This page is an historical archive, and therefore is out of date and will not be updated. Please visit our updated homepage at http://mit.edu/fdc for current information about the MIT Folk Dance Club.

* MIT Folk Dance Club *

The MIT Folk Dance Club sponsors three nights of dancing every week:
Sunday: International Folk * Usually 2nd/4th Tuesdays: Contra Dance * Wednesday: Israeli

Updated October 24, 2006.

** Upcoming Dances

Victorian Ball

Sunday October 22, 2006. 7:30 - 10:30 pm.
Walker Memorial: Morss Dining Hall (142 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA).
Live music by Spare Parts!
We will dance waltzes, polkas, marches, and other couple and set dances of the 1890s.
No partner or experience is necessary.
Free admission!
Vintage or creative dress is encouraged, but not required.
Contributions of snacks or desserts are appreciated!

** 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:
October 22, 2006 - November 12, 2006: Student Center 407 (4th Floor).
October 29, 2006: live music by Divi Zheni, a Boston-based Bulgarian women's chorus and orchestra! In Student Center 407.
November 19, 2006: Sala de Puerto Rico (Student Center 2nd Floor).
November 26 & December 3, 2006: Student Center 407 (4th Floor).
December 10 & 17, 2006: Sala de Puerto Rico (Student Center 2nd Floor).

To see what dances we've done from 2002-2005, see the playlist archive.


Wednesday night Israeli Dancing meets in Student Center 407 (4th floor) through January 24, 2007, from 8:00 to 11:00 pm.
Note the following special events and room changes:
October 18, 2006: Sala de Puerto Rico (Student Center 2nd Floor).
October 25 - November 8, 2006: Student Center 407 (4th Floor).
80s Night on November 15, 2006, in Lobby 13!
November 22, 2006: Lobby 13.
November 29, 2006 - January 24, 2007: Student Center 407 (4th Floor).

Check the Israeli email announcement archive for updated information about each week's dance. Light kosher snacks and drinks will be provided each week.

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 the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month (usually -- check the schedule), the Contra Dance for All meets in various locations from 8:00 to 10:30 pm (check the schedule for locations). Live music every time! Beginners are always welcome and are encouraged to come early.

Congratulations to our officers for 2006!
PresidentCaroline Rubinrubinc [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-president [at] mit [dot] edu
Vice PresidentSeth Raphaelsraphael [at] mit [dot] edu
TreasurerLaura Martinilmartini [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-treasurer [at] mit [dot] edu
SecretaryJessie Kneelandjessiek [at] mit [dot] edu


Physical Education Credit is now available for MIT students who attend 6 contra dances during a fall or spring half-semester. Register at the PE Department website or in person at a contra dance.

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 also have an information line at (617) 253-FOLK (253-3655) which contains a portion of the information found on this website.
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, 2006.

** 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, so please sign up for the dance venues in which you are interested.

To be added to a list, please send an email to the appropriate address:

You can also check the MITFDC Info Line (617-253-FOLK) for announcements.

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

** Special Events

* 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 6 am. It is usually held in Walker Gym on the MIT Campus -- check back for the location of the December, 2006 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 11, 2007. The show includes performances by dance ensembles from all over the United States and Canada. 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 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.
No parking permit is required at these lots after 5:30 pm or on weekends. Metered street parking is free after 6 pm.

Update: As of 4/30/04, the Kresge Lot is no longer available for people without MIT parking permits.

** 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 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.
* 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). During the summer of 2006 this dance will meet on Thursday nights. 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.
* Israeli Dance Plus, Boston's newest Israeli session, meets on occasional Saturday evenings at Springstep in Medford.

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 s a l o m o n [at] post.ha rvard[dot]e d u