Workshop with Jaap Leegwater

 We had a fabulous time dancing with Bulgarian dance teacher Jaap Leegwater in Petaluma on August 8!  He taught Sapil Dobri and Staro Erkecko, danced Mari Mariko with us, and thrilled us by playing his flute for Melnik.

Looking forward to dancing with you all again at Hermann Son's Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma, on Mondays 7-9 p.m. starting August 12. Israeli folk dancing at the Osher JCC in San Rafael on Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m. will resume on September 8.

We are thrilled and excited to host a special workshop with Jaap Leegwater at Hermann Son’s Hall in Petaluma on August 8. Jaap is a folk dance legend; he introduced so many Balkan dance classics -  including Karamfil, Sedi Donka, Melnik, and Vlasko Horo. We plan to add more to our repertoire after the workshop.

The fall session of Balkan/International dancing at Hermann Son’s Hall in Petaluma on will start up on Mondays, September 12 from 7-9 p.m. and continue through November 28. Newcomers and beginners are always welcome. Note that we are continuing to wear masks for safety, by mutual consent, and require proof of vaccination.

Israeli folk dance classes at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael are scheduled for Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m. from September 8-October 13, and October 27-December 8.  Folks can sign up through the JCC website for a 6-week series, or drop-in when it fits into your schedule. Latest favorites include Ya Raya, Hora Simchat, and Lakum Vel’Amod. In this class as well, we are wearing masks.

I am also having fun choreographing my own dances, and introducing them in my classes. So far, I have created Oiydo mi Novya, a beautiful Sephardic song from Spain, as well as the classic Yiddish workers' solidarity song Ale Brider (using a fabulous version featuring Itzak Perlman with the Klezmatics). More to come...stay tuned!

For those of you who still prefer the safety of Zoom, as well as folks who live too far away to attend my in-person classes, I teach one Balkan/International Zoom class on the third Wednesday of each month from 7-8:15 p.m. 

 

I invite any of you who are looking for more opportunities to dance (whether it be virtual or in person) to contact me at 415-663-9512 or cjay@horizoncable.com.

Summer Dancing 2022

The summer session of Balkan/International dancing at Hermann Son’s Hall in Petaluma on Mondays 7-9 p.m. runs from June 6 to July 25 (no classes on June 20 and July 4). Summer dancing is free-flowing, with lots of requests, along with periodic teaching and reviews when requested. We'll definitely be dancing a few new favorites including Vallja Hayde Merre Furken, Usti Baba, Sofka, and Fado Portugues. We are continuing to wear masks for safety, by mutual consent.

Summer Israeli folk dance classes at the Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael on Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m. are scheduled for June 30 to August 6. Folks can sign up through the JCC website for a 6-week series, or drop-in when it fits into your schedule. Latest favorites include Rokdim Yechefim and Nitzmadnu.

And for those of you who still prefer the safety of Zoom as well as folks who live too far away to attend my in-person classes, I teach one Balkan/International Zoom class on the third Wednesday of each month from 7-8:15 p.m. 

 

I invite any of you who are looking for more opportunities to dance (whether it be virtual or in person) to contact me at 415-663-9512 or cjay@horizoncable.com.

Returning to Dancing in Person

I’m loving holding hands in a circle again. I’m loving dancing with other people again. I’m loving having room to move again. And I’m loving introducing new dances I learned during the pandemic.

I continue to be grateful for Zoom. It was a big leap for me (I hate new technology), but with the help of some knowledgeable and generous dance friends, I did it. It was different. When I taught or reviewed a dance, I couldn’t see people. I had to have my back turned from the screen, so folks could distinguish left from right. I had to dance far enough away from the screen so people could see my feet. It was much harder to balance without holding hands. And it was also much harder to remember dances without that connection, because you feel the dance as much as know it. I had to keep everyone muted so the music works, which meant there was much less easy, casual conversation.

 

But I got to see and teach and dance regularly with my wide circle of dance friends.I had big fun discovering new dances (and re-discovering old ones) through the wide variety of virtual folk dance classes and parties that are happening. I am grateful for that as well, and I continue to participate in Zoom classes and parties regularly.

 

But I’ve really come back home to dancing, and it feels good.

I was honored to be the guest teacher at the Festival of the Oaks in February. This was my first big in-person dance event in more than two years and it was so much fun. I taught five favorites from the year: Alta es la Luna (Sephardic/Greek), Valle Came e Shpeft (Albania), Jerusalema (South Africa), Maleshevsko Horo (Bulgaria) and Vallejo e Dados (Albania).

