International folk dance includes Balkan dance, Middle Eastern dance, contra dance, Hungarian dance, polka, Chinese dance, and Japanese dance. Clubs featuring these ethnic dance genres are enjoyed by non-professional dancers for entertainment. Many clubs that use collections of ethnic folk dances will use the term "international folk dance" or similar in their name.
International folk dance developed in the immigrant communities of the United States of America during the first half of the 20th century. Traditional dances such as branles, polkas, quadrilles and others have been done internationally for hundreds of years; however, the creation of international folk dance as such is often attributed to Vytautas Beliajus, a Lithuanian-American who studied, taught, and performed dances from various ethnic traditions in the 1930s.
Also, in the mid 1930s, Scandinavian dancing began to take hold in non-Scandinavian communities. Clubs began to form around this style. A pioneer of this era was the ethnic Chinese illustrator Song Chang, who, struck by the lack of bigotry among the Scandinavian dancers, encouraged others to join, advised clubs, and had a club named in his honor, the Chang's International Folk Dancers, still located in San Francisco. [1] Other prominent teachers and promoters of international folk dance in its first few decades included Michael Herman and Mary Ann Herman, Jane Farwell, and Dick Crum. [2]
Those groups known as international folk dance clubs began to take hold in the 1930s and 1940s, with more diverse selections of music than just Scandinavian, with Balkan dances, Western European dances, and dances from the Philippines. The Folk Dance Federation of California was founded in 1942. By 1946, there were approximately 100 clubs in California alone. In 1948, the College of the Pacific Folk Dance Camp, now known as the Stockton Folk Dance Camp, was founded. [3] [4] Other camps were founded later, and all draw on teaching talent both American and foreign. At the inaugural Statewide Festival held in Ojai, California, occurring on May 11, 1946, there were over 500 dancers and 3000 spectators.
In 1964, a new idea took hold in a pair of dancers in Los Angeles. Rudy Dannes and Athan Karras opened a coffeehouse that also functioned as a place for international folk dancers to dance at night without having to worry about renting a space, called The Intersection. [5] The idea took off, with new people starting their own dance coffeehouses, such as Cafe Danssa in L.A., founded by Dani Dassa, [6] and the famous Ashkenaz in Berkeley, founded by David Nadel in 1973. [7]
In 1975, the Folk Arts Center of New England was founded by Conny Taylor and Marianne Taylor to preserve and encourage international folk dancing and other folk arts. [8]
In the 1980s, costs escalated, and the number of active clubs shrank somewhat. Many events such as camps or festivals had to be put on hold until the organizers could gather the money and the people. In 1984, The Intersection shut its doors due to lowering turnout. [9] However, on the East Coast, the NFO, or the National Folk Organization, was founded in Chicago in 1986 by Vytautas Beliajus, Mary Bee Jensen, George Frandsen, and L. DeWayne Young, an organization dedicated to the preservation of folk arts. [10]
In the 1990s, interest in dancing increased again, and dances from the Chinese, Japanese and Hispanic groups were added to the repertoires over the '80s and '90s as neighborhoods diversified. Ballroom dance, swing dance, tango and salsa dance became more popular, with some dancers from these genres also entering the international folk dance scene as a whole. [4]
International folk dance has grown into a large community of dancers, performing groups and recreational folk dance clubs throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and other countries. Dance festivals and conventions are held year-round. Dance "camps" or workshops invite teachers to instruct dancers in dances from many traditions. These groups usually focus on European dances, but the international folk dance repertoire may include dances from every part of the world: Europe, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, the Far East, Australia and the South Pacific.
The most common way to dance "international folk dance" is in a club setting. These can range in style of organization from a small gathering to highly structured and regulated meetings, depending on the preferences of the dancers. Many clubs are associated with international folk dance societies or federations, such as the Folk Dance Federation of California, who provide them with music and exposure. [11] [12] A club can have a mixture of dances on their playlist, or specialize in a single genre or a few genres. (For example, a club could be a Serbian dance club, or a Balkan dance club, or a mixed repertoire with a preference for Balkan, or a club with no preference and a varied playlist.) Many require no experience or partner whatsoever to participate. The most common genres of the clubs that choose a specific genre are Balkan dance, contra dance, and English country dance.
Many clubs are also classes, or are entirely so. Classes usually have a master teacher, either creating their own event or using time at a club, teaching new dances to add to the repertoire. These are always open to the public and usually have a "party" afterwards where people dance to requests. Some master teachers teach for their livelihoods, while others are local dancers with the will to teach. [2]
Festivals are multi-day events that combine the club and class atmosphere. Often a day will be mostly full of teaching sessions and the evening for dancing and requests. Often they sell food to dancers as well. Examples of festivals include the Zlatne Uste Golden Festival [13] in New York City, the Blossom Festival [14] in San Francisco, the Kolo Festival [15] in San Francisco, and the Tanatsfestival [16] in Belgium.
