Folk Dance Federation of California

Cafe Shalom Dance Party
2025-04-19 19:30 - 23:30, 2025-03-15 19:30 - 23:30, 2025-02-15 19:30 - 23:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Congregation Am Tikvah, 625 Brotherhood Way, San Francisco, CA, United States
Israeli folk dancers from all over the Bay Area dance the night away at Café Shalom’s Saturday party—a monthly tradition since the 1960s! We play a wonderful mix of oldies and the latest dances based on requests. Dancers of all ages are invited to join the fun on the third Saturday of every month.
Saturday classes are large parties with many dancers from all ages and spectrum. We dance dances from 1918 and from 2018 back to back.
The first part of the evening – 30-45 minutes starts with slow and beginners dances, oldies, and dances which we learn in Tuesday class. Later we increase the intensity, up the beat and the pace and the evening is fully charged with great energy and fun.
7:30 pm – Warm-up, beginner’s, oldies dances, and recently taught dances
8:00 pm – Our party perks up… with circle, and couple dances
9:15 pm – Birthday celebrations, announcements, followed by a line dance set
9:30 – 11:30 pm – We’ll dance ‘til then or ‘til we drop – whatever comes first!
Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students.
Info: Text 669.444.1284
Cafe Shalom, more details…

Global Folk Dance Party
2025-04-19 15:00 - 18:30 | Online, CA, United States
Let’s celebrate Mainewoods’ 30th together! Join us Saturday April 19. We’ll have our usual team of dance leaders and this month we’re also joined by Tom Pixton, Penny Brichta, Barbara Merson, Nina Lusterman, Barbara Zeles, Sarah Sheard, Rob McCollum, Marcia Schran, Tom Roby and Sue Rose. Have any ideas? Send them along to us! The playlist is still being compiled so email your dance requests or questions to virtualfolkdance@gmail.com
Please come at 2:30pm for some pre-show fun.
Connect Globally, Dance Locally. Follow folk dance leaders and dance watching enthusiasts worldwide.
Join The Party
By Zoom
Register by Zoom
We’ve changed Zoom numbers. Here’s what you need to do. Use the registration link above and you’ll get an email from Zoom with your link for the Global Folk Dance Party. Feel free to share the above registration link with your friends, they’ll get their own link to join. With the new registration, you’ll get a reminder email the morning of the Global Folk Dance Party, so you don’t have to look for your link.

IMPORTANT – Do not use both computer and phone; you will generate feedback.
Zoom will best be viewed using side by side mode. See https://bit.ly/39dximU for info.
When in the meeting, click the ‘chat’ button to chat with everybody and make requests.
When you sign into Zoom, enter your name and city so we know where you’re from!

By Facebook Live
Join by Facebook Live
if Zoom is full or you just want to watch.
https://www.facebook.com/PFDCouncil/
For more details or to send requests e-mail us at virtualfolkdance@gmail.com. Alicia La Fetra, Lisa Michael, and Stacy Rose will be happy to help.

2025 Blossom Festival
2025-04-19 11:00 - 16:00 | City College of San Francisco, Wellness Center, 50 Frida Kahlo Way, San Francisco, CA, 94112, United States
Join us for the annual Blossom Festival in San Francisco hosted by Changs Folk Dancers and the Folk Dance Federation! The Blossom Festival includes short dance workshops, a folk dance party with live music by Da! Mozhem, and more. Free!
Download and share a flier.

Federation Board Meeting
2025-04-13 15:00 - 16:30 | Online, CA, United States
Join the Folk Dance Federation for their board meeting. Various topics such as event planning, membership, scholarships, publicity, insurance, and budget are discussed.
Join on Zoom
Meeting ID: 813 4469 5944
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Peninsula Folk Dance Party
2025-04-12 15:30 - 18:30 | St. Bede’s Church Hall, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, United States
Join the Peninsula Council Folk Dancers for an all-request dance party! Emcee with be Laura Richardson.
We’ll have dances for all levels, beginning to advanced, and all forms (line, couple, and set). Dress comfortably in layers; sneakers or low-heeled dance shoes recommended. Donations to help cover the cost of the hall are welcome. We do dances from nearly every country in the world, and the music is incredible.
Send your dance requests to pfdcparty@gmail.com along with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Please stay home if you are sick, and please wear a mask if you are unsure or have been exposed to someone with a contagious illness. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Čardak Balkan Folk Ensemble Welcome Concert
2025-04-05 13:00 - 17:00 | Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, 1700 School Street, Moraga, CA, 94556, United States
Participate in welcoming the emergence of Čardak Balkan Folk Ensemble with lots of homemade Balkan food and drink for sale and performances by

Fanfare Zambaleta
Andrew Cohen
Nicole Maria
Pendari
Melike Sengul
DJ Ivica
and Special Guest Ionela Guzic

Janetta Redzic is the brainchild behind the Čardak Balkan Folk Ensemble, an ethnic dance group she is launching.

