Start the New Year Dancing

Put on your dancing shoes for 2015! 

In Petaluma: 

Mondays 7-9:15 p.m., January 5-May 4 (no class April 6)

Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma

$65 for the 17-week session, or $7 drop-in

At College of Marin, Kentfield Campus, PE #22:

Wednesdays 2:10-3:30 p.m., January 28-March 11 (no class February 25); CRN#

$54 for the 6-week session; registration at: http://marincommunityed.com. 

I'll be teaching a diverse mix of dances from Bulgaria, Rumania, Greece, Armenia, Macedonia, Israel, and more. All welcome: beginners through advanced dancers, all ages, no partner necessary.

Great exercise, great fun, great music, great company!

   

Dancing in the Holiday Season

Big fun and wonderful music by Gradina at our Annual Petaluma Folk Dance Party!

Dancing Bavno Oro

Jana, Karen and Ken playing an instrumental Pravo Horo

Eight-member women's vocal ensemble Gradina singing Aj Lipo Tije

Risa, Gloria, Lonna, Bea, and Marina dancing Rumelaj

Get Your Dancing Shoes On: Annual Petaluma Holiday Folk Dance Party

You are invited to the Annual Petaluma Holiday Folk Dance Party on Monday, December 8, 7-9:30 p.m., at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma!

The evening will including dancing to new and old recorded favorites, plus live Balkan music by eight-member women’s vocal ensemble Gradina accompanied by Ken Genetti on tambura, Karen Guggenheim on gaida, Jana Muhar on tupan, and Gaelen Genetti on naval.

This event is hosted by Petaluma Snap-Y Dancers, and everyone is welcome to dance and/or just listen to the fabulous music.

Come enjoy our friendly atmosphere, great mix of dances, and the wonderful wood dance floor at Herman Sons Hall. Admission is $10, and includes refreshments.

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. 

Annual Petaluma Spring Folk Dance Party!

Saturday, April 5, 8-11 p.m.

Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma

Admission $10 (includes drinks and snacks)

Dancing to old and new recorded favorites

Live Macedonian, Greek, and Bulgarian music by Plovdiv Party Busy featuring Mark Jenkins on vocals and percussion, Greg Jenkins on vocals and clarinet, Dena Bjornlie on gadulka and vocals, Lisa Ekstrom on accordion and vocals. 

Dancing into Spring

Daffodil blooming, dancers dancing!
As we move into spring, I'll be teaching some more great dances. 

In Petaluma we'll be learning:

• Darkeinu - a lovely lyrical Israeli dance choreographed by Gadi Bitton
• Homey Twist - one of my favorite funky Urban Soul line dances
• Ikariotikos - the classic island syrto that I learned from the locals when I was in Ikaria in 2007

Plus Sue Williard will be coming to teach some Yves Moreau classics on March 10, and Nadav Nur will teach Hora Lautareasca on March 17.

And at the College of Marin:

• Narino - a favorite Turkish dance I learned from Ahmet Luceci
• Plataniatikos Nero - an island syrto from Samos
• Shourch Bar - to a great new tune by Raffi Madoyan

New Year, New Dances

Happy new year!

Monday night dancing in Petaluma starts up again on January 6. Our winter session will run through May 5 (no class on April 14); cost for the 17-week session is $65, or you can come as a drop-in anytime for $7. Class runs from 7-9:15 p.m. at Herman Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue, Petaluma. Newcomers, beginners through advanced dancers, all ages are always welcome; no partner is necessary. I'll start each evening with a beginner lesson at 7 p.m.; intermediate lesson around 8 p.m.; lots of time for dancing to old and new favorites and requests throughout the evening.

I've got a big list of great dances to teach this session including

• Sej Sej Bob, Zensko Kapansko Horo, Glavisniski Cetvorno, Tervelska Reka, Koga Me Mama Rodila - all Yves Moreau favorites from Bulgaria
• Hora Femeilor, Alunelul de la Urzica - two very different dances from Rumania, one a slow lyrical women's dance and the other a lively dance with quick steps and stamps
• Plataniatikos Nero, Ikariatikos - two dances from the Greek islands, the first from Samos and the second from Ikaria
• Plus a selection from other countries including Gaida Hor (Macedonia), Baros Oj Barica (Croatia), Kost Ar Choad (France), and Darkeinu (Israel).

Hope to see you all on the dance floor.