Scholarships

We award full scholarships to our in-person workshops.
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Kids at Camp!

Our in-person workshops are a great experience for families. Get the scoop to ensure everyone has a blast!


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Find out almost everything you always wanted to know about the EEFC’s in-person Balkan camps.
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Virtual Camp East Coast 2021

August 13 – 15, 2021

 

In 1977, the EEFC offered the first of many wonderful getaway weeklong Balkan Music & Dance Workshops. We’re excited to reprise our online edition, which you can enjoy from the comfort of home.
 

Thanks to high-speed internet, we continue to welcome new friends and old to our community of musicians, singers, dancers, and those who love them. Beginners and advanced practitioners will continue to “rub shoulders” while benefiting from the expertise of our extraordinary teaching staff and enjoying bliss-inducing live-music performances. We can’t provide the traditional rustic redwoods setting nor a superb glamping experience in the Catskills, but this Virtual Camp weekend retains our signature style—an immersive learning experience that opens hearts and minds to the beauty of Balkan music, dance, and culture.



The Platform

All daily classes, evening and late-night Kafana programming, will take place within moderated Zoom meeting spaces. We will provide a “cheat sheet” of Zoom links to all campers which will make it easy to find your way. We strongly recommend that you download the latest version of Zoom for the optimal experience.

The Workshop & Program

Virtual Camp runs on Eastern Time from Friday evening, August 13, to late Sunday afternoon, August 15. Classes begin Saturday morning and continue on Sunday. A selection of instrumental, vocal, and dance classes for all levels are offered across seven 75-minute class slots. This year we are also featuring a bodywork class, practical instruction in Balkan headdress tying, and a lunchtime coloring/storytelling session for the kids.

The early-evening programs include folklore presentations and group sings with musical accompaniment. Dance parties featuring live music from our world-class staff musicians will delight your feet. The party continues in the Kafana, with a variety of musical sets by you and your fellow campers.

Kafana

Once again, your Kafana team, Laine Harris, Matt Smith, and crew will be hosting the East Coast Virtual Kafana, our late-night musical venue. Official performances will be scheduled from 9:45 to 12:00 midnight Eastern Time on the Friday and Saturday nights of camp.

If you would like to be one of the performers for this year’s Kafana, we are looking for both live and recorded acts. Contact Laine via email or cell: 203-668-7055—call, message or text. Text preferred.

We are looking for sets of approximately 15 minutes in length. But we can also accept shorter and possibly longer submissions depending on what responses we receive.

Pre-recorded sets: Please submit your videos ahead of time so we can familiarize ourselves and adjust any sound levels and then like. Your videos will be more lively if you can provide introductions, etc., between tunes.

Live sets: We will coordinate with you directly on your technical needs and other details before August 13th.

So, order your ćevap, pick up some ajvar, stock your cooler and bar, and let the good times roll!

Marketplace

Missing the at-camp vendors with their wondrous wares? We’ve established a website that showcases goods and services available for purchase from members of our community. Check it out here. If you’re a small business owner selling Balkan wares, food, or music that you make, and you’d like to apply to be included in our marketplace, please complete this form.

Registration

Registration is now closed! See you at our next event. Event updates are announced on the EEFC listserv discussion group, and on our Facebook page.


2021 Teachers

Bergen Alimova

Macedonian Romani Dance

Bergen Alimova was born in Štip, North Macedonia, in 1990 and grew up in the sprawling Romani neighborhood there surrounded by many musicians and dancers. In the 1990s her uncle taught dance to...Read More

Beth Bahia Cohen

Culture Corner: 'Art of the Bow'

Beth Bahia Cohen has spent a large part of her career exploring how the violin is played in various cultures. Of Syrian Jewish and Russian Jewish heritage, she was inspired at a young age by the...Read More

Valeri Georgiev

Bulgarian Kaval - Advanced

Valeri Georgiev is from the Bulgarian Danube town of Ruse. He studied kaval in Kotel with Stoyan Chobanov and Georgi Penev, and graduated from the Plovdiv Academy of Arts with a BA degree in...Read More

Michael Ginsburg

Balkan Dance

Michael has been director and lead trumpet player of Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band since 1983. He accompanied ZU to brass festivals in Guča, Serbia, three times between 1987 and 1990, as well as...Read More

Anna Goldberg

Kids' Craft Hour

Anna was born in New York and grew up in Michigan. Her Balkan music and dance journey started before she was born—both of her parents were and are still involved in the U.S. Balkan music and...Read More

Kalin Kirilov

Theory: Meters, Scales, and Harmony

Kalin Kirilov, born in Vidin, NW Bulgaria, began singing and playing the accordion at the age of four. He studied tambura and music theory in Vidin and Pleven and graduated from the Academy of...Read More

Nikolay Kodjabashev

Bulgarian Tambura

Nikolay Kodjabashev, a native of Yambol in Bulgarian Thrace, graduated in 2011 with a Master's in Music Performance Arts from the Plovdiv Academy of Music, Dance, and Fine Arts. He is the director...Read More

Merita Halili

Albanian Singing

Merita Halili is one of Albania’s top performers. Born in the capital city of Tiranë, Merita grew up singing the lyric songs of her native region of Central Albania. Her nationwide debut...Read More


Mensur Hatić

Bosnian Singing

Mensur Hatić—teacher of voice, accordion and piano, and promoter of Balkan music—was born and raised in Brčko, in northeastern Bosnia, and has been playing piano and accordion since the age...Read More

Brenna MacCrimmon

Turkish Singing

Brenna MacCrimmon has been learning and performing the music of Turkey and the Balkans since 1984. She has worked with Turkish and Macedonian groups in Toronto over the years and has made frequent...Read More

Sal Mamudoski

Clarinet - Advanced

Sal Mamudoski, a self-taught Macedonian Roma musician was born in New York City in 1988. He started his musical journey at age 5 playing drums. At age 11 he began playing the clarinet and joined...Read More

Miriam Milgram

Balkan Headdress Tying & Lore

Interested in textiles from an early age, Miriam has made numerous research trips to the Balkans, including those for her Master’s Thesis and a Fulbright research grant to study dowries in...Read More

Vladimir Mollov

Accordion

Born in Bulgaria to a family of self‐taught wedding musicians, Vladimir was inspired by the sounds of the accordion from early childhood. At eighteen months old, he “played” his little...Read More

Janet Reineck

Albanian Dances of Kosova

Janet Reineck lived in Kosova for 8 years between 1981 and 1997—first conducting research for a Master’s in Dance Ethnology (UCLA) and a Ph.D. in Anthropology (UC Berkeley), later directing...Read More

Seido Salifoski

Doumbek

Born in Prilep in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to a Romani singer (mother) and dancer (father), Seido Salifoski grew up in the Bronx, NY, surrounded by Macedonian and Romani community...Read More

Corinna Škėma Snyder

'Southern' Balkan Group Sing

Corinna Škėma Snyder was 12 when she started singing and studying women’s music from the Balkans, first with the Cambridge Slavic Chorus, and then with Laduvane, both in Cambridge MA. She...Read More


Andy Taylor

Physical Conditioning for Dancers & Musicians

Andy Taylor’s BFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in dance included a Social Anthropology minor with studies in Music Ethnography and Pedagogy. Her degree has sent her into a...Read More


Schedule


Schedule subject to change. All times in Eastern.

NOTE: Each event in the schedule will be linked to its corresponding Zoom meeting. You can also access the