The Buchta Dancers were a troupe of ballroom , folk, and square dancers led by Gunter (1924-1997) and Irma Buchta. They gained fame for their regular performances on the Canadian folk music TV variety show Don Messer's Jubilee .
7-585: Gunter Peter Buchta, the founder of the Buchta Dancers, was born in Pelaun, Germany, in 1924. After suffering a leg wound on the Russian front during World War II, he turned to dancing as a form of therapy, which subsequently became his lifelong passion. Gunter and his wife, Irma, immigrated to Canada in 1950. In Canada, he played a significant role in the dance community, including organizing the ballroom dance department at
14-591: A Monday night fixture until its final 1968-1969 season when it returned to the Friday evening timeslot. Outside of Hockey Night In Canada , in the mid-1960s Don Messer's Jubilee was the #1 show in the country, earning higher ratings than even the imported CBS variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show . The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin' Tom Connors , Catherine McKinnon , Anne Murray , Gordon Lightfoot and Canadian singer Bud Spencer. The cancellation of
21-529: A judge both nationally and internationally. Gunter Buchta died in Halifax on July 3, 1997. The Buchta Dancers are most famously known for their performances on Don Messer's Jubilee , a popular Canadian folk music TV variety show. The Buchta Dancers were regular performers on the show from 1954 to 1971, adding a distinct dance element that complemented the musical performances by Don Messer and His Islanders. Don Messer%27s Jubilee Don Messer's Jubilee
28-805: The Maritime Conservatory of Music and founding the Corte Club and the Ballroom Dancing Club of Halifax. Gunter Buchta's contributions to dance extended beyond his performances. He served as the first head of the ballroom branch of the Canadian Dance Teachers' Association and held a fellowship from the Dance Teachers' Association of Great Britain. He was also a founder of the Canadian Championship for Ballroom Dancing and served as
35-455: The featured guest performance, and a closing hymn . It ended with " Till We Meet Again ". The series began 7 November 1957 as a regional program limited to CBC's Nova Scotia and New Brunswick stations. On 7 August 1959, CBC stations throughout Canada carried the show as a summer replacement for Country Hoedown ' s Friday evening time slot. That fall, Don Messer's Jubilee became a regular season CBC series as of 28 September 1959, becoming
42-464: The half-hour weekly program featured Messer and his band "Don Messer and His Islanders", as well as a guest performer. The show followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain , numbers by the Buchta Dancers,
49-573: Was a Canadian folk musical variety show first broadcast on radio and later on television. The radio version aired from produced from 1939 to 1958 in Charlottetown for CBC Radio . The Television version show shot at the studios of CBHT in Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada. It was broadcast by CBC Television nationwide from 1957 until 1969, after almost two decades in various formats on CBC radio. Taking its name from band leader and fiddler Don Messer ,
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