Camps are essentially festivals that include room and board. Oftentimes dancers sleep on-site or in a hotel that has specifically been reserved for the event, with food and drinks also provided to the dancers. Famous camps include the Stockton Folk Dance Camp [3] in Stockton, CA and Camp Yofi [17] in Italy.
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers, music that is played on traditional instruments, music about cultural or national identity, music that changes between generations, music associated with a people's folklore, or music performed by custom over a long period of time. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. The term originated in the 19th century, but folk music extends beyond that.
World music is an English phrase for styles of music from non-Western countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a universal definition, but its ethic of interest in the culturally exotic is encapsulated in Roots magazine's description of the genre as "local music from out there".
Romania has a multicultural music environment which includes active ethnic music scenes. Traditional Romanian folk music remains popular, and some folk musicians have come to national fame.
The Macedonian music refers to all forms of music associated with ethnic Macedonians. It share similarities with the music of neighbouring Balkan countries, yet it remains overall distinctive in its rhythm and sound.
Music of Serbia represents the musical heritage of Serbia, both historical and modern. It has a variety of traditional music styles, which are part of the wider Balkan musical tradition, with its own distinctive sound and characteristics.
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of partners. Unlike line dancing, circle dancers are in physical contact with each other; the connection is made by hand-to-hand, finger-to-finger or hands-on-shoulders, where they follow the leader around the dance floor. Ranging from gentle to energetic, the dance can be an uplifting group experience or part of a meditation.
The Flying Bulgars was a Toronto-based Canadian band, which played music rooted in the Jewish music of Eastern Europe. The band's style incorporated elements of rock, jazz and salsa. 'Bulgar' in the group's name refers to a dance form, not an ethnic group.
Balkan music is a type of music found in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. The music is characterised by complex rhythm. Famous bands in Balkan music include Taraf de Haïdouks, Fanfare Ciocărlia, and No Smoking Orchestra.
The National Folk Festival (NFF) is a longstanding, Australian family friendly celebration of all aspects of folk music and culture. It is held every year at Easter in the national capital, Canberra.
Richard George Crum was a prominent international folk dance researcher, teacher and choreographer. He conducted extensive field research in Eastern Europe in the 1950s and was choreographer for the Duquesne University Tamburitzans. He ran several international folk dance festivals, including those at St. Paul, Minnesota and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Balkan brass, popularly known by the Serbian name Truba, is a distinctive style of music originating in the Balkan region as a fusion between military music and folk music. In recent years, it has become popular in a techno-synth fusion throughout Europe, and in pop music in the Anglo-American sphere and throughout the world. Songs like Worth It by Fifth Harmony and Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo have brought the style to a new audience. In traditional form, it is popular throughout the Balkans, especially in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania, although the turbo-folk variety attracts larger audiences. The energetic and fast beats encourage dance and are egalitarian, often resulting in participation by the entire audience; this unpretentious relationship with audiences, highly charged energy and loud and joyful performances by highly skilled musicians has contributed to its successes. Fans of bands inspired by Balkan bands, such as Gogol Bordello, often state that it is a type of music better experienced than listened to.
Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, located near Elmer, New Jersey, United States, is a multifaceted nonprofit regional arts center founded by musicians and art educators Albert and Clare Rostan Appel. Appel Farm Arts & Music Center is South Jersey's leading Arts Education organization. The center was founded in 1960 as a summer camp, became incorporated in 1978 and has since expanded its programming to include on-site arts retreats, arts classes, outreach in the schools, professional development for teachers, and the South Jersey Arts Fest.
Michael Alpert is a klezmer musician and Yiddish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, scholar and educator who has been called a key figure in the klezmer revitalization, beginning in the 1970s. He has performed solo and in a number of ensembles since that time, including Brave Old World, Kapelye, Khevrisa, The Brothers Nazaroff, Voices of Ashkenaz and The An-Sky Ensemble, and has collaborated with clarinetist David Krakauer, hip-hop artist Socalled, singer/songwriter/actor Daniel Kahn, bandurist Julian Kytasty, violinist Itzhak Perlman, ethnomusicologist and musician Walter Zev Feldman, trumpeter/composerFrank London and numerous others.
Alexis Kochan is a Ukrainian–Canadian composer and singer. She was born in 1953 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Ukrainian immigrants.
Athan Karras was a Greek-born American dancer, instructor and actor.
The Ashkenaz is a live music and dance venue located in Berkeley, California in the United States. It is a non-profit organization. It focuses on world music. In 2011 it was voted the best place to dance by readers of East Bay Express. It has been listed as a Berkeley Landmark since September 8, 1992, under the name Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center.
Jon Adams is an American folk musician active in the coffee house circuit in the 1960s. He was born in Berkeley, California in 1939. His mother was from Oregon and his father was a Methodist minister.
The National Folk Organization of the United States of America (NFO) is an organization that seeks to unify both individuals and organizations interested in maintaining and enjoying folk arts in the United States.