Skills ’n’ Zills as a festival is the brainchild and passion project of Anam Damhsa’s director Julia Stoiber and her dance partner and friend Tina Daxberger. The initial idea in 2022 was to increase dancer numbers at the local drumming group annual meetup on the banks of the Danube. To make the weekend still more appealing for dancers to travel to, they included three workshops to be held over the weekend led by their OG teacher, Gudrun Herold. The event was held privately through word of mouth and ‘advertised’ via Facebook Messenger.

In 2022 they also heard that the Viennese Caravanseray fusion style festival was changing dates from August to June which left August 2023 open for them to hold an FCBD style festival without treading on any toes. Being considerate and aware of the dance community as always was key. And so, Skills’n’Zills as an international festival was born.

They needed teachers and so Julia naturally reached out to friends, Kelley Beeston (UK), Melody Bustillos (USA) and Lisi Brümmer. (DE) Of course, they had already decided that Gudrun Herold (DE) would be invited back as the OG teacher. They also reached out to vendors and decided on My Choli plus Margit, and Margarete while also offering a chance for others to sell some preloved pieces.

The three-day FCBD style festival was held on the second weekend in August and kicked off with registration, handing out the festival merch and the first workshops. Gudrun held a performance intensive and Lisi taught flamenco fan dialect created by Katarzyna Lidia Weichert of Hamsa Dance School, Poland. After the workshops came the tech rehearsal, and then the show took place. It’s difficult to put into words the excitement and electricity of the atmosphere as the international dancers put on an incredible performance. Old school, modern,  frame drum, single sword, double sword, a zilling showcase, skirt, flamenco fan dialect and more were showcased by talented top dancers and teachers interspaced with a local more traditional style belly dance group and a Bollywood performer. “I thought my heart would burst with pride,” said Julia Stoiber. The audience were similarly thrilled and amazed at the quality. No one had really known what to expect as the style isn’t as well known in Austria but the audience clearly enjoyed what they had seen.

Saturday brought more workshops from Kelley, Melody and Gudrun. Participants sharpened their skills and practiced spatial awareness, frame drum dialect and Melody’s famous Queens’s court dialect. In the evening, participants headed to the Lentos Museum to dance on the banks of the Danube to Linz’s Ur Ton drummers.

As the dancers approached, the heavy beat and rhythm of the drums beckoned them. The Hafla style evening then began with a gratitude meditation to honour the public, the drummers and each other. After that, the dancers had a beautiful evening of dance and chatting in a relaxed picnic style atmosphere as the sun set over the picturesque landmark of the Postlingberg Church.

Sunday morning brought yet more workshops where the participants learned about musicality and more sword work. The weekend came to a beautiful close at the Little Dancer restaurant in Linz over individual delicious and beautiful taster boards.

It was a perfect end for the special event and Julia and Tina were beyond happy, grateful and extremely touched at the overwhelmingly positive response by the dancers and teachers. They are definitely looking forward to the next event in 2024!