NFO Conference 2025
2025-04-02 - 2025-04-06 | Greene Family Camp, 1192 Smith Lane, Bruceville, TX, 76630, United States
Annual NFO Meeting and Conference 2024
April 2 – 6, 2025 in Portland, Oregon
Save the date!
For ongoing updates in programming, schedule, and registration visit the NFO 2025 Conference Web Page.

Kopachka's 60th Anniversary Party with Chubritza!
2025-03-30 14:00 - 16:30 | Strawberry Recreation Center, 118 E. Strawberry Drive, Mill Valley, CA, 94941, United States
Help Kopachka Folk Dancers celebrate their 60th anniversary and dance to the music of Chubritza! Doors open at 1:30pm on March 30, 2025 at the Strawberry Recreation Center, Mill Valley, CA.
Wearing your festive Balkan attire or accessory would be most welcome. Bring a tasty finger-food snack to share, if you’d like. Print and share an event flier.
VAX/BOOSTERS highly encouraged, or a mask is required (N95/KN95/KF94 mask provided as needed)
Chubritza Chubritza, based in Arcata, plays Balkan and international folk music on traditional instruments. The band, named after a Bulgarian table spice, reflects a variety of international musical tastes and textures, with a Balkan and Eastern European emphasis. Band members: Meadow Lo, Craig Kurumada, Linnea Mandell, Derek Shaw, Rick Kruse, Janet Finney-Krull.
More details about the Kopachka Folk Dancers

Annual Red & Black Ball
2025-03-29 19:00 - 22:00 | Monroe Hall, 1400 W. College Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA, 95401, United States
Join the Razzmatazz Dancers for their annual Red and Black Party! The first hour will be dancing to recorded music. The rest of the evening will be live music and singing with Gradina, our local Balkan choir and Bulgarian dance tunes played by Yabulka.
Doors open at 6:30. Don’t forget to wear red & black! $5 for adults, children free, plus tips for singers and musicians. Snacks for our refreshment table are greatly appreciated.

Live Music Dance Party with Chubritza!
2025-03-29 14:00 - 16:30 | Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062, United States
Help Cabrillo Folk Dancers dance to the music of Chubritza!
Doors open at 1:30pm. Be sure to bring tips for the band. Finger food for the refreshments table is also appreciated. More details…
Chubritza Chubritza, based in Arcata, plays Balkan and international folk music on traditional instruments. The band, named after a Bulgarian table spice, reflects a variety of international musical tastes and textures, with a Balkan and Eastern European emphasis. Band members: Meadow Lo, Craig Kurumada, Linnea Mandell, Derek Shaw, Rick Kruse, Janet Finney-Krull.

Saratoga Folk Dancers End-of-Quarter Party
2025-03-27 19:30 - 22:15 | St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church, 18870 Allendale Avenue, Saratoga, California, 95070
Seeing Spots
Dance the end of first quarter 2025 with the Saratoga International Folk Dancers. The party theme is “Seeing Spots.” Use your imagination and come dressed for the theme.
Warmup and dances for beginners between 7:30 and 8:15pm. The dance party follows until 10:00-10:15pm.
This is a large, friendly group; you won’t be disappointed! Drop in fee $8, seniors $6, and first visit free. No charge for non-dancers and children. Discounts and scholarships available. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. More details…

Live Music with Taraf de Akácfa
2025-03-16 19:00 - 21:30 | Park Hall, 9400 Mill St., Ben Lomand, 95005, United States
Join Cabrillo Folk Dancers for a very special live music dance party with Hungarian traditional music band Taraf de Akácfa. Doors open at 6:30pm. Sponsored by the Cabrillo Folk Dancers. More details

