BEHIND THE SCENES TRIP LEADERS * TRAVEL WITH THE EXPERTS! *

Cynthia LeCount Samaké began Behind the Scenes Adventures in 1995. She is a specialist in festival costume and traditional textiles and enthusiastically shares her expertise throughout the trips. She has a Master's degree in Art History from the University of California and for many years, she taught "World Textiles" in the Department of Environmental Design at UC Davis. Cynthia is the author of "Andean Folk Knitting: Traditions and Techniques from Peru and Bolivia" and the "Bolivia" chapter of CARNAVAL! (U. of Washington Press, 2004).

Cynthia was Project Leader for numerous University of California Research Expeditions (UREP) to South America and Southeast Asia, and was also Academic Director of UREP. She has traveled to Peru and Bolivia 35 times and says she never tires of seeing Machu Picchu!

Cynthia has also been curator for many exhibitions of traditional textiles and festival costume, including "Con Mucha Alegría" (Bolivian Carnival costume) at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art (MOCFA) in San Francisco and at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.

Most recently, she was curator for "Rhythm and Hues: Cloth and Culture of Mali" at MOCFA this past winter. Read a review of the exhibition here: Rhythm & Hues in HandEye Magazine.

 

Barou Samaké, Behind the Scenes' African Specialist, was born in Segou, MalI, and has lived in the United States for the past 11 years. He and Cynthia make regular visits to their family in Segou, and have become involved in the eco-tourism movement in Mali. Barou accompanies all the trips in West Africa-- to Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso where his extensive knowledge of his culture and his many friends and acquaintances make the West African trips truly "behind-the-scenes" adventures.

Barou speaks French, English and Bambara, the language of most Malians, and everywhere we go, he has friends and family connections. He knows Malian musicians, museum staff, artists, hotel and restaurant owners, cloth designers and many other friendly people who will welcome us as we travel.

Showing unflagging good humor and an energetic "can-do" attitude, there is no problem too big for Barou to solve!

Chloë Sayer is a specialist in Mexican popular culture. She has traveled widely in Mexico researching textile traditions, crafts, festivals and dances. Her many books include "Costumes of Mexico" (University of Texas Press, 1985), "The Arts and Crafts of Mexico" (Chronicle Books, 1990) and "Textiles of Mexico" (British Museum Press, 2002). She collaborated with photographer Mariana Yampolsky on "Traditional Mexican Architecture" (Thames and Hudson, 1993) and co-wrote "Mask Arts of Mexico" with Ruth Lechuga (Chronicle Books, 1994).

Chloë co-curated the exhibition "The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead" in Mexico at the Museum of Mankind in London, and wrote the accompanying book (British Museum Press and University of Texas Press, 1991). Chloë lives in London and lectures regularly in museums and art schools. She has collected ethnographic material for the British Museum and has also researched and produced a number of television documentaries for the BBC. Chloë is English, enthusiastic and delightful. A behind-the-scenes trip to Mexico with her is the experience of a lifetime!

Nancy Thomas is currently Creative Director of Coats & Clark Yarns. She held the same position at Tahki Stacy Charles Yarns and was Editor of "Knitter's Magazine"  for many years. She has also been Style Director for many books published by Knitter's Magazine (XRX Inc.). She is the former Editor of Vogue Knitting and founding-editor of Family Circle Knitting. Nancy is the co-author of Vogue Knitting: the Ultimate Knitting Book and she was instrumental in the launch of Vogue Knitting Magazine in 1982. Nancy has also co-authored "A Passion for Knitting," published in 2002 and her latest book: Tweed, published by Clarkson Potter, 2008.

Nancy actively promotes needle arts by attending seminars and teaching workshops throughout the United States and Canada. She has hosted events at Knitter's Magazine's "Stitches" conventions and has also appeared on numerous TV shows, including Shay Pendray's "Needlearts Studio" and "The Today Show." She has traveled to the Andes many times as Behind The Scenes' knitting expert on the "Travel with the Experts" series of adventures.

 

 

Daniel Joyce, is Behind the Scenes' Travel Coordinator. After an extended stay in Thailand (where he met his beautiful Thai wife, Lek) Daniel arrived in Laos and realized

he was hooked on traveling. He immediately faxed in his resignation to terminate his

"day job" as Senior Mechanical Designer, and proceeded to cover South America and

the Arctic Circle. Back at his design job now, Daniel provides travel logistics and graphic design support to BTSA and accompanies as many trips as possible.

 

Textile expert and renowned weaver, Nilda Callañaupa, will accompany us "behind the scenes" by private van to explore the amazing weaving and knitting of several rural communities in the Cuzco area, including her native Chinchero. Nilda is wonderfully knowledgable about Andean culture and textiles, and has lectured at many North American museums, including the San Francisco Fine Arts Museum and The Textile Museum in Washington, DC.

Nilda is founder and Director of "The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco," an organization whose goals are to preserve and revive Peruvian textiles through documentation of techniques -- and more importantly, support the contemporary weavers. Nilda oversees our dye workshops, held either in her hometown or in another highland village. On our village visits, many textile artists affiliated with the Center will demonstrate their skills and methods for us, and we will visit a group of Nilda's friends who live on the "puna" or high Andean zone, at over 13,000 feet altitude.