My Petaluma Balkan/International classes are back on Mondays 7-9 p.m. through May 15 at Hermann Sons Hall in Petaluma.. And Israeli dancing is happening as well at Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael; folks can sign up for 6-week sessions through the JCC.

Only one Zoom session left, and I’m planning to continue doing this because it’s been so much fun connecting with dance friends who live too far away to take my in-person person classes. This Balkan/International Zoom class is scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month from 7-8:15 p.m. 

Hope to see you on the dance floor!

Sandy's Cacak & more - virtually

We’re still dancing virtually in the North Bay – with Israeli class on Sunday mornings and Balkan/International on Monday nights. Both classes will continue through late December, and then start up again in early January.

In the Balkan class, we brought back Sandy’s Cacak, an old favorite that had dropped out of our repertoire. I have a vivid memory of longtime Petaluma folk dance stalwart Sandy Clemmer leading this dance, always wearing his opincas. In Serbia it's simply referred to as "Cacak Kolo; Sandy introduced the dance locally, hence the name. And we’ve been taking a fun deep dive into Albanian dances, some of them traditional (Valle Iusuf, Vallja e Katushkes, Populli Jon)l, others choreographed, including Valle e Permetit and Moj Maro. I also introduced great new music for Valle Pogonishte with vocals by well-know Albanian singer Merita Spahiu.

 

In the Israeli class, we’ve been having fun dancing favorite line dances including Hine Ma Tov #2, Vals Agur Zahav (originally done as a couple dance, but I found a video from Japan of folks doing it as a line dance), Sixteen Tons, (music by Tennessee Ernie Ford – a testament to the fact that Israelis will choreograph to any music), Jaimale, Pata Pata, Homey Twist (not Israeli, but a favorite Urban Soul line dance), and – of course – Jerusalema.

 

I invite any of you who are looking for more opportunities to dance to contact me at 415-663-9512 or cjay@horizoncable.comif you’d like to join us.

The Virtual Dance Beat Goes On

 We’re still dancing virtually in the North Bay, certainly through the end of this year, and likely beyond. And we’re still having fun. I’m teaching Israeli on Sunday mornings, and Balkan/International on Monday nights.

 

My latest new favorite dance is Furla, a lively contemporary Bulgarian dance introduced by Gergana Panova. I saw this at one of the Peninsula Folk Dance Parties.I also stumbled on an interesting version of Sa Cocek– this one is from Albania and is called Sa Gjijile (also spelled Xhinxhile). It has a similar structure (10-counts), but a subtly different pattern and geography.

 

By request, I did a virtual Balkan session with a focus on Pontic dances, I’m digging into my own repertoire and also looking at videos online. We danced Dipat and Samson, both Greek dances that I originally learned when I participated in Yannis Constantinou’s annual folk dance seminar in Prespa. I also included included Tamzara (Armenia), Tik (Greece), Urdu (Turkey), and Omal Kars (Greece).

 

In my Israeli class, I’ve been bringing back old favorite line dances including Zodiak and Naomi,plus some top hits from the Gadi Bitton repertoire (Salamati, Ya Raya, and Or Chadash).

 

I invite any of you who are looking for more opportunities to dance to contact me at 415-663-9512 or cjay@horizoncable.comif you’d like to join us.

Going Virtual

It was like going through the stages of grief, not being able to teach and dance together with all of my folk dance buddies when the virus hit along with shelter in place orders. I’ve been teaching three classes a week for years now; it’s part of my weekly rhythm, my friendship circle, my exercise, my fun, my way of feeling connected and happy and at peace with the world.

I still miss holding hands in a circle, and look forward to the time when we can do that again. But I’m pretty sure that time is far in the future.

So I have made the leap to go virtual. I am now teaching two weekly class via Zoom – Balkan and Israeli. It was a big leap for me (I hate new technology), but with the help of some knowledgeable and generous dance friends, I did it.

And I have discovered that I’m really loving it.

It’s different. When I teach or review a dance, I have to turn my back from the screen, so folks can distinguish left from right. I have dance far enough away from the screen so people can see my feet. It’s much harder to balance without holding hands. And it is also much harder to remember dances without that connection. You have to keep everyone muted so the music works, which means there’s much less easy casual conversation.

And – I am once again dancing regularly with my wide circle of dance friends. We chat first, just checking in, as we always did in my previous classes. I get to dance the dances I love. I get to teach again, which is one of my greatest pleasures. I’m having fun discovering new dances (and re-discovering old ones) through the wide variety of virtual folk dance classes and parties that are happening. I've come back home to dancing, and it feels good.