Taraf de Akácfa
Taraf de Akácfa was created in 2014 by traveling street musicians who serendipitously met in Budapest, Hungary in an international collective house on Akácfa street. The founding members of the group came from the United States, Sweden, Hungary and France, and eventually chose to stay in Budapest, where they experienced constant musical inspiration and could share their common passion for Eastern European and Balkan folk music. Their current musical repertoire is predominantly centered around Romanian lăutarească, Moldovan and Transylvanian folk music, and they also perform a variety of folk music from the Balkans. Read more…

International Folk Dance Party
2025-03-14 13:15 - 16:00 | Age Well Center at South Fremont, 47111 Mission Falls Ct., Fremont, CA, 94539, United States
Join the Smile Folk Dancers for their March spring themed International Folk Dance Party. Dress in floral patterns to celebrate the coming of spring. No partner or experience needed. Enjoy easy and fun dances from around the world. Please bring one snack to share.

English Dance Workshop with Bruce Hamilton
2025-03-13 19:30 - 22:00 | St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church, 18870 Allendale Avenue, Saratoga, California, 95070
This is a large, friendly group; you won’t be disappointed! Sliding scale admission $5-10. No one turned away for lack of funds. More details…
Bruce Hamilton
Bruce Hamilton Bruce Hamilton is a thoughtful and energetic teacher of English and Scottish country dancing. He started dancing in college, and took up teaching in the early 1970s. He founded the San Jose English dance and has taught English country dancing all over the United States and abroad. He is a founding member of the Deer Creek Morris Men, a 15-year participant in The Christmas Revels, and past president of the Country Dance and Song Society. Bruce has been focusing on non-choreographic elements of English Country Dance (ECD). He doesn’t teach many new or complex dances (claims he can’t remember them!) but instead focuses on skills that apply across all dances. He is interested in how the dancers move, how they give weight, how they match the music, how well they work with their partners, etc. In workshops Bruce also reviews the fundamentals of turns, heys, rights and lefts, using dances that will help these people work on those skills. He carries this focus into his sought-after callers’ classes, which he’s done for the last three decades. Training ECD teachers is relatively unexplored territory and it’s very exciting. Learning to teach takes years, but even in a weekend or week-long mini-course he’s been able to point students in useful directions, and some have made great strides. By day, Bruce is a retired computer scientist and now helps out with his wife’s dog and cat rescue organization. He has taught at Mendocino Folklore Camp, Pinewoods Camp, Timber Ridge and Stockton Folk Dance Camp, and in five countries. Read more…

Hungarian Folk Dance Class
2025-03-09 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-01-19 15:30 - 17:30 | Hungarian Cultural Center, 35660 Cedar Boulevard, Newark, CA, 94560, United States
Have you always been interested in folk dance but couldn’t commit to weekly practices? Do you hear folk music and feel like dancing but don’t know what steps to take?
Eszterlánc is here to help! We’re launching monthly folk dance classes!
Who we’re expecting:

Anyone who wants to move around a little
Anyone who will be trying folk dance for the first time
Anyone who actively dances or has danced folk before
Anyone who loves folk culture or is simply curious about it

What you can expect:

A short warm-up
Folk dance instruction led by Gergő Bolgovics and Ilka Dajka
Folk song learning
Free dance using the figures you’ve learned earlier

Suggested donation: $10
We warmly welcome you! If this sparks even a bit of your interest, come along — it’s for you!

Peninsula Folk Dance Party
2025-03-08 15:00 - 18:30 | St. Bede’s Church Hall, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, United States
Join the Peninsula Council Folk Dancers for an all-request dance party with MCs Ellie Wiener and Alicia LaFetra! This month’s theme is the Roaring ’20s!
We’ll have dances for all levels, beginning to advanced. Dress comfortably in layers; sneakers or low-heeled dance shoes recommended. Donations to help cover the cost of the hall are welcome. We do dances from nearly every country in the world, and the music is incredible. Invite your friends and come early for a half hour beginners’ dance workshop starting at 3pm.
Send your dance requests to pfdcparty@gmail.com along with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Dances range from beginning to advanced, and all forms (line, couple, and set). If you’d like to bring a snack to share, please make sure they are prepared for individual servings.
Please stay home if you are sick, and please wear a mask if you are unsure or have been exposed to someone with a contagious illness. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Laguna Folk Dance Festival 2025
2025-02-28 - 2025-03-02 | Laguna Woods Clubhouse 2, 24112 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Woods, CA, 92637, United States
Clubhouse 2 Southern California’s premier folk dance festival! Dance workshops, parties with live music, the famous Sunday Dance Concert, ice cream social, happy hour, and the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award… what’s not to like? The Laguna Festival is one of Southern California’s premier annual folk dance events. You can bet all your friends will be there. You should be too!

