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John Kuo
I am deeply saddened by this news. I have known Larry since1973, when he first arrived to attend the U of C graduate school from U of Rochester. He was already a knowledgeable, dynamic Balkan and Ukrainian/Russian folk dancer (he and I were the ones who especially relished squats, "duck walks", etc.) and a welcome addition to the U of C group. He joined Balkanske Igre the same year that I did and we all had great times together performing and learning from the greats, such as Atanas Kolarovski, Mitko Manov, Andor Czompo, Csaba Palfi, et al. He was for a while John Parrish's roommate when John had the entire third floor of a house on Madison Park and their book collections filled that large space to the brim! Larry was an accomplished pianist who could play with equal authority a Beethoven piano sonata or a Hungarian swineherd's dance. I was delighted when he returned to the midwest from North Carolina, taking a post at U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He became active with the IFD in Milwaukee, joining and later directing the Na Lesa Bulgarian Ensemble, founded in 1968 by Ron Galasinski, a Duqeusne University Tamburitzan alumnus. Larry and I shared a joke that the main reason he got tenure at U of Wisconsin is that a senior member of Na Lesa was on the tenure committee. Seriously, Larry was one of the most intelligent, perceptive, erudite, humorous, warm-hearted, and genuine people I have ever known. My family and I as well as present and former members of the Ensemble Balkanske Igre will miss him greatly. John Kuo
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