who loved the “old” tunes, the balalaika music of Sasha Polinoff formed her earliest soundscape. She is currently deep into research on the life of Polinoff and his greater musical community. A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Sarah Jane has an abiding interest in North American musical traditions—from the old-time string band music of Appalachia and the Ozarks to the Eastern European dance tunes that found their way into early and mid-century nightclubs in Montreal and New York City. Sarah Jane is currently studying balalaika technique with Tetiana Khomenko and looks forward to continuing her conversations with the other learned members of the BDAA.

William (Billy) Burke has been involved with the dance of different cultures since he was a preschooler. Growing up he danced with many different amateur groups in the San Francisco Bay area. He toured professionally with the Don Cossack Choir. Moving to Los Angeles and joining the AMAN Folk ensemble he became a lead dancer. He was also the original director of the AMAN touring company. His teaching experience spans over 5 decades including 37 years teaching ethnic dance in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has also presented master classes in Balkan dance at several universities and dance camps. He has approached his craft with the following thought: “The joy of celebrating a culture through its music and dance is to be found in the head, heart, and soul of the performer. To do so in one’s own culture is a duty, to do so in the culture of others, an honor.”

Barbara Cakshiri was raised in the music and dance culture of Yugoslavia and later participated in the wider Balkan genre.  She performed Bulgarian dances in the Los Angeles group “Kitka” and played in the “AMAN Folk Ensemble Orchestra.”  Barbara taught a school folk dance performing group and has been a guest teacher at adult gatherings.  While traveling in the Balkans and Eastern Europe she engaged in folk dance, and currently plays accordion with “BigRock Balalaikas.”

Jason is a music educator, arranger, and ethnomusicologist from Wisconsin where he currently teaches music to 3^rd graders through high school.  He holds a B.A. and M.M. in music from Northern Illinois University where he focused on the steel band art form, music theory, and ethnomusicology. He has performed in Trinidad and Tobago twice for the World Steel Band Festival and Panorama competitions and in South Korea for the 2002 Seoul Drum Festival.  While in Trinidad and Tobago, Jason conducted fieldwork to study the organology of the steel pan. In addition to balalaika, he performs and accompanies on steel pan, tenor banjo, guitar, mandolin, accordion, trumpet, upright bass, piano, and voice.