Instructors
We are proud to announce that our teachers this year are Tineke and Maurits Van Geel
Tineke van Geel
Tineke Van Geel In 1977 Tineke van Geel received her degree as folk dance instructor. She specializes in Armenian dance and works as a choreographer. Tineke conducts workshops for students at various levels, beginners to professional, and has taught classes in international folk dance, Dutch and Armenian dances in many countries around the world. Her main focus is to break down complicated steps and movements to basic elements and slowly ‘rebuilding’ them to the original dance form. This skill is part of her worldwide success and is combined with a vast knowledge of Armenian dance and culture.
Since 1985 she has regularly visited Armenia to study folklore at the Pedagogic Institute and Choreographic School in Yerevan. A part of each research trip was devoted to working with several amateur groups in Armenia and doing research on costumes. Two of those research trips were sponsored by the Dutch government. On several occasions Tineke visited the USA to observe the dances performed by the Armenian communities there. Read more…

Maurits van Geel
Maurits Van Geel Maurits was artistic director of the professional Dutch dance performance group The Internationaal Danstheater for 24 years. During this interval, the group performed 47 different evening shows. Part of this job involved several months of dance research each year in order to prepare for these programs.
Maurits has traveled extensively in his dance research that has emphasized the Roma culture and those in the Caucasus. These travels have included India, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, England, France, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ossetia, Dagestan, and Cherkassy. He has also choreographed many dances.
In the last several years, Maurits has been teaching often with Tineke, and this has included workshops in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. In North America, the couple have taught at Oktoberfest in Montreal, Pinewoods Camp in Maine, and Stockton Folk Dance Camp. Read more…
Melanie Lawson Kareem
Ukulele jamming and sing along
Returning to The Laguna Folk Dance Festival, Melanie Lawson Kareem, a folk dancer since childhood, shares her lifetime of enjoying music with others by teaching ukulele. She is well-known in the folk dance world as “The Folk Dancer’s Ukulele Teacher” having taught at Stockton Camp since 2019.
Registration
Online Registration is available on or before February 21st. Passport and Event tickets will be available at the door.Meals are available to purchase by pre-order only separately on or before February 21st. Meal purchases are not available at the door.

Friday Evening $30
Saturday Workshop $60
Saturday Dance Party (5 pm and after) $45
Sunday All Day $40

More Details

Global Folk Dance Party
2025-02-15 14:30 - 18:30 | Online, CA, United States
Connect Globally, Dance Locally. Follow folk dance leaders and dance watching enthusiasts worldwide. Catherine Rudin, Leigh Holden, and Lori Larson will join as Guest Dance Leaders this time.
Join The Party
By Zoom
Register by Zoom
We’ve changed Zoom numbers. Here’s what you need to do. Use the registration link above and you’ll get an email from Zoom with your link for the Global Folk Dance Party. Feel free to share the above registration link with your friends, they’ll get their own link to join. With the new registration, you’ll get a reminder email the morning of the Global Folk Dance Party, so you don’t have to look for your link.

IMPORTANT – Do not use both computer and phone; you will generate feedback.
Zoom will best be viewed using side by side mode. See https://bit.ly/39dximU for info.
When in the meeting, click the ‘chat’ button to chat with everybody and make requests.
When you sign into Zoom, enter your name and city so we know where you’re from!

By Facebook Live
Join by Facebook Live
if Zoom is full or you just want to watch.
https://www.facebook.com/PFDCouncil/
For more details or to send requests e-mail us at virtualfolkdance@gmail.com. Alicia La Fetra, Lisa Michael, and Stacy Rose will be happy to help.

