This page is an historical archive, and therefore is out of date and will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
presents--
International Folk Dancing
Every Sunday night from 8:00 pm until 11:00 pm
in MIT Stratton Student Center, usually room
491 (4th floor) (through
Dec. 21, 2003)
Further location information
If you've never danced before
How we operate & the kind of dancing that
we do
Donation
E-Mail list
Return to MIT Folk Dance Club home page
September 14, 2003
Beginners' Night 1
Programmer: Bob Parr
Student Center Room 491
September 21, 2003
Beginners' Night 2
Programmer: Chris Ricciotti
Teaching by Chris and others
Student Center Room 491
Note: if you missed the Beginner's Nights, see
this
September 28, 2003
Programmer: Debbi Moses & Nancy Reid
Student Center Room 491
October 5, 2003
Programmer: Jim & Chrissie Brown
Student Center Room 491
October 12, 2003
Programmer: Bob Parr
Student Center Room 491
October 19, 2003
Programmer: Debbi Moses & Nancy Reid
Student Center Room 491
October 26, 2003
Programmer: Neil & Valarie Rosen
Student Center Room 491
November 2, 2003
Programmer: Jim & Chrissie Brown
Student Center Room 491
November 9, 2003
Programmer: Janet Baker
Student Center Room 491
Live music provided by the Cambridge Folk Orchestra!
November 16, 2003
Programmer: Chris Ricciotti
Teaching by Chris & others
Student Center Room 491
November 23, 2003
Programmer: Chris Ricciotti
Teaching by Chris and others
Student Center Room 491
November 30, 2003
Programmer: Debbi Moses & Nancy Reid
Student Center Room 491
December 7, 2003
Programmer: Jim & Chrissie Brown
Student Center Room 491
December 14, 2003
Programmer: Bob Parr
Student Center Room 491
December 21, 2003
Programmer: Debbi Moses & Nancy Reid
Student Center Room 491
December 28, 2003
No dancing tonight - MIT Campus
closed
January 4, 2004
No dancing tonight - MIT Campus
closed
January 11, 2004
Dancing resumes
Programmer: TBD
Student Center Sala de Puerto Rico
Some
further information on
location:
Normally, we will be scheduled to meet in either Room 491 on the 4th
floor of the MIT Stratton Student
Center, or in the Sala de Puerto Rico which is on the 2'd floor of
the Student Center. Be aware that our meeting room can
sometimes change at the last minute, so if we don't appear to be in a
scheduled 4th floor room, check the 2'd floor, and vice versa.
Also look for a sign that may be posted near the
scheduled room announcing a location change. If there's enough
warning, late room changes will be posted on the e-mail
list.
Detailed directions to MIT, parking, and other location information can
be found on the MIT folk dancing main
page.
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If
you're new to dancing or
missed out on the Beginners' Nights:
Come check us out anyhow! Bring
your friends! No
experience necessary!
New dancers are welcome to join us any Sunday, not just at Beginners'
Nights. Come any time, though the best time is the earlier part
of the evening (roughly 8:00-9:30) since a certain number of dances are
usually taught during that period. Many of our dances are
straight-forward enough to pick up "on the fly", and folks will invite
you to join the line (or circle, or whatever the formation might be)
for those dances. Later in the evening, we will blend in
some more complex dances to appease the more experienced dancers, but
you should be aware that most of our dance programmers make an effort
to maintain a mix of levels that includes a certain percentage of
easier dances right through the end of the evening, so there will be
plenty for you do to do in the latter part of the evening as
well. If you're unsure about whether to join in a dance you
haven't seen before, a good tactic is to get behind the line of dancers for a
few moments and watch their steps to assess whether you feel
comfortable "faking" this one. And, yes, it is perfectly
acceptable to "fake" a dance - just make sure you're moving more or
less the same direction as the other dancers in the line, keep your
grip relaxed and smile a lot - and no one will notice what your feet
are or aren't doing. This is something all of us, even experienced
dancers, find ourselves doing from time to time.
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The kinds of dancing that we do and how we
operate:
We dance mostly village dances and some dances choreographed in folk
style mainly to the complex and fascinating rhythms and music of
Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, and
others. We round out the repetoire with a few dances from other
parts of Europe and the world (such as Israel, France, Russia, even
England and the US). We have a "core" repetoire which you will
pick up as you attend a succession of Sunday nights, but we're also
always acquiring fun and interesting new dances from a number of
sources. Some of the dances are lyrical and slow, others are
great aerobic exercise and give you a chance to really move. Most of the dances move
in the traditional lines or circles; the repetoire also includes some
couple dances (but you don't
need to bring a partner).
The club owns a large and enviable collection of old, rare, as well
modern recordings which we dance to most Sunday evenings. There
are also a number of talented performers of this music in the area, and
on occasion we are able to have live music for dancing - those will be
noted in the schedule. Each Sunday we have a programmer who determines what
dances we will do and sets up the flow of the evening. In
addition to making sure dances get taught and that we get the right mix
of easy/hard, the programmer also works from a request board; anyone can write a
request on this board, so bring along names of dances that you know
from here or from elsewhere.
Approximately half-way through the evening, we usually pause for some
brief announcements and to take a donation.
Suggested donation is
$1.00 for anyone who isn't an MIT or Wellesley student. MIT and
Wellesley students always attend for free.
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E-Mail list
The Sunday night e-mail listserve is the most reliable way to get
current and last minute information. This will include reminders,
room updates, special events, and the rare cancelation. This list
will be used for this purpose only; it is not a discussion list, and
only the list managers can post. To subscribe to the list, send
e-mail to
mitfdc-int-subscribe[at]yahoogroups[dot]com
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Last modified: November 9, 2003
Comments & suggestions for this page to: Bob Parr
(parr[at]ll[dot]mit[dot]edu)
Return to MIT Folk Dance Club home page