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Class Descriptions

Jayne Hat Knitting: Heather Hill of wearwithstyle.com has knitted Jayne hats for more than a thousand Browncoats and will help you get started knitting your own cunning topper.  Students should already know knitting basics.  Bring your own yarn and needles or purchase ready-made Jayne hat kits.  Our pattern will use bulky wool and 6.5mm needles, but we'll help you size the pattern up or down as needed for any yarn you bring.  Students can purchase kits and needles at half price - $10 for yarn, $20 for yarn plus needles.

Martial Arts: Martial arts demonstration. See skills needed to be a highly sought after Merc.

Origami: The Japanese art of folding paper. Taught by Audrey Hackett. We will be working on two different projects. One is the highly recognizable Crane. The other is a paper bead. Once you master the basic folds you can make anything. Paper and instructions will be supplied at no additional cost.

Waltz Lessons: Learn how to cut a rug. Professional dance instructor, Kelly Bivens, of Studio1 Talent in Rock Hill, SC will teach you the basics of waltzing.  No partner is required. Class attendees will be paired up. Kelly will teach basic waltz steps and also a group waltz that can be danced at the Ball.  Kelly will return on Saturday night to help lead her students in the group waltz.

Civil War Speaker: Geary Shafer, Unit Commander of Company B of the 13th Regiment, will discuss North Carolina during the Civil War and troops from Mecklenburg County. Geary participates in reenactments and frequently speaks to groups as part of the Living History Association of Mecklenburg, Inc. His passion is to educate people of the life and times of a civil war soldier through presentations, living history, and battlefield reenactments. Geary will be in period uniform.

Fencing Demo: Peter Zay started fencing when he was 9 yrs old in Hungary. He was a student of world renown Hungarian Fencing master, Laszló Szabó. Zay was a member of the Hungarian National Junior fencing Team. He relocated to the USA in 1992, and obtained membership in the United States Fencing Association (USFA).

Burlesque Basics: Deanna Pendragon from Big Mama’s House of Burlesque in Charlotte NC will teach an intro Burlesque class. Come and join the faction of fishnets and striptease savants in Big Mamma D’s Introductory Burlesque Class! You will learn some history of Burlesque in America, as well as the basics of making and wearing your own pasties, and of course…how to put some bump in your grind! Open to all people but intended for ages over 18– There is NO Nudity in this class. Introductory class only, no dancing experience or dance skill required. Please wear comfortable movement clothing, low or dance heels, and pasties/panties if you plan to remove clothing. No nekkid people please. Feel free to bring your own feather boa, gloves, & fans, and anything you’d like to learn about. All attendees will earn their Honorary B.U.S.T Diploma! B.urlesque U.nderstudy of S.trip T.ease.

Whedon Author Panel Q&A: Four published authors will talk about their work and field questions. The panel will be moderated by Dale Koontz Guffey. Panelists include Elizabeth Rambo, Sherry Ginn and Linda Jencson

  • K. Dale Koontz is the author of Faith and Choice in the Works of Joss Whedon, a book that owes its entire existence to the film Serenity. She will be talking about our very own Firefly witch, River Tam.  Hopefully, no one will need to be cut down.

  • Elizabeth Rambo’s love for Firefly (and Captain Mal) leaves her speechless. Instead, she has published several essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-edited (with Lynne Edwards and James South) Buffy Goes Dark: Essays on the Final Two Seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Television. She’s on the editorial board of Slayage: the Journal of the Whedon Studies Association and will talk (briefly) about how she got into the Whedon studies racket.

  • Sherry Ginn is the author of Our Space, Our Place: Women in the Worlds of Science Fiction Television. Her book on power and control in the Whedonverses will be published in 2011. She will speak on exactly what the Alliance did to River to make her into such a powerful weapon.

  • Linda Jencson is a cultural anthropologist who studies the ways human beings use symbols to motivate collective social action.  She has presented many papers on Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer at scholarly conferences.  She is also the author of an award-nominated article on the Serenityverse published in Slayage, the Online Journal of the Whedon Studies Association.