Nirkoda Romani
2025-02-15 14:00 - 2025-02-16 23:00 | Etz Chayim, Alma Street, Palo Alto, CA, 94306, United States
Aaron Alpert is excited to announce Nirkoda Romani (Hebrew for “let’s dance Romanian style”), a workshop with Sonia Dion and Cristian Florescu, beloved teachers of Romanian folk dance (and good friends). Aaron Alpert will also be teaching Israeli dances. The evenings will be filled with dance parties MCed by Loui Tucker (Sat.) and Adony Beniares (Sun.).
Teaching sessions span 2-5:00pm and parties 7:30-11pm, with a break for dinner (on your own). This is a three-day weekend (Presidents’ Day), so you can sleep in Monday!
Location
The venue is Etz Chayim at 4161 Alma St., Palo Alto, CA. It has a wonderful sprung wood floor (it was formerly a basketball court), air conditioning and heating, and plentiful free parking.
Pricing and Registration
There are four events total (two teaching sessions and two parties). If you pre-register by Feb. 8, the entire weekend is $100, or a la carte is $35 per each event. If you pay at the door, prices increase to $110 for the entire weekend or $40 per event.
Register today!
More details may be found at http://nirkoda.com/romani. If you have further questions, please email Aaron Alpert.
Sonia Dion and Cristian Florescu
Romanian Folk Dance
Cristian and Sonia have been guest performers with the Collage International Dance Ensemble of Boston, have been regular teachers at l’ École supérieure de danse du Québec and have been selected to be part of the Artists in the Schools program sponsored by the Québec Ministry of Education. In recent years, they have developed a specific interest in working with recreational folk dance groups in Canada and the United States, Mexico and Brazil. They have been teaching in Europa (Austria, England, Poland, Germany, Italy,  Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France) in Asia (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia) and Australia  to share their love of Romanian folk traditions.
In recent years, Cristian and Sonia have developed a specific interest in working with recreational folk dance groups. They’ve been teaching in Brazil, Canada and the United States, Europe (Austria, Belgium, England, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands), Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan) to share their love of Romanian folk traditions. They have taught workshops in Canada and the United States and choreographed Romanian suites for performing groups, including the world-renowned BYU Folk Dance Ensemble in Utah. Read more…
Aaron Alpert
Israeli Folk Dance
Aaron Alpert started dancing before he was born! His parents met at Israeli folk dancing in Los Angeles, and his childhood is filled with dance memories, from participating in his first dance camp at the age of two months, to acting as his father’s “remote control” when he taught, to performing in Saturday night talent shows at the Camp Alonim for Jewish youth that takes place every summer just north of Los Angeles, California.
In his first year at UC Berkeley, Aaron became one of the instructors and the curriculum developer for Jewish Studies 98: The Israeli Dance DeCal. In January 2009, Aaron joined the teaching/DJ rotation at Cafe Simcha, a weekly Israeli dance session held near Berkeley. He also sporadically substitutes for leaders of other South Bay Israeli dance groups.
In October 2012, Aaron started his own dance session, Nirkoda! (Let’s dance!) in the San Francisco Bay area. After the first 10 months in a small studio on the Stanford University campus, the evening dance party was popular enough to require moving to a larger venue, Temple Etz Chayim in Palo Alto, California, where it continues to attract dancers. Aaron has been a staff member at Camp Rikud, an annual dance camp for Israeli dance aficionados. Aaron attended Stockton Folk Dance Camp as a participant in 2017 and has been a member of the staff in 2018, 2020 (online), and 2024. Read more…

Annual Lunar New Year Festival
2025-02-15 12:55 - 17:30 | Cerritos Senior Center, 12340 South Street, Cerritos, CA, 90703, United States
Festival Schedule The annual Cerritos Folk Dancers Lunar New Year Festival! Save the date! Now in its 13th year! This year the workshop teachers are master instructors Lee Otterholt and Rebecca Tsai.
There will be finger food available. If you like, you may bring food or non-alcoholic-beverages to share with other dancers.
There will be a name badge for each attendee. Please return the name badge before you leave. When the name badge is returned, each of the first one hundred payers will receive a red-envelope, which contains a small amount of lucky currency. You have the option to attend the group after-festival dinner. The restaurant and the cost will be announced at the festival. To reserve the seat, please sign up at the front desk by 4 p.m. on the day of the festival.
Registration
The suggested donation is $15. But, if you make the payment before February 8th, 2025, you may pay just $12 per person. You may send the name(s) and check, payable to
Cerritos Folk Dancers
20737 Cortner Ave.
Lakewood, CA 90715-1656
The attendee name is required for us to prepare the name badge. The pre-payment is non-refundable and non-transferable. Optionally, contact Wen at chiangwenli@yahoo.com or 626 500 5035 for electrical transfer of funds, such as using Zelle or Paypal.
If you would like to receive the syllabi through email, free of charge, please sign up at the front desk or let Wen Chiang know.
Let’s dance and celebrate the Year of the Snake together! Remember, the Lion Dance starts things off at 12:55.
For more details contact CerritosFolkDancers@gmail.com or call Wen at 626 500 5035.

