2010 Balkan Music & Dance Workshops

* Fill Out Your Iroquois Springs 2010 On-Line Camp Evaluation! (click here-deadline Sept. 15, 2010 ) *

Iroquois Springs

Rock Hill, New York
August 7 - 14, 2010

Check out the Iroquois Springs 2010 Teaching Staff!

Mendocino

Mendocino Woodlands, California
June 26 - July 3, 2010

Check out the Mendocino 2010 Teaching Staff!

Folk music & dance of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosova, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia & Turkey

The Balkan Music & Dance Workshops offer a unique opportunity to join in a celebration of music, dance and traditions—an enjoyable learning experience in an informal and supportive atmosphere. In addition to instruction in vocal, instrumental and dance techniques, we offer folklore presentations, staff and student concerts, jam sessions and incredible evening parties with live music. We emphasize traditional and contemporary folk music and dance from the Balkans, but material also may be included from neighboring regions of Central Europe and the Near East.

Beginners with no previous knowledge are welcome!

Our greatest asset is the extraordinary talent and experience gathered in one place. More than 25 of North America’s most qualified Balkan musicians, dance teachers and scholars provide expertise and encouragement to about 175 students. Many staff members grew up with traditional music and dance in Europe or North America, while others learned from ethnic performers here and abroad.

The Program

Instruments

We offer small-group instruction on both traditional and contemporary folk instruments for beginning and advanced musicians. For those with some experience, we offer opportunities to participate in regional ensembles. We try to provide some instruments for fulltime participants. Instruments taught may include: accordion, clarinet, violin, gudulka (rebeck), gajda (bagpipe), kaval (flute), bouzouki, tambura and tamburica (lutes), tapan (bass drum) and doumbek (hand drum). Ensembles may include: Bitov (Bulgarian village instruments) Macedonian Village, Brass Band, Trans-Carpathian (violins and other strings), Greek (violin, clarinet, laouto, santouri, etc.) and Tamburica (brac, prim, bugarija, etc.)

Singing

Village and urban folk songs are taught at various levels. Instructors emphasize vocal production, ornamentation and regional styling. We also have informal group sings and dance parties with singing.

Dance

Five dance classes are offered each day, with an emphasis on traditional dance styles. Instruction is offered at both beginning and more advanced levels.

The Facilities

The Mendocino Woodlands are located in a beautiful redwood forest near the Northern California coast, 175 miles north of San Francisco. One-half hour inland from the scenic town of Mendocino, our camp has three clusters of rustic, four-person enclosed cabins with stone fireplaces and balconies, a spacious dance hall, and plenty of tenting sites. Between classes you can hike in the forest of take a dip in the swimming hole in the nearby river.

Iroquois Springs is located in Rock Hill, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. The site has a lovely relaxed, open country setting with a huge dance floor, other dance studios, plenty of workshop spaces and a swimming pool. Bunkhouse-style cabins are located around a central "village green" near the dance and dining halls.

Both workshops feature delicious, abundant meals and snacks. Late night noshing/entertainment opportunities continue at the "Kafana," a café-bar which offers a variety of beverages, and additionally at Iroquois Springs, a full menu of grilled food platters. What's more, both Kafanas sparkle every evening well into the wee hours with an exciting live-music program.

The Workshops

Each workshop begins late Saturday afternoon and ends with breakfast the next Saturday. An orientation meeting is held Saturday evening to introduce participants to the facility and to the teaching staff. Classes begin Sunday morning, and are held each day till Friday. Following a review session Friday morning, classes participate in a student concert. The week closes on Friday with a Balkan-style lamb roast and the last of the week’s great evening parties. We vacate the facilities by 11 a.m. on the final Saturday.

Families

We welcome families! We offer two class periods a day in dance, rhythm and other activities for kids, as well as a special Kids’ Band at the Mendocino workshop. Children are also welcome and encouraged to take adult classes according to their capabilities.

Scholarships!

Because of generous donations from our community, a number of full- and half-time scholarships are available for each workshop. See the application form on the left-hand sidebar. Deadline for scholarship applications is February 28, 2010. (Please note that all scholarships have been awarded for the 2010 workshops.)

Registration

Separate brochures for each workshop with information on tuition, program, staff and work exchanges, as well as registration forms detailing full- and part-time options are mailed out and available for downloading in the spring.

Organized and operated by the East European Folklife Center
P.O. Box 12488
Berkeley, CA 94712-3488
tel.: 510/547-1118 office@eefc.org www.eefc.org