Southern California Folk Dance Links
Compiled by Dick Oakes
CLICK AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE
For a list of Southern California International Folk Dance Clubs, see the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc. website.
DANCE NOTES / NOTATIONS / DESCRIPTIONS / DIRECTIONS / INSTRUCTIONS / CUE SHEETS / STEPSHEETS / CRIBS
- A Mind Less Ordinary Cèilidh Dances More than 25 English Cèlidh dances described here.
- American Indian Dance Notes Julia Buttree describes many American Indian dances.
- BetBasoo's Assyrian Folk Dances Peter Pnuel BetBasoo has 30 Assyrian dances noted.
- Bettis' Dance Notes Andy Bettis has some 60 international dance descriptions in HTML format.
- Carnie's Folkdance Musings Andrew Carnie has at least 50 international dance descriptions in PDF format.
- Contra Dance List Cambridge has some 225 contra dances, all notated.
- Copper Knob Stepsheets George has more than 68,000 stepsheets of line dances on this site.
- Deering's Folk Dance Notes Tom Deering has nearly 40 balkan dances here.
- Estienne's Country Dance Book Greg Lindahl has some 25 English dances described.
- Evansville IFD Dance Notes Nearly 400 international dance notes in PDF format.
- Folk Dance Federation of California, Inc. (North) Dance Descriptions Many international folk dance descriptions and syllabi available.
- Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc. Syllabi Many international folk dances and syllabi available.
- Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc. Dances The Federation (South) has many international folk dances and videos available online.
- Folk Dance Instructions Facebook has links to many international dance instructions.
- folkdancing.com There are 28 Scandinavian dances notated here, plus an Explanation of Dance Holds and a Glossary of Terms.
- Freewheeler's Contra Dancing Freewheelers describe the Hambo, Polka, and Schottische.
- Grand Chain – Céilidh Dances About 20 English Cèilidh dances notes are listed here.
- Grand Chain – Scottish Dances About 20 Scottish dances notes are listed here.
- Hirsh's International Teaching Notes Carol Hirsh has described over 140 international dances.
- Imber's Israeli Folk Dancing Martin Imber has about 300 israeli dances described here.
- Internet Archive English Dances Nearly 20 English dances described here.
- Irish and Scottish Dance Descriptions Scott MacHaffy has notated a dozen Scottish dances.
- Lloyd Shaw's Cue Sheets The organization has international, contra, round dance notes.
- McMonagle's Zwiefacher Patterns Patrick McMonagle has a complete list of Bavarian Zwiefacher dance patterns.
- Miami Valley FD Dance Notes Miami Falley Folk Dancers' list of international dance notes.
- Northern Junket Folk Dances International folk dance notes as appearing in Northern Junket.
- Palmer's Pocket Playford More than 50 English country dances by William Palmer from the Playfore Ball programmes.
- Pluck and Squeeze Welsh Dances There are 10 dances here from Wales.
- Sacred Circle Dance About 490 international folk dance descriptions.
- Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary Dances Scottish dance "cribs" and instructions for some 5,000 Scottish country dances.
- Shapiro's Folk Dance Notes Bob Shapiro has links to nearly 1,500 international dance notes.
- Sharp's Folk Dance Notes Cecil Sharp has more than 30 Morris and Sword dances described.
- Stockton Folk Dance Camp Syllabi – 1948 to Present (International dances in PDF format with a link on the left.)
- Thrir Venstri Foetr English Country Dances More than 60 English Country Dances are notated here.
- Webfeet Dance Instructions Many English Cèlidh dance links are here.
MUSIC
- Balkan Tunes Bill Cope's website full of music information and downloads.
- Best of NAMA CD David Owens, Ann Arbor, Michigan. David was the director of NAMA.
- Festival Records The ultimate record source!
- Folkdance Music Music for over 2600 folk dances from all over the world.
- Folklore Discography Hundreds of record albums and CDs by region, label, tracks, or artist.
