R.I.P Dennis Rigan (with Linda Smith)

Dennis "BIG DADDY" Rigan (June 1943 - September 14, 2026)

(From Kathy Smith - Detroit Folk Dance Club)

We recently learned that our friend and folk dancer, Denis Rigan, passed away on September 14, 2026. Denis was 83 years old.

Although Denis lived in Ann Arbor, many of our area dancers knew him because he and Linda often came to our dances, parties and workshops.

They also came to many of the ethnic events and picnics in our area. Denis was very knowledgeable about many subjects, including folk dancing, and he danced at a leadership level.

Our sincerest condolences to his beloved Linda, and to all of Denis's family and friends.

(From Paul Collins - Virtual Dance Room)

"Big Daddy" taught at the Door County Folk Festival for a couple of years back in the 1980s. Dennis and Linda were on some of the early Work Scholar Teams - before we called it the Work Scholar Team

During the 1960s and 1970s, Dennis was one of the leaders/teachers at the Ann Arbor Folk Dance Group.

A car-load of dancers from Chicago and Ann Arbor (including Dennis & Linda, Terry Friedman, Paul Collins and Sandra Faxon drove to Montreal for a 4-day workshop with Dr. Ivan "Ivo" Ivančan director of the LADO Ensemble back in the middle 1970s.