Story of our trip to Vienna, by Stan Dunn and Popi Rizzi-Dunn
 
 
Vienna, Austria will never be the same for us again.   For the past 12 years we have been participating in one of the most magnificent shows in Northern California, The Elk Grove Strauss Festival.  Dancing has been our great love for many years. With the Festival we have the opportunity to choreograph and teach some of the beautiful Viennese Waltz formation dances.    Each year we dance in the show held at the outdoor theater in the Elk Grove Park to a professional 32-piece orchestra playing polkas and waltzes written by members of the Strauss family. (Johann Strauss Jr., his brothers, Joseph and Edward as well as Johann  Strauss, the Father.) 
 
Over the years this annual event, held the last weekend of July, (July 22 to 25 in 2004), has grown from 500 spectators to a four night Festival with an estimated spectator attendance of  30,000, and a volunteer force of over 120 people.  Fund raising is an ongoing project, as over $100,000 is needed to put on this program and keep it free to the public.
 
Why will Vienna be different for us now?  This year most of the month of April was spent in the Italian Alps of Northern Italy with Popi?s family, who live in the Meran area of South Tyrol.   To top off this great adventure we were able to spend 5 days in Vienna, Austria (the birth place of Johann Strauss Jr). 

Professor Kurt Freimuller and Popi
 
Thanks to connections set up by Dr. Jose Ramirez (2004 Strauss Festival co-chair) through his friend Dr. Robert Budiman we met Professor Kurt Freimuller  in Vienna.  Professor Freimuller set up the most fantastic meeting of our lives.  We met with Prof. Mag. Peter Widholz who brought with him Frau Hedwig Aigner-Strauss.  She is the great granddaughter of  Johann’s brother, Joseph Strauss.  They were the most wonderful people and spent a lot of time with us in the Stadt Park.  We were able to take some photos with them next to the Johann Strauss Jr. Statue and explain to them how Johann is honored by the City of Elk Grove through the Strauss Festival.  Their faces just lit up as they saw the photos from our laptop computer.  They were so excited that there was a show of this magnitude in California.  We plan to send them more information and keep them informed about this beautiful show.
 
Some great relationships were established with the “Johann Strauss – Gesellschaft Wien” (The Johann Strauss Society Vienna) and we became members of this worldwide organization to honor our beloved Strauss.   We just cannot thank Professor Widholz (General Secretary of the Strauss Society) and Frau Hedwig Aigner-Strauss enough for the gracious and meaningful  reception they gave us.   It was truly a trip we will never forget.
 
As we sat on the bank of the Blue Danube River, after having  visited the apartment where Johann Strauss Jr. actually lived for 15 years (and where he composed the waltz “An Der Schonen Blauen Donau”),  we contemplated the idea that we were now personally in touch with this great artist.  Oooh how we wished every dancer and every volunteer of the Strauss Festival could be with us now! The dream of Iris and Arnie Zimbelman would forever be in etched in their hearts.  We actually walked where he walked, touched his piano and personally met his great niece.   This was a marvelous and touching experience for us. Our appreciation of the legacy Johann Strauss Jr. left has become personal to us now and our lives are truly enriched because of it. Do you think he had any idea what a great legacy he would leave?
 
Please feel free to contact us at waltz@strauss.net, for more information on the Strauss Festival of Elk Grove (www.straussfestival.com) or The Johann Strauss Society Vienna (www.johann-strauss-gesellschaft.at)
Reinhilde (Popi) Rizzi  -  Dunn and Stanley Dunn
Choreographer * Polka Dancer * Viennese Waltz instructors *Enjoy  Ballroom Dancing
 
Stan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.   Lived  2 1/2 years in Brazil.  Attended Brigham Young University, graduated with BS in Business Management.  Moved to Sacramento, California in 1965.   Speaks fluent Portuguese, English and some Spanish.
 
Popi was born in Merano, Italy.  A town near the Austrian border. Grand parents are from Austria.   She attended a Catholic school and went to boarding schools most of her life.  She came to the USA at age 19.   Due to her heritage she loves the Viennese Waltz and loves to study the history of  royalty in Austria.   Speaks fluent German, Italian, English and some Spanish.

Vienna Rhythm dance team performs for the Austrian Winterfest in 2003.  Contact us to schedule a performance for your event. waltz@strauss.net

Trayce Meany is a very talented choreographer and dancer.  Dancing with the Strauss Festival and Vienna Rhythm has been a big part of her life for over 10 years.  Her nursing profession is supplemented by her love for teaching the youth ballett classes in Elk Grove.
 
Jonathan Thurston has an extensive background in Folk Dancing.  He has done inspired choreography for the youth polka group and the waltz troupe with the Strauss Festival.  His dancing abilities are a great asset to Vienna Rhythm.

Ray Bayles has been dancing in the Strauss Festival for 15 years.  He is a premier dancer with the Vienna Rhythm.  His fower shop, "Old Towne Creations" in Elk Grove, takes up a lot of his time, but his love for dancing keeps him young.
 
Judy Carter is a highly talented dancer and has danced with the Strauss Festival since 1991.  She dances with the Vienna Rhythm Dancers and enjoys her occupation as a Real Estate Agent and splits her time in Elk Grove with her beautiful home in Tahoe City.