- Internet Archive John Clements 78rpm music collection.
- Midi Files, Sheet Music, and YouTube Links Hundreds of these kinds of links by Seymour Schlien.
ORGANIZATIONS
- Colorado Round Dance Association Greeley, Colorado.
- Country Dance & Song Society Traditional and participatory dance, music and song, especially those with roots in English and North American culture.
- Ethnic Dance Chicago (EDC) Exercise your body and your mind and celebrate America's ethnic heritage in dance and music in and around Chicago, Illinois.
- Florida Folk Dance Council Organized by folk dancers, for folk dancers, to get more folk dancing.
- Folk Arts Center of New England A non-profit corporation whose purpose is to further knowledge, performance, and recreational enjoyment of international folk dance.
- Folk Dance Federation of California, Inc. (North) The Northern California's folk dance federation with a list of places to dance in Northern California and an ever-increasing number of dance notations available for free.
- Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc. (South) The Southern California's folk dance federation with a list of places to dance in Southern California as well as publications, contacts, history, forms, and a calendar.
- Folk Dance New Zealand Organized by folk dancers, for folk dancers, to get more folk dancing.
- International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts (CIOFF) CIOFF is an Official Partner of UNESCO, accredited to the UNESCO ICH Committee. Created in 1970, the duty of CIOFF is safeguarding, promotion and diffusion of traditional culture and folklore.
- International Folk Dance Association of University City (IFDA) An organization serving the greater St. Louis area.
- National Folk Organization U.S.A. Serving the entire United States with insurance for member groups.
- Northwest Folkdancers Inc. (NFDI) Covering the northwestern United States, including Alaska, NFDI is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging and promoting folk dancing.
- Ontario Folk Dance Assocation A non-profit organization based in Ontario, Canada, interested in the traditional music and dances of the world.
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Polish Folk Dance Association of the Americas Polish - Polanie Polish Song & Dance Association Polish – Calgary, Alberta
- Recreational Folk Dancers of Columbus Dedicated to the preservation, study, teaching, enjoyment and continuing evolution of recreational folk dance in Central Ohio.
- Serbian Cultural Association Oplenac Serbian – Mississauga (Toronto area), Ontario
- Society for International Folk Dancing A United Kingdom-based, voluntary, non-profit-making, non-political association that aims to encourage people to learn and enjoy the folk dances from many countries.
- Society of Folk Dance Historians The United States center for transforming information into movement since 1987.
- South Coast Folk Society A project of the Country Dance and Song Society of Coos Bay Oregon.
- St. Louis Folk Dance Association of University City Incorporated in 1964 and serving the greater St. Louis area.
- Texas International Folk Dancers A non-profit educational organization that supports folk dancing and related folk arts in Texas and surrounding states.
- Traditional Square & Contra Dance i Danmark Denmark's association of traditional square and contra dance.
PLAYERS
- DJPower Optional video beat mixing interface with 52 video transitions and a host of other features for DJs. Program only. Does not support diacritics (Free).
- Folkdance Jukebox This is a laptop computer from Dick Killian with a software program that allows you to program all of your folkdance music. Does not support diacritics.
- MITPlayer This software by Neil Rosen was originally written for the MIT Folk Dance Club. Program only. Does not support diacritics (Free).
- SqView Player Developed for Square Dance Callers, this program allows the user to change Tempo, Pitch, Speed, and Volume and has a clock! Does not support diacritics (Free).
- Winamp Folk Dance Player The Winamp Modern Folk Dance Skin has been modified from the standard Winamp Modern Skin to make it easier to use. Program only. Does not support diacritics (Free).
SHEET MUSIC
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Dunav Music Scores
Dunav, "the sharing place for Balkan music and dance," has many musical scores to accompany the song lyrics in Dunav Song Lyrics, Volume 1, which you can order from their web site (www.dunav.org). The scores were transcribed by Lyuben Dossov, Dean of the Department of Music Folklore, Choreogaphy and Fine Arts at the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and donated to Dunav to help promote Balkan music and dance.