Dance Party with Da! Mozhem
2025-02-14 19:30 - 21:30 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
Dance to your favorite international tunes with Da! Mozhem and Berkeley Folk Dancers. Save the date! More details coming…
Da! Mozhem
Da! Mozhem at the San Francisco Free Folk Festival Da! Mozhem plays and sings high-energy pan-Balkan music for the joy of dancing. D!M is a group of friends who have been playing together for well over a decade. The group has veterans from many excellent folklore bands such as the People’s International Silver String Macedonian Band, Born to Drone, Westwind, Sviraci, and the Slavonian Traveling Band. The band plays with emphasis on Bulgarian, Macedonian, and ex-Yugoslav traditions. Several members frequently travel to the Balkans to learn more about the folkloric music of the region. The group plays on traditional instruments unique to the region as well as modern instruments.

Peninsula Folk Dance Party
2025-02-09 15:30 - 18:30 | St. Bede’s Church Hall, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, United States
Join the Peninsula Council Folk Dancers for an all-request dance party with MCs Lon and Hollis Radin! This month’s theme is Friendship Around the World.
We’ll have dances for all levels, beginning to advanced. Dress comfortably in layers; sneakers or low-heeled dance shoes recommended. Donations to help cover the cost of the hall are welcome. We do dances from nearly every country in the world, and the music is incredible.
Send your dance requests to pfdcparty@gmail.com along with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Dances range from beginning to advanced, and all forms (line, couple, and set). If you’d like to bring a snack to share, please make sure they are prepared for individual servings.
Please stay home if you are sick, and please wear a mask if you are unsure or have been exposed to someone with a contagious illness. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Federation Board Meeting
2025-02-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
Join the Folk Dance Federation for their board meeting. Various topics such as event planning, membership, scholarships, publicity, insurance, and budget are discussed. Will be held in-person at the 2025 Festival of the Oaks with free lunch for the board members attending.
Photo by Reyes on freeimages.com

Festival of the Oaks
2025-02-08 09:00 - 17:00 | Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (at Berryman), Berkeley, CA, 94709 , United States
For the 76th Festival of the Oaks, there will be a morning workshop with Liina Teose, followed by optional lunch, a dance performance, and an afternoon dance party. Refreshments will be provided. Oh, and be sure to shop at (and/or donate to) the pre-owned folk dance costume sale (12:30 pm – 4:30 pm). For members of the Folk Dance Federation of California, there will be a membership meeting during the lunch hour.

Schedule

Time
Event
Price

9:00am
Doors open

9:30am-12:00pm
Institute with Liina Teose
$20

12:00-1:00pm
Lunch
$15

1:00-5:00pm
International Folk Dancing with dances from around the world, dance performance, and Institute reviews & contras
$20

Special all-day Institutes and Folk Dance afternoon party package is $35.
Liina Teose
Liina Teose Liina was born in Portland, Oregon. At two years of age, she made her debut as a folk dancer in Tulehoidjad (‘Torch Bearers’), the Portland Estonian folk dance troupe led by her mother. Her mother was born in Estonia and fled in 1944. Liina learned Estonian folk dances in the displaced persons camps in Germany, where she lived for five years before migrating to the US.
Liina became the leader of Tulehoidjad in 1985 and has continued as its director for 38 years. The troupe, founded in 1950, has performed at all of the West Coast Estonian Days, many world-wide ESTO festivals, mass folk dance performances in Estonia, as well as countless local and regional festivals. It is truly bearing the torch of Estonian dance, culture, and traditions.
In 1999, in Tallinn (Estonia) City Hall, she was awarded the Ullo Toomi Award for her work. This award is given by the Estonian Folk Dance and Folk Music Association each year to the most outstanding Estonian folk dance director of the year. Liina is the only folk dance director living and teaching outside of Estonia to receive this award.
In 2016, Liina, together with her mother, was awarded the 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award by the Estonian American National Council in recognition for her work in promoting and preserving Estonian folk dance and music. Through folk dancing and music, Liina and her mother have been instrumental in keeping Estonian culture alive in the United States, Canada, and other locations outside of Estonia. Liina’s first year teaching at Stockton Folk Dance Camp was in 2024.
Register
Contact Ruthie Gasser for more details or to send dance requests for the afternoon party.

