Not exactly folk dancing video

This isn't exactly international folk dancing, but it does involve a lot of folk, and dancing, and it is international... Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Soudclick widget - scroll down at bottom

I came across a posting on rec.folk-dancing about a book of Balkan music arranged for guitar, by Allan Alexander, and a link where you can listen to the music. On the soundclick.com site, they also provide a "widget" that can be added to blogs for listening to the music, so I did -- if you scroll to the bottom of the blog, you should be able to click and listen to some nice versions of familiar Balkan tunes.

Chicago Arabesque June 25-28 Daley Plaza

Chicago Arabesque

June 25-28, 2008
Daley Plaza
Wed-Fri: 10am-3pm
Sat: 10am-7pm
Free Admission
Bazaar (Souk), food, crafts, gifts, entertainment from the Arab World.
Also workshops, children's activities and henna body painting.

www.chicagoarabesque.com

EMNFD: 6/23 Solstice celebration

Received from Harry:

Evanston Monday Night Folk Dancers announce

Monday, June 23

Celebrate the arrival of summer and
the continuing good dancing weather

Bring a snack to share if you care to – we’ll bring ice and fruit

Lake Street Church of Evanston – Lake St and Chicago Ave
enter from courtyard – 7:30-10:30pm

always $5

Mark your calendars:

July 9-13 – Door County Folk Festival (www.dcff.net)

July 21 – Live music at EMNFD with Balkan Cabaret

Summerdance in Grant Park Michigan & Balbo - 6:00-9:30pm

July 10 Slavic Soul Party with John Kuo

July 18 Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar with Paul Collins

more at www.ChicagoSummerDance.org

Fermilab ECD/Scottish/waltz news

Received from Mady:

Friday: English country dance and Jane Austen fans are welcome to come to a practice session this Friday, June 20th, at 7:30 p.m. to go over the Jane Austen dances we will be teaching for the Ball at the the Jane Austen Society annual general meeting in October. It will take place in Oak Park in the ballroom of the Oak Park Arms Retirement Community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave (60302). Fancy dress is optional. We will have an audience of the members of the retirement community. Putting on Aires will play. No admittance fee, just bring some money for tipping the band. $5 suggested.

Saturday: You can indulge in your love of things Scottish (including dancing) at the Chicago Highland Games, Friday evening and all day Saturday at the Oak Brook Polo Grounds. Come by the combined RSCDS Chicago Branch and Evanston Scottish Country Dancers tent to visit and find out about that kind of dancing. There will be demos at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and teaching at 11:15 a.m. at least. More info and schedules at www.chicago-scots.org

Sunday: There is a Waltz "Playshop" at this Sunday, June 22, at S.P.A.C.E. in Evanston, 1245 Chicago Ave. (at the corner of Dempster) from 7 to 10 p.m. There will be several bands, taking turns playing. A mini-workshop to show a few of the moves we learned at the "cross step" sessions several weeks ago will take place sometime during the evening, and there will be a few group dances. Admission is $5 at the door to cover rent, tipping the musicians is encouraged and a potluck dessert to share will be welcomed. More info at http://www.chicagobarndance.com/events.html

Hope to see you at one of these….

Happy dancing,

Mady

NPR: Polka in America's Small Towns

Here's a link to an NPR story about polka:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91514650&ft=1&f=1008

The blurb says:

Weekend Edition Saturday, June 14, 2008 - A recent polka jam in Winton, Minn., offered free tickets to people under 40; not a single person took up the offer. Mike Jankovec, who runs polka jams and polka programming on a community TV station in Ely, Minn., talks to NPR's Scott Simon about reviving the polka scene in the upper Midwest.

Scottish Festival and Highland Games June 20-21 Oak Brook, IL

Illinois St. Andrews Society 22nd Annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games
June 20-21, 2008
Oak Brook Polo Grounds
Friday 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 8:00 a.m. -10:00 p.m.

Music w/o Borders June 19,26,28 Millenium Park

Music Without Borders at Millennium Park

June 19, 26, 28
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Free

Fermilab folk dance news

Received from Mady:

Hi,

After last week's heat in the Barn, we're very glad to be moving to the air-conditioning (and smoother floor) of Ramsey Auditorium in Wilson Hall (Fermilab's high rise), starting tonight, June 12. We'll be dancing there most weeks this summer, though at least one cancellation is planned (see below). If in doubt, call to check before coming.

Next Thursday evening, June 19, my old friend Steve Weintraub is teaching Yiddish dance to the live music of the Maxwell Street Band on Chicago's SummerDance stage. I want to go, and I hope you'll forgive me for cancelling dancing at Fermilab and encouraging everyone to make a "field trip" downtown to enjoy that. For more

info on that go to: http://www.chicagosummerdance.org/

I'll hope to have a list out of some other fun stuff going on next weekend early next week. Stay tuned, stay cool, and hope to see you at dancing somewhere soon.

Cheers,

Mady

Chicago Thailand Festival - Jun 16-21 Daley Plaza

Thailand Festival

June 16-21, 2008
Daley Plaza (50 West Washington Street)
10am-5pm
Free Admission

Andersonville Midsommarfest June 14-15

Andersonville Midsommarfest

June 14 & 15, 2008
5200-5450 N. Clark from Foster to Rascher
11am-10pm
Star Events
773-665-4682

www.starevents.com

MAQAM's A Dream of Arabia June 12-15 River Forest

In the WDCB public radio newsletter, this item about a "Middle Eastern River Dance":

WDCB sponsors U.S. premiere of MAQAM's A Dream of Arabia
WDCB is proud to be the Media Sponsor for ‘A Dream of Arabia’, the first theatrical production of Middle Eastern dance and music. It celebrates the true ancient art of Middle Eastern dance, and features an international cast of 21 renowned dancers. Presenting by Maqam - the world's largest producer and distributor of Arabic and Middle Eastern media and the leading distributor of Middle Eastern music to the United States - the U.S. premiere of 'A Dream of Arabia' encompasses six performances - June 12th through 15th - at Dominican University’s Lund Auditorium in River Forest. For more information, please call Dominican University at (708) 488-5000 or see our website.

Ajsino Oro, Bracno Oro - words & music

Looking for old instructions for Ajsino Oro (because at Argonne we must do it one of the other 2 or 3 ways it was taught, a little differently than the one Lee taught at June Camp this year), I found an old Illini Folk Dance Society Spring Festival syllabus, from around 1980, when they had Ciga Despotovic as a teacher (I wasn't there then, I just picked up some of the old syllabi at later festivals). No instructions, unfortunately. But there were words & music for Ajsino Oro and Bracno Oro. I don't think they're copyrighted, so I'm posting them here (if there is any copyright issue, let me know, and I'll take them down).

June Camp photos & video clips

Borjano Burjenke:


Bracno Oro:


Rugen:


Targovskata:


Haskovsko (Indze Prez Gora Varvese):


Norwegian Masurka:


Pazardzijska Kopanica:


Prosetah Se:


Sirba de la Videle:


Razvivaj Dobro:


Racenica Na Horo:


Melnik (Cveta Moma):


Ajsino Oro:

October Folk Dance Camp - Oct 10-12, 2008 - Oconomowoc

English Country Dance murder mystery story

When my Mom finishes reading her Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines, she passes them on to me to read. In the Sept/Oct 2007 issue, there's a story called "Parson Pennywick and the Whirligig", by Amy Myers in which the murder at the heart of the mystery occurs while dancing the English Country Dance "Sir Roger de Coverley". Not sure where one could get that back-issue, but if your local library subscribes to it, you might find it there. I'll bring a copy on Friday to pass around, for any mystery+ECD fans.