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About 2500 transcriptions that range from scans of handwritten melody sketches to multi-paged orchestral scores ready to print.
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Music Scores, Lyrics and Infos for Folk Dancing
Looking for notations, texts, or translations? You might find something here. On this website Birgutt Karlson has gathered a songbook and several scores which she uses to play and sing.
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Pinewoods International Collection
Nightshade Productions has released the second edition of the Pinewoods International Collection, with over 400 traditional dance tunes and songs from Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Russia, France, England, America, Canada, Israel, and other countries and cultures. The new second edition has been rearranged, redesigned and reset. In addition to all the original material, the volume now includes extensive commentary on the music, rhythm, ornamentation, tonality, improvisation, and regional performance practices, as well as song lyrics and translations.
Please visit the website to learn more.
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Richard Geisler's Music Scores
Richard Geisler self-published 240 scores. His six tune books sold for $25.00 each through the Village & Early Music Society of Grass Valley. Now, thanks to Karen Geisler, her late husband's orginal music scores are available through the Lark in the Morning Library without charge. Mickie and Elizabeth Zekley scanned all 240 scores and dance syllabi into .PDF format. The collections are:
- THE INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION – Music and lyrics to 55 favorite folk dances from Armenia, the British Isles, Yugoslavia, Bolivia, and several other countries.
- BALKANALIA – Dance melodies to 40 dance melodies from Bulgaria, Servia, Romania, Greece, Macedonia, and Croatia.
- THE BULGARIAN COLLECTION – Music and lyrics to 35 favorite Bulgarian folk dances.
- YUGOSLAV COLLECTION – Music and lyrics to 40 folk dances from Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.
- THE EUROPE COLLECTION – Music scores for 35 folk dances and songs from Austria, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.
- BRITISH ISLES & SCANDINAVIAN COLLECTION – Music and scores for 35 folk dances and songs from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
- VILLAGE DANCE SYLLABUS – Instructions for 23 dances from the book "Village Dance Music from Around the World."
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An Austrian music teacher, Franz Fuchs, from Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria, keeps a huge collection of usable folk dance notes and scores on line.
OTHER FOLK DANCE LINKS
- Animated Folk Dance GIFs Naohisa Hamada [MARUCHO] created dozens of absolutely amazing animated folk dancers, one of which is shown above!
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- Balkanfolk Sofia, Bulgaria. An online shop for folklore music, Bulgarian traditional instruments and costumes, souvenirs, books, and more.
- Bob's Dance and Music Los Angeles, California. Bob Harmon's site devoted to dance and music in and around L.A.
- Tom Bozigian Los Angeles, California. Tom teaches weekly classes in Armenian dance in southern California and plays music with his trio of folk musicians.
- Dance Notation Bureau New York, New York. The DNB advances the art of dance through the use of a system of notation.
- East European Folklife Center Berkeley, California. Promoting traditional music, dance, and cultures of the Balkans.
- Eliznik Web Pages London, England. Liz Mellish and Nick Green's site of the music, costume, and traditions centering on Romania and Bulgaria
- Ethnic Dance Chicago – Workshop Dance Teachers Chicago, Illinois. EDC's list of workshop dance teachers and resource links.
- Folk Dance Australia Sydney, Australia. FDA promotes the development of folk dance in Australia.
- Glossary of Dance Terms Jim Battisson's 2009 offering of terms for international folk dancers, especially in Australia.
- Israeli Dance Australia Sydney, Australia. Search for dances, translations, choreographers, singers, composers, and lyricists.
- Izvor Music David Bilides' balkan folk music, focusing primarily on Macedonian folk music in the izvorno tradition.
- Society of Folk Dance Historians San Antonio, Texas. Preserves information about the history and practice of recreational international folk dancing.
