Your Dance Mistress: Susan de Guardiola
Susan de Guardiola is an internationally-renowned dance historian and teacher who will be teaching our workshop and leading the dancing at the ball. She has taught historical and modern social dancing across the USA as well as in Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, Russia, and Ukraine and is looking forward to a fun-filled evening of timey-wimey Bridgerton dancing!

Your Musicians: Daniel Chouinard, Marnen Laibow-Koser, and Catherine Miller
Daniel Chouinard, a Boston-based cellist and Berklee graduate (’24), is known for his versatility, blending strong technical and sight-reading skills with improvisation and a quick ear. Daniel is a session musician with Musiversal, has arranged and performed at Carnegie Hall with Jason Ji, and recently opened for Sheryl Crow with Vincent Lima.  He has taught with City Strings United, and released original music as “Danny Sea.”  His cello playing appears on major projects including Lewis Capaldi’s Something In The Heavens, Damiano David’s Naked, and The Daily podcast by The New York Times. He also performs at weddings, events, and theaters across New England, and enjoys hiking and cooking in his free time.

Marnen E. Laibow-Koser has been playing music for dancing since the age of eleven. He has toured with The Flying Romanos in England, Canada, and Japan, and has also played for dances throughout the United States with other bands including The Mad Katters and The Moving Violations. Marnen plays music ranging from Javanese gamelan to opera. He has appeared on stages across Europe with guitar virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore as a member of the Renaissance-folk-rock band Blackmore’s Night, and frequently plays for musical theater and ballet throughout the Northeast and elsewhere. Marnen is also active as a composer of chamber and vocal music, and is currently writing an opera based on ancient Greek mythology.

Catherine Miller is a violinist and dance musician in the Boston area. She holds a degree in violin performance from the University of Iowa. As a regular performer in English, Scottish, and contra bands, she has been described as a “coalescing force” with other musicians. She plays regularly in the Boston and New England area.

Your Host: Heath Herel
Heath Herel is a history major with a flair for technology and a passion for the early 1800s. Heath was first introduced to Country Dancing in the mid 2000s and never looked back. He has been an active participant in the Battle of Plattsburgh Ball, and was a long time organizer of the Essex Ball with the Sailing Masters of 1812.