Stockton Folk Dance Winter Weekend
2025-01-31 - 2025-02-02 | Online, CA, United States
Instead of making you wait all the way to July to enjoy the wonders of Stockton Folk Dance Camp, enjoy the 2025 Stockton Folk Dance Winter Weekend with
Dance – Music – Presentations – Videos – Games – Parties – Virtual Hugs

All online via Zoom
Featuring an all-star faculty with more than 70 hours of classes, presentations, parties, and replays

💖 20+ hours of new dance classes, presentations, live music, videos hours, and events.
💖 12+ hours of dance parties
💖 Replays of almost everything, so you get two chances to watch
💖 Puzzles, videos, and all the other great things you’ve seen at our Camps.

Featured artists (tentative) include:
DANCE TEACHERS

Jaap Leegwater & Angel Nazlâmov – Bulgarian
Maurice Perez – Israeli
Lee Otterholt
Daniel Sandu – Romanian

MUSIC TEACHERS
TBA
PRESENTATIONS

Ahmet Lüleci – Cooking and Video Hour
Richard Powers – Vintage Dances

LIVE MUSIC

Bill Cope And Orkestar Unbound

This, along with our great MCs and Techs, will make it a wonderful weekend.
Visit https://stocktonfolkdancecamp.org/winter-weekend/ for emerging details…
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION
The entire online camp is free with registration on Zoom.
Register
DONATE
100 percent of each donation goes directly to the artists! Stockton Folk Dance Camp is a 501-c-3 nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible. No contribution is too small.
Donate

Dance Party with Da! Mozhem
2025-01-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062, United States
Dance to your favorite international tunes with Da! Mozhem and Cabrillo Folk Dancers.
$15 sliding scale admission
Be sure to bring tips for the band. If you are not well please stay home.
Da! Mozhem
Da! Mozhem at the San Francisco Free Folk Festival Da! Mozhem plays and sings high-energy pan-Balkan music for the joy of dancing. D!M is a group of friends who have been playing together for well over a decade. The group has veterans from many excellent folklore bands such as the People’s International Silver String Macedonian Band, Born to Drone, Westwind, Sviraci, and the Slavonian Traveling Band. The band plays with emphasis on Bulgarian, Macedonian, and ex-Yugoslav traditions. Several members frequently travel to the Balkans to learn more about the folkloric music of the region. The group plays on traditional instruments unique to the region as well as modern instruments.

Hungarian Dance House (Táncház) with Live Music
2025-01-25 10:00 - 23:00 | Hungarian Cultural Center, 35660 Cedar Boulevard, Newark, CA, 94560, United States
Eszterlánc invites you to join us for a Hungarian Dance Day (táncház) on January 25th, 2025. This is our regular start-of-the-year dance house with live music by Forrás Banda (violin, viola, double bass, cimbalom (hammered dulcimer), moldavian drum).
There will be several new features:

Free film screening before the dance house: The Hungarian film Akkord (with English subtitles) about the connection between folk music and pop music.
Folk music concert by Forrás Banda to kick off the dance house. Everyone is welcome, even if you can’t stay for the dance house itself.
Performance by the Mazsola Children’s Folk Dance Ensemble immediately following the concert.
Children’s dance house, followed by:
Adult dance house, including instruction during the first part of the dance sets.
New this year: Marketplace, where Eszterlánc dancers and others can sell folk-related items. If you have something to sell, let us know in advance to coordinate.

Schedule

Time
Event

10:00am
Folk Music Workshop

3:00pm
Akkord Film Screening

4:30pm
Hungarian Folk Concert with Forrás Band

5:15pm
Mazsola Performance

5:30pm
Kid’s Dance Circle

6:30pm
Adult Dance with Teaching

11:00pm
Singing

We reserve the right to make changes to the program. Start times may vary depending on the number, composition, and mood of attendees, but we’ll do our best to stick to the original schedule.
All levels of experience welcome, no partner needed.
Hungarian food, drinks, and pastries available for purchase.
