Join Andy Taylor-Blenis in conversation with Sarah Bustin in an exploration of Andy’s life story on Sunday 1/15 at 6:30pm ET. Andy will discuss her roots and inspirations, how she became a leader in the folk dance community, and the lessons she learned on her journey.

Register at https://forms.gle/HDzuZk83Ruvic5BXA 

There will be a pre-recorded 45-minute interview, and a 15-minute Q&A will follow. The deadline to sign up for the live Q&A is Sunday 1/15 at 12pm ET. Register now to secure your spot!

Proceeds from the interview will be split between the Conny Taylor Oktoberfest Scholarship, the UMass Lowell Folk Dance Club, and a GoFundMe in memory of longtime dancer Donna La Rue. The recording will be available for purchase by March 2023. This event is part of Tuesday Community Dance’s new series Be YourSELF: Stories of Elders and Leaders in Folk dance.

Special ‘Stockton Highlights’ program [TONIGHT!]

What some people said:
“I didn’t think I would be interested, but I stayed for the entire hour”
“For me, it was the highlight of the entire weekend”
“Really learned a lot, didn’t expect to”

Like perhaps most of you, I viewed contra and squares as a mostly white-America activity. This talk blew my mind.

Wednesday, Feb 10 [Yes, tonight]
Program starts: 7:30 PM [Eastern]
https://tinyurl.com/MFDparties
Zoom ID: 846 8641 6549
Passcode: 333333 (six 3’s)

Tony Parkes created a scholarly presentation on the African roots of dance calling, from slaves and “hired” musician-callers, Black presence in square dancing into the 20th C, all the way to indigenous groups above the Arctic circle. The lecture includes archival and relatively “rare” footage.

I strongly urge you to see “Diversity in Square Dancing”

Tony will be joining us LIVE for a chat after the presentation, where YOU can ask questions and learn more.

Tony has considerable “dance cred”: he’s taught in >70% of the states, Canada, 5 countries in Europe, and – along with calling Squares and Contras at many other festivals – has performed at every NEFFA festival since 1969.

We’ll be on for a bit over an […]

Guy Fawkes Adventure

with Susan Worland

Thursday, November 5, 2020
7:00-8:30pm EDT

Online via Zoom – To benefit the Folk Arts Center of New England

Remember, remember, the 5th of November!

Susan Worland, fiddler extraordinaire, presents a Guy Fawkes Adventure! In Britain Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated as Bonfire Night; on November 5 crowds gather to eat, drink, and socialize outdoors with friends. Susan will give us some history and play some music, then move on to a few of the tasty foods and beverages that might be enjoyed at a Guy Fawkes Day bonfire.

→Join this workshop via Zoom by activating this link.

Donate on the FAC website.

Visit What you need to join to set up your computer or device to join the workshop online.

Please donate generously to FAC and help us through this period of social distancing when all of our events are postponed. We suggest a $10 minimum for attending this workshop but any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting the Folk Arts Center of New England!

Richard Powers

CanCan and Apache […]

We’re hosting a private viewing of “The History of the Embrace in Tango Dance”. Dedicated to the unfolding development of the famous “abrazo de tango”, this documentary short by Argentine dance researcher Gustavo Benzecry Sabá is live from Buenos Aires during a private showing via Zoom. Bring along your favorite Argentine wine & popcorn.

Note: This is a nice complement to Richard Powers’ talk at the 2020 camp. He’s listed as one of the research resources, too.

Sun, Nov 8, 4 pm start

$10 general admission / $9 for SFDC attendees

Purchase at www.tangoandmoredance.com

To get the Stockton Folk Dance Camp promo code, email Gigi at

Gigi (510) 326-6415

SOFA Thursdays is “A Thing”!

Last week we officially, but quietly, launched our SOFA Thursdays series. SOFA is an acronym for Some Other Folk Arts, to differentiate its subject matter from our Saturday dance workshop series!

Tonight on the SOFA we introduce Bennett Clifford who is presenting a cooking class based on his experiences in Georgia where he lived, worked, and studied. The recipes he will share with us are posted on his page along with other details!

Topics and leaders coming up include Kathryn Black presenting her Estonian Craft Experience (September 24), Susan Lind-Sinanian demonstrating Making Paklava (October 1), and An Evening with Zdravets (October 8).

The Online Series page lists all the workshops, and includes links to event-specific pages that give you even more information.

Speaking of links ….

We always post a link to the Zoom link for the week’s offerings on the event-specific pages. It is encased in a bright yellow box, outlined in red and the link itself – “activating this link” – are in bold and burgundy-colored. You can’t miss it!

Saturday’s Miroslav (Bata) Marcetic Serbian workshop!

The Folk Arts Center is absolutely delighted to host Miroslav on Saturday! Many of you have enjoyed workshops and […]