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1 February 2024
Katy Bishop, Editor
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Dancing to Start the Month | |
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Thursday Night Folk Dancing
February 1 - Arlington, MA
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Our first Thursday Dance in February is tonight, Feb 1. Come out and dance with us!
Jeanne Clifford will be our programmer and she will be reviewing Maurits Van Geel's dance Syrtos Kitrinou -- back by popular demand! In addition, Sue Rose will review Jondane Johane (Basque) and Heyamoli (Laz/Georgian).
Plan ahead and bring your friends:
our next live music event, on February 15, will feature Gogofski!
Masks are highly recommended and welcome but optional. Our winter/spring dancing schedule is on the website. Come and join the fun!
-Sue Rose
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It's been a long time - too long - since we have been able to host a Bulgarian Night with live music. But the time has come to welcome the bands Divi Zheni ("Wild Women"), Zornitsa ("Morning Star"), and Tatiana Sarbinska (director of both bands) - next Friday, February 9!
The room will be full of all those elements that make life worthwhile: friends, dancing, great music, energy, joy ... and refreshments. I hope you will come and enjoy it all!
-Marcie Van Cleave
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35th Annual Balkan Music Night! | |
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Saturday, March 16, 6:00pm • Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA
2024 marks the 35th annual celebration of Balkan Music Night! We are excited to relaunch our series in a new venue – the Arts at the Armory – much closer to Boston (and to public transportation!), with food options (and a cash bar) on site.
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We’ve booked more than a dozen talented ensembles to play for dancing (in the Main Hall), and/or acoustic listening (in the Kafana). Zlatne Uste and Kavala Balkan brass bands return, as will local favorites Beth Bahia Cohen and friends, Sophia Bilides, Sandy Theodorou (with REVMA), and many more, all in one night! Find additional details on our performers, the schedule, and tickets on the event site. Ticket sales open next week.
Arrive early to participate in selected simple dance walkthroughs, led by experienced dancers, alongside music by Conical Cacophony; stay late to enjoy the entire program, including our traditional participatory events such as the Hora na pesen, Ličko kolo, and more!
Join us at Balkan Music Night ’24!
-Balkan Music Night Committee
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The Folk Arts Center of New England is a many-splendored thing, with wide-ranging events (participatory dance and music events, residential camps, tours, and online lectures and workshops), a music shop with a unique and ever-changing assortment of books, music, and event recordings, volunteers that support all FAC's efforts, and an office staff which keeps the organization humming along.
We launched our annual appeal in mid-December, and the response from the community has been gratifying. We have members from 25 states and the District of Columbia, plus two Canadian provinces! THANK YOU!
If you would like to support FAC, there is still time (in fact, there is always time!). The funding element we most treasure is your contribution, be it in the form of an annual membership, a donation, or asking the question "how can I help?".
Thank you for whatever you can do to support this organization, the traditional arts, and the people who cherish and support both.
-Marcie
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From the Executive Director | |
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February 2 - The Month's Most Awaited Day
I always have a hard time with ol' Punxutawney Phil.
Trying to make a good rhyme is something of a pill.
And Punxutawney doesn't really roll right off the tongue,
It's not even an alliteration, all about it's wrong!
But soldier on I must, despite the aggravation,
I'm appealing to the universe in earnest adjuration.
Please let the clouds just do their thing, and no shadow would there be,
Spring is right around the corner then, well-deserved by you and me.
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Special Events
Saturday, March 16: Balkan Music Night (Somerville, MA)
Dance & Music Series
Thursday, February 1: Thursday Night Folk Dancing (Arlington, MA)
Friday, February 9: Bulgarian Night at Friday Night Folk Dancing with Zornitza and Divi Zheni (Arlington, MA)
Sunday, February 11: Cut a Rug (online)
Thursday, February 15: Thursday Night Folk Dancing with Gogofski (Arlington, MA)
Friday, February 23: Friday Night Folk Dancing (Arlington, MA)
Saturday, February 24: Monthly Dance Party with the Flying Squirrel Orchestra (Belmont, MA)
Sunday, February 25: Mostly Waltz with Rose Lester & Eric Eid-Reiner (Concord, MA)
Camps and Tours
May 1 to 12, 2024: Czech Tour to South Bohemia
June 20-27: Pinewoods International Sessions (Plymouth, MA)
August 30-September 3: Labor Day Weekend at Pinewoods (Plymouth, MA)
October 2024: Autumn in Bulgaria Cultural Tour with Iliana Bozhanova and Todor Yankov
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This week's contributors:
Anna Alter: FAC Program Manager
Nick Bishop: Tech troubleshooter, Updates proofreader
Sue Rose: Thursday Night Folk Dancing Coordinator
Marcie Van Cleave: FAC Executive Director
The Balkan Music Night Committee
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The Folk Arts Center of New England is a nonprofit organization promoting participation in the traditional dance and music of many cultures. FAC sponsors community dances, annual camps, workshops, and other programs in the greater Boston area, elsewhere in New England, and online. | |
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The Folk Arts Center thanks
the Massachusetts Cultural Council
for its generous support.
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