Directions to All Locations    Monday Class    May Dance Camp   Area Events    Home

Folk Dance Fridays with the Old World Dance Club

Frequently Asked Questions

General questions

What is "international folk dance"?

International Folk Dance (IFD) is a group dance activity focusing on dances from the traditional cultures of various ethnic groups. Most IFD dances are group, non-partner line dances, where the dancers form a line with hands joined, all doing the same dance. Usually there is a leader at one end to move the line forward and who also serves as a model for the rest of the line to follow. The dances are not called and all are invited to join the line or follow behind the line to pick up the steps.

Some dances are partner dances, some of which follow specific patterns, while others are completely free form, and can be learned by dancing with an experienced partner. Mixers are partner dances where couples are arranged in a circle and dancers progress to a new partner after each time through the dance.

IFD can be just a way to get exercise, it can be a hobby, or it can even be an avocation and profession. There is much that can be learned about culture, music, even language, and, of course, dance, through folk dancing.

Where do the dances come from? Is it Greek dancing?

We do Greek dances, but also dances from many other countries. Many of the dances come from southeastern Europe (known as the "Balkans"), which includes Greece but also Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Romania, and even Turkey. For historical reasons, this area has very rich and living folk traditions. There are dances from other regions and cultures as well: Brittany in northern France, Armenia, Israel, and other countries in the Middle East, including Iraq. We do a smattering of dances from the USA, Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Scandinavian countries, and others.

We also do "novelty" dances from the USA to recordings such as "Car Wash". We do the line Hustle almost every week.

Do I need a partner?

No. The vast majority of the dances are line dances. You are in the line as an individual, not part of a couple.

How can I learn the dances?

Come on Friday night and try them. This sounds overwhelming because there are many hundreds of dances, but no one knows all of them. Most dances are only 6, 8, 12, 16 counts long and there is a repertoire of basic steps that are used over and over again, so once you're able to do some of those steps you can start to learn many different dances pretty quickly. Our group encourages people to try.

To learn on Friday night it is best to be there at the start because for the first 45 minutes or so every dance is either walked through, or taught. This gives everyone a chance at least to see a dance with verbal desciption and without any pressure. Then, when the music starts you have at least some idea of what to expect. Later on, it is often best to dance behind someone in the line who knows the dance well and even very experienced dancers do this sometimes. Experienced dancers will help you. 

What is a typical folk dance evening like?

We start around 8:30 or so and during the first 45-60 minutes every dance is "walked through".  The dance is done once, the music is stopped, the leader does the dance once without the music and with verbal descriptions of the steps, and then the music is started again and continued to the end. During this time dances of all types are walked through, easy to hard. 

At the end of the walk-throughs one dance is taught. Teaching takes more time and goes into details of the dance. Dances of any level may be taught.

After that, the music is pretty much continuous until 11:30 or so. During the evening we'll play 50-60 different tunes, each with a specific dance associated with it. The recordings average about 3 minutes; some are as short as 1½ minutes, and some are as long as 6 minutes, and rarely 10 minutes. We do dances of all levels of difficulty throughout the evening. We also do a few partner dances and a mixer. A few of the dances are very difficult and can only be done by very experienced dancers.

We have a refreshment table with a variety of snacks, water, and juice or pop.

So, you can be dancing or trying to learn new dances all night long, or, of course, sit down, talk, enjoy a refreshment, and just watch the dancing if you choose.

When and how often can people participate in folk dance?

There is a regular dance evening every Friday at St. James in Ferndale from about 8:30 to 11:30PM or so. We also have a class on Monday evening.

Membership

What does membership cost?

$20

What benefits are there to being a member?

Membership entitles you to get in for $1 less on a Friday ($6 instead of $7); since there are about 45 dances each year, you save money even if you only come half the time as a member. You also can participate in decision making about club activities. There are no obligations.

Can I join any time?

Yes, but memberships are calendar based and run from September through August. All memberships reset at the end of August, so if you join in the middle of the year you still pay the $20 but have fewer dances to attend to make it back.