Great mix of dances at the International Dance Festival

Over 85 people came to Herman Sons Hall in Petaluma for the International Folk Dance Festival for New Dancers on October 19! Dances were taught by Marilyn Smith, Carol Friedman, Elsa Bacher, Kristalli Papadpoulos, Vince Taylor and Emma Charlebois, Nadav Nur, Susie Shof, Jill Breslauer, and Leanne Schy.

Here's Marilyn Smith teaching Ordu, a Pontic dance from Turkey:

Nadav Nur taught Odeno Oro from Macedonia, with help from Susie Shoaf:

Here I am, teaching the Urban Soul line dance Cupid Shuffle:

And mark your calendars now for our next special event: our Annual Petaluma Holiday Party with live music by Gradina on Monday, December 8, 7-9:30 p.m.

Coming up this month in Petaluma: three dances from Rumania:

• Gary Anderson will teaching Arcanul Batrinesc, an "old men's" dance from Moldova to a wistful song recalling the days when these men could still dance the fast Arcanul, that was presented by Eric Bendix at the 2006 Stockton Folk Dance Camp
• I'll be teaching Joc Batrinesc, another "old men's" dance from the village of Nicultiel near the Black Sea, as well Moldovian Hora which is a simple classic 3-part hora.

We'll continue to review and dance these three from Albania:

• Gorarce, a fun and athletic men's dance in 3/4 rhythm that was introduced by Eric Bendix
• Populli Jon, a lovely lyrical 3-part women's dance from southern Albania
• Valle Jardana, a popular 2-part Albanian wedding dance in 2/4 rhythm

And three more from Macedonia:

• Changulovo, one of my favorites that I learned from Michael Ginsberg at Balkan Camp
• Dolgoto Oro, in QQSQS (16/18) rhythm originally taught by Pece Atanovski
• Skudrinka, my latest favorite, a lively wild variation of Skudrinka that gets faster and faster

Good things come in threes! Hope to see you all on Monday nights in October (7-9:15 p.m. at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma; drop-in fee $7 - beginners, newcomers, experienced dancers all welcome).

Mark Your Calendars: Special Folk Dance Events on October 19 & December 8

Mark your calendars now for these two special folk dance events this fall in Petaluma!

• International Folk Dance Festival for New Dancers: All who love music and dance are invited to this free event sponsored by the Folk Dance Federation of California and Petaluma Snap-Y Dancers. Special dance session for families, kids, and schoolteachers 1-1:30 p.m.; easy, fun folk dances from around the world taught by nine North Bay teachers 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, October 19, 1-4:30 p.m.
•  Annual Petaluma Holiday Folk Dance Party: Featuring dancing to recorded favorites plus live music by Gradina. Monday, December 8, 7-9:30 p.m.

Both events will be at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma. 

Fall Folk Dance Events and Classes

Time to dance again! Here's my schedule for fall classes:

• Petaluma Folk Dancing: Monday 7-9:15 p.m., September 8-December 8 at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma - $65 for the 14-week session, or $7 drop-in
• College of Marin International Folk Dance Class: Wednesdays 2:10-3:30 p.m., September 3-October 15, October 29-December 10 at PE#22, College of Marin, Kentfield - $60 for the 7-week session

You can sign up for the Petaluma fall session at the first class.

Please register in advance for the College of Marin classes at http://marincommunityed.com

And mark your calendars now for these two fall events at Herman Sons Hall in Petaluma:

• International Folk Dance Festival for New Dancers co-sponsored by the California Folk Dance Federation and Petaluma Snap-Y Dancers - Sunday, October 19, 1-4:30 p.m.; special folk dance session for families, kids, and teachers 1-1:30 p.m.; dances taught by 9 North Bay folk dance teachers 1:30-4:30 p.m. Admission free!
• Annual Petaluma Holiday Folk Dance Party - Monday, December 9, 7-9:30 p.m., admission $10.

Hope to see you all on the dance floor!

Summer Dancing, Fall Class Schedule

Summer dancing ends on Monday, August 4 - come join us for a fun all-request evening dancing to old and new favorites from 7-9:15 p.m. at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue in Petaluma.

Here's the schedule for my fall folk dance classes:

• Petaluma Folk Dancing: Mondays, 7-9:15 p.m., September 8-December 8 at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma - $65 for the 14-week session, or $7 drop-in
• College of Marin International Folk Dance Class: Wednesdays 2:10-3:30 p.m., September 3-October 15, October 29-December 10 at PE#22, College of Marin, Kentfield - $50 for the 7-week session 

And mark your calendars now for our Annual Petaluma Holiday Folk Dance Party on Monday, December 8, 7-9:30 p.m at Herman Sons Hall.

Summer Dancing in Petaluma

Summer dancing in Petaluma starts June 2:

• Mondays 7-9:15 p.m.
• June 2-August 4
• Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma
• $5 per evening

Dancing to requests and old/new favorites all evening. Beginners, newcomers, all ages always welcome; no partner necessary. No formal instruction during the summer, but the first 30-45 minutes will be easy, familiar dances and I'll be there to help talk newcomers through the dances.

No classes at College of Marin during the summer - I'll be taking a summer break, with class sessions resuming on September 3.

Big Fun at the Petaluma Spring Folk Dance Party!

We had a wonderful, enthusiastic, dancing crowd of over 80 people at the Annual Petaluma Spring Folk Dance Party! Folks traveled from Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Berkeley, San Rafael, Mill Valley, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Mountain View to come join in the fun.

Plovdiv Party Bus (featuring Greg Jenkins, Dena Bjornlie, Lisa Ekstrom, and Mark Jenkins) played a fabulous set that included Sa, Karamfil, Melnik, Pravo Horo, Daichovo, Kalamatiano, Pomasko Sirto, Les Noto, and more.

  

Monday night dancing at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue in Petaluma continues through May 5 (no class on April 14). Summer dancing will start on June 2 and run through August 5.