news

YMCA: Folk Dances from Around the World

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:19:55 +0100

The Evansville Folk Dancers will present a four-week beginner's dance workshop starting February 26 at the Evansville Downtown YMCA Activities Room.

Free and open to the community, for adults and youth 14 and over, we will enjoy the folk music, culture and dance of Romania, Greece, Israel and other countries.

Saturdays 10:00-11:00 A. M. February 26, March 5, 12 and 19.

For further information contact Barb Gillespie 812 401 6732 or Mary Engelland 812 431 1323 or contact us here on our website.

Village Dances from Macedonia

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:13:45 +0100

The International Folk Dance Association of University City (St. Louis) will be hosting a weekend of dance workshops by Michael Ginsburg on FEBRUARY 18-20, 2011.

Michael Ginsburg started dancing during childhood, and he has made several research trips to Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Macedonia. He has taught on four continents, and he is known for his energetic and accessible presentation of authentic styling. Besides teaching folk dance, he is the director of the internationally known Balkan brass band Zlatne Uste in New York City.

Macedonia is an area that demonstrates some of the most diverse styles of dancing found in the Balkans. The area now covers the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, northern Greece, and southeastern Bulgaria; occupied by Slavs, Greeks, Albanians, Roma and several other groups.

The weekend begins at 7:30 P. M. (Friday) February 18 and concludes on Sunday after a workshop and review of dances from 1:00-3:00 P. M.

For further details visit their website or contact Nancy or Rex Couture 314 275 8228 or e-mail.

Lee Otterholt—Balkans and Beyond

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:14:15 +0100

The Columbus Folk Dancers
FEBRUARY 25-27, Columbus, OHIO

Lee teaches dances from Eastern European countries including Greece, Romania, Albania, minority cultures of the Balkans, and Norway. He focuses on teaching how to dance well, not just get the steps, and works to bring improvisation, self-expression and spontaneity into the dance.

The weekend begins on Friday, 8:00 pm and continues until Sunday afternoon lunch with Lee at a local restaurant.

For further details, price, registration and other information please contact Leslie Scott or telephone 614 262 7248. You can also visit their website for a registration form.

Day of Dance : February 19, 2011

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 04:22:24 +0100

Join The Women's Hospital and The Evansville International Folk Dancers for at this annual signature event. Day of Dance for Your Health is a community-based event, hosted by Spirit of Women hospitals across the county.

Free health screenings will include, but are not limited to, total lipid panels (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides), blood glucose, PAD (peripheral arterial disease),blood pressure, height, weight, body mass index and sleep assessments. Fasting is recommended for 12 hours prior to the lipid panel/blood glucose screenings. (If needed, participants may take morning medications with sips of water.) A limited supply of free health screenings will be available.

Other offerings at Day of Dance include dance demonstrations and lessons, the opportunity to have a one on one consult with a physician or registered dietician, heart healthy cooking demonstrations and the opportunity to visit with/shop at vendor booths. Day of Dance is free of charge.

Time: 8:00 a.m. - noon
Location: The Centre, Exhibit Hall B, 715 Locust Street, Downtown Evansville
Admission: Free of Charge
For more information: Contact 812/842-4652

Autumn Leaves XXVII

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:10:35 +0100

On November 12-14 the Nashville International Folk Dancers will hold their 27th Autumn Leaves Dance weekend.

This year's dance leader is Sani Rifati. Sani is a Rom from Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia. He began dancing at a young age in his neighborhood (mahala) in Pristina, learning from uncles, neighbors, and especially his mother, Djevria. He learned many of the dances in various neighborhoods throughout the former Yugoslavia. In his late teens, Sani performed with Kheljen Roma, a traveling folkloric dance troupe. He spent summers with his cousin, Esma Redzhepova (the Queen of Romani Music), in Sutka, Macedonia, where he learned traditional Balkan Romani dances. In Florence, Italy, where he lived for four years, he choreographed and performed for a Romani group. Since coming to the US, Sani has been a colorful member of the Balkan music and dance world, as well as founder and president of the prominent cultural and human rights group "Voice of Roma". Besides organizing festivals of Romani culture and tours of Romani performers, he has taught numerous dance workshops throughout the United States, integrating information about his cultural traditions and the current plight of his people from the former Yugoslavia. Sani's Dance workshops and performances have been offered in the, New York, Portland (Maine), Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Thousand Oaks, Portland (Oregon), Seattle, and in Canada. Many of these performances and workshops were part of the Romani Routes Concert Tours involving high caliber Romani artists from Balkan countries, such as Esma Redzepova (known as the "Queen of Romani Music") and her ensemble (2004); Ivo Papasov (2005); Kal, the young energetic Romani band from Serbia (2006 and planned for fall 2008); and Yuri Yunakov and his Romani Wedding Band, including Rumen Sali Shopov (2007).

NIFD is delighted to host Sani for his first Nashville Dance Workshop. Sani will be teaching Roma/Gypsy dances at Autumn Leaves. Please note that he believes in transmitting the dances without the aid of dance notes, so for this year's workshop, we will not furnish printed notes but we will make videos available for review (for an extra fee), and will get them out promptly.

Cost: Registration for all sessions and dance party: $100 ($90 if paid before Oct.22)

Pre-registration (includes 2 breakfasts & 1 lunch)

Individual Sessions are prorated as follows:

Session I, $18; Session II, lIl, and IV, $28; Dance Party, $10

To keep prices low, we will ask each participant to sign a release to avoid purchasing insurance.

(A video DVD will be made of the review for purchase)

For those wanting further information, please contact Butch Durst or telephone 615-298-2483 ( to activate voice mail, let ring 10 times.) You can also find information on their website.