* MIT Folk Dance Club *

The MIT Folk Dance Club sponsors three nights of dancing every week:
Sunday: International Folk *Two or three Tuesdays per month: Contra Dance *Wednesday: Israeli

Updated July 2, 2009

** Upcoming Dances

MIT students can earn PE credit for contra dancing!
The most recent class was February 10 - March 17, 2009.
Check back for classes in future semesters.

** Quick Index

Click to jump to a category.

*About The Club
* IAP Special Events
*Club Email Lists
*Special Events
*Vinovana, Our Performing Group
yellow ballHow to Find a Room We're Scheduled in
yellow ballOrganizational meetings of the Club
*Links to related dance sites

** About The Club

The MIT Folk Dance Club sponsors three nights of dancing each week throughout the year, all of which are open to the MIT community and the general public.

Sunday night International Folk Dancing meets every week from 8:00 to 11:00 pm, almost always on the 2nd or 4th floor of the Student Center:

Sunday Dates (8-11 pm) Building/Floor Room Notes
May 10 - 24, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Klezmer dancing with KlezMITron May 17th!
May 31, 2009 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491 [changed!]
June 7, 2009 NO DANCING due to Commencement
Saturday June 13, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Greek Night, with live music by Ensemble Aperiskeptos!
June 14, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Live music with the Cambridge Folk Orchestra!
June 21, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Bulgarian dance workshop 4-6 pm with Ivan Dimitrov, and evening party with Ivan and Rakiya! [more info]
June 28, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall
July 5 - August 16, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Live music July 19 with Rakiya!
Oldies Night August 2! Another 50th anniversary event. Details to follow.
August 23 - September 6, 2009 Location to be announced

To see what dances we've done from July 2002 - May 2009, see the playlist archive. See our web archive for old versions of our web pages.


Wednesday night Israeli Dancing usually meets on the 4th or 2nd floor of the Student Center, from 8:00 to 11:00 pm.

Wednesday Dates (8-11 pm) Building/Floor Room Notes
June 10, 2009 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
June 17, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall
June 24, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
July 1, 2009 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
July 8, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
July 15, 2009 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
July 22, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
July 29, 2009 NO DANCING (Tisha B'Av)
August 5, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
August 12, 2009 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Updated!
August 19 - September 2, 2009 Location to be announced

Check the Israeli email announcement archive for updated information about each week's location and teaching schedule, and special events. Light kosher snacks and drinks will be provided each week.
Israeli photo gallery
For more information about Israeli dancing, email   mitisraeli [at] gmail.com .

In addition to our folk and contra dance PE classes, some semesters there is also a separate all-Israeli folk dance class. The most recent class was IAP (January) 2009. Register with the PE Department. For more information, contact David Karger: karger [at] csail.mit.edu , or see http://people.csail.mit.edu/karger/ifd/ .


International Folk and Israeli Dancing each start with Early Teaching at 8:00 pm, followed by teaching and requests until 11:00 pm. Beginners are always welcome. Admission is free for MIT and Wellesley students; a $1 donation is suggested from others.

On two or three Tuesdays per month, the Contra Dance for All meets in various locations from 8:00 to 10:30 pm (check the schedule for dates and locations). Live music every time! Beginners are always welcome and are encouraged to come early.

Congratulations to our officers for 2009-10!
President Mahati Chintapalli mchint [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-president [at] mit [dot] edu
Vice President Ira Winder  jiw [at] mit [dot] edu
Treasurer Nandi Bugg nbugg [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-treasurer [at] mit [dot] edu

MIT students interested in running for Secretary should email fdc-request [at] mit.edu



The Club also sponsors Vinovana, our very own performing group, which is always interested in getting new members and performing opportunities.

All Club Meetings are open to the general public. We're especially interested in hearing from MIT students!

We're considered to be one of the best places for International Folk Dance in the entire country. Come and check us out!

** IAP Special Events

The MITFDC gives classes and workshops as part of IAP each January.
See our IAP offerings for January, 2009.

** Club Email Lists

We maintain electronic mailing lists used to announce dances and other events of interest. These lists are for announcements only and have very low volume.

If you have any questions, please contact the Folk Dance Club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu.

** Special Events

*Bulgarian Folk Dance Workshop and Party, with Ivan Dimitrov and Rakiya
Sunday June 21, 2009.
Workshop with Ivan, 4-6 pm, Lobdell Dining Hall
Folk dance party with Ivan and Rakiya, 8-11 pm, Sala de Puerto Rico
MIT Student Center, 2nd floor
Suggested donation $5 per event, or $8 for both.
Free for MIT and Wellesley students.

Beginners welcome!

Ivan Dimitrov graduated from the National Academy of Dance Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He was a lead dancer and soloist with the famous Bulgarian State Folklore Ensemble, Trakia, in Plovdiv. His DC-based professional dance group, The Ivan Dimitrov Dance Ensemble, has been warmly received at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Cherry Blossom Festival opening ceremonies, and the Greater Washington International Folk Festival.

Rakiya is a fiery 8-piece Balkan Rom (Gypsy) band, based in the Boston area. They perform electric, very danceable songs and dance tunes. 		A picture of Ivan A picture of Rakiya

*Macedonian Folk Dancing, with Live Music by Goran and Adrijana Alachki
Monday January 26, 2009. 8-11 pm.
Kresge Auditorium mainstage.
Suggested donation $7. Free for MIT and Wellesley students.
Acclaimed master accordionist and composer Goran Alachki has been designated a "National Living Treasure" by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture. His wife, Adrijana, an award-winning vocalist and recording artist, is one of the most renowned singers in Macedonia.

Please join us for this great evening of folk music and participatory dancing as we welcome Goran and Adrijana on their third visit to Boston from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia!

See photos and video clips of the event.


*Annual Israeli Dance Marathon
The Christmas Eve Israeli Dance Marathon takes place every year on or about Christmas Eve.

We start at 6 pm and dance until 4 am. It is usually held in Walker Gym on the MIT Campus. This year's marathon took place on Wednesday December 24, 2008. (Check back for the location and exact date of the December, 2009 marathon.) People come from all over the continent (and even from Amsterdam!) to dance at MIT! We'll start with simpler dances and move progressively to harder dances as the night goes on, so be sure to come earlier rather than later...even beginners will have fun if you show up at six!

*Beginner's Nights Beginner's nights are for people who haven't done much dancing before and want to learn some and for more experienced dancers who want to practice the basics. In other words, they are for everyone. You need no prior experience and you don't need a partner. Beginner's Nights for all 3 nights of dancing occur in September and January each year.

*The Israel Folkdance Festival of Boston takes place each year in March, in Kresge Auditorium on the MIT campus. The next festival will be on Sunday March 14, 2010. The show includes performances by dance ensembles from far and near. Call MIT Hillel at (617) 253-2982 or visit http://www.bostonfestival.org for more information and to order tickets.

** Vinovana

Vinovana is our performing group. It is currently on hiatus.

If you are interested in performing in an international folk dancing, singing, or instrumental group, please contact the club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu .

** Where We Meet

These are the locations where we usually meet. Click on a location to see it on a campus map.

1. The Stratton Student Center (Building W20). It is located at 84 Mass. Ave., directly across the street from the main entrance to MIT. La Sala de Puerto Rico and Lobdell Dining Hall are located on the second floor. Rooms W20-407, W20-491, and our club office W20-437 are located on the fourth floor.
2. Lobby 13. Can be accessed from either Vassar St. or the Infinite Corridor (go in the main MIT entrance at 77 Mass Ave and turn north at Lobby 10).
3. Kresge Auditorium. Kresge is the triangular dome with a turquoise roof, set back on a plaza at 48 Massachusetts Avenue (across the street from the main MIT entrance). Rehearsal Rooms A and B are located in the basement.
See a Google map and get driving directions

See a schedule for the #1 bus which runs along Mass Ave.

Parking

Free parking is available in the N10 Lot (off Albany Street east of Massachusetts Avenue) or West Annex Lot (on Vassar Street west of Massachusetts Avenue, next to the West Garage), or on the street. The lot behind the Bank of America ATM at Mass Ave and Vassar Street is closest, but it often fills up on weeknights.
No parking permit is required at these lots after 5:30 pm or on weekends. Metered street parking is free after 6 pm.

** Club Meetings

Organizational club meetings usually take place once a year in late May or early June.

Contact the club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu to find out about upcoming meetings.

** Links to other folk dance resources

International Folk, Contra Dancing, and Other kinds:
* The Folk Arts Center of New England home page, including their calendar Folk Dancing 'Round Boston.
* New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA) runs a folk festival each April in Natick, MA, as well as a contra dance each Thursday night at the Scout House in Concord, MA. (This dance was formerly located at the VFW in west Cambridge, and hopes to move back there once the city rebuilds it as a youth/community center.)
* Country Dance Society, Boston Centre (Contra and English Country dancing.)
* contradancelinks.com, a comprehensive page of links to other Contra Dances around the world.
* Larry Denenberg's Beginner's Catechism page
* The Cambridge Folk Orchestra plays at various folk dances in the Boston area, and occasionally plays at MIT at our Sunday night international folk dances.
* The MIT Folk Dance Club Songbook, a compilation of lyrics of the songs in our record collection.
* Arthur Saltzman has posted FDC photos and movies from the 1960s.
*Our own Neil Rosen has written a Folk Dance mp3 Player which can be used along with a database of dances.
* The Tuesday Night Revival is an advanced Balkan dance group that used to dance at MIT, and now holds dances about once a month in Arlington on a Friday or Saturday.
* Balkan Music Night is a concert and dance which occurs each year in March, in Concord, MA.
* The Dance Gypsy is a calendar of contra and other folk dances throughout New England.

Israeli Folk Dancing:
* israelidance.com, which includes a test to see if you are a true folk dance addict and a session-finder, in case you're thinking of moving and want to see if there's dancing there first.
* Ken Avner's Israeli Folkdance page
* Sunday night Israeli Dancing at Temple Emanuel in Newton (formerly located at Harvard Hillel). This page also includes links to other Israeli dancing sessions and classes in the Boston area.
* Monday night Israeli dancing in Brookline with Raphael and Ronnie.

Comments on this home page and other subjects are welcome.
Send mail to fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu .

Web page maintained by Daniel Salomon d a 1 8 1 2 5 [at] mit [dot] e d u