This page is an historical archive, and therefore is out of date and will not be updated.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 *

Sunday: International Folk *Two or three Tuesdays per month: Contra Dance *Wednesday: Israeli

Updated September 28, 2010

**Upcoming Dances

** Quick Index

Click to jump to a category.

*About The Club
* IAP Special Events
*Club Email Lists
*Special Events
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 floor of the Student Center:

Sunday Dates (8-11 pm) Building/Floor Room Notes
September 5, 2010 Student Center 3rd Floor Coffeehouse
September 12 & 19, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Beginner's Nights! Live music by Rakiya Sept 19!
September 26 - October 10, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Live music by the Cambridge Folk Orchestra Oct. 3!
October 17, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Klezmer dancing with Jacob Bloom and Shver un Shviger!
October 24, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Live music by Skorosmrtnica!
October 31, 2010 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
November 7 & 14, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Live music by Pajdashi Nov. 14!
November 21, 2010 Student Center 3rd Floor Coffeehouse
November 28 - December 19, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Live music 12/19 by Skorosmrtnica!
December 26, 2010 No dancing
January 2 & 9, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
January 16 - 30, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Live music 1/23 by Skorosmrtnica, 1/30 by Rakiya!
February 6 - 27, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Feb 6: special guest leader Kyriakos Moisidis from Thessaloniki, Greece
March 6, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Live music by Skorosmrtnica
March 13, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491 Live music by the Cambridge Folk Orchestra!
March 20 - April 3, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Live music by Rakiya 3/27!
April 10, 2011 No dancing.
April 17, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Live music by Pajdashi May 8, Rakiya May 15!
May 29, 2011 Walker 1st Floor Morss Hall Room change!
June 5, 2011 No dancing.
June 12 - July 3, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Live music by Skorosmrtnica June 12
July 10, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall
July 17, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
July 24, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
July 31 - August 14, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
August 21 & 28, 2011 No dancing.

To see what dances we've done from July 2002 - January 2010, 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 11:30 pm.

Wednesday Dates (8-11:30 pm) Building/Floor Room Notes
September 15, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Oldies Night!
September 22 - October 13, 2010 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491 Beginner's Nights 10/6 and 10/13, 7:30 - 9 pm
October 20, 2010 Student Center 4th Floor Room 407
October 27 - November 10, 2010 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
November 17, 2010 Building 13 1st Floor Lobby 13
November 24, 2010 No dancing
December 1, 2010 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
December 8 - 22, 2010 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico 80s Night December 8th!
Saturday December 25, 2010 Walker Memorial 3rd Floor Walker Gym All-night Israeli Dance Marathon, 6 pm - 4 am.
December 29, 2010 No dancing
January 5 & 12, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
January 19 - February 2, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491 Beginner's Class February 2nd, 7:30 - 9 pm, followed by a regular session.
February 9, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Beginner's Class 7:30 - 9 pm, followed by a regular session.
February 16 & 23, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
March 2, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
March 9 & 16, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
March 23, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 407 [room change]
March 30, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
April 6, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall Catch-up Night. Want to learn a dance from a camp or another session?
Email your request to mitisraeli [at] gmail [.] com by 3/30.
April 13, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico Oldies Night!
April 20, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
April 27, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Lobdell Dining Hall
May 4 - 18, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
May 25, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 407
June 1, 2011 No dancing at MIT. Dancing at JCDS, 57 Stanley Ave, Watertown. [map]
June 8 - 29, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
July 6, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 407
July 13, 2011 Student Center 3rd Floor Coffeehouse
July 20, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
July 27, 2011 Building 13 1st Floor Lobby 13
August 3, 2011 Student Center 4th Floor Room 491
August 10, 2011 Student Center 2nd Floor Sala de Puerto Rico
August 17, 2011 No dancing.
August 24 & 31, 2011 No dancing at MIT. We're dancing at JCDS,
57 Stanley Ave, Watertown. [directions]

Check the Israeli email announcement archive to confirm information about each week's location and teaching schedule, and special events. Light kosher snacks and drinks will be provided each week.
Israeli dancing is co-sponsored by MIT Hillel and the MISTI MIT-Israel Program.
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) 2010. Register with the PE Department. For more information, contact David Karger: karger [at] 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.

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.

Club officers for 2010-11:
President Mahati Chintapalli mchint [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-president [at] mit [dot] edu
Vice President/Secretary Gillian Guertin  guertin [at] mit [dot] edu
Treasurer Andrew Whitehill arwhite [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-treasurer [at] mit [dot] edu

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, 2011.

** 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

*Annual Israeli Dance Marathon
MIT Folk Dance Club's annual
All Night
Israeli Dance Marathon!

6:00 PM, Saturday December 25, 2010 -
4:00 AM, Sunday December 26.
Christmas Day this year, *not* Christmas eve.

(Note that the MBTA subway doesn't start running until about 6:30 AM on Sundays.)

MIT Walker Gymnasium
142 Memorial Drive, 3rd floor
Cambridge, MA

For a map, see http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=50 .

Food!! Fun!!
Large wooden dance floor!

6:00-6:45pm -- Children's and family dances
6:45-7:30pm -- Line dances for older kids
7:30-8:30pm -- Oldies (dances before 1980)
8:30-9:30pm -- '80s
9:30pm-4:00am -- regular program (featuring your requests! bring 'em!)

Suggested donation $10 general, $5 children under 18.
Students FREE!

[Facebook event]

For more information, email: mitisraeli [at] gmail.com



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. Last year's marathon was on Saturday December 25, 2010. Check back for the date and location of the 2011 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 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 13, 2011. 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.

* Armenian workshops and party with Tom Bozigian!
Co-sponsored by the MIT Armenian Society.

August 22, 2010
1:30 - 2:30 Armenian singing workshop
3:30 - 6:30 Armenian dance workshop
8:00 - 11:00 Int'l folk dance party with Tom leading and reviewing dances

Workshops in the Student Center Coffeehouse (3rd floor).
Party in Lobdell Dining Hall (Student Center 2nd floor)
Suggested donation $8 per workshop, $5 for party. Party free if you attend both workshops.
Free for MIT and Wellesley students.
pic of Tom playing the drum

* Come see informal rapper dance performances, Saturday October 23, 2010, 11 am - noon.
Lobbies of buildings E15 (List Visual Arts Center) and E25. Free.
Sponsored by the Dancing America Rapper Tournament and the Folk Dance Club.

** 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 W20-447 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 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 closer, but it often fills up on weeknights.
No parking permit is required at these lots after 5 pm or on weekends. Metered street parking is free after 6 pm.

Update: As of 10/19/09, the N10 Lot on Albany Street is no longer available for people without MIT parking permits.

** Club Meetings

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

Contact the club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu to find out about future 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 Mansfield, 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 now that the city has rebuilt 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 the U.S., focusing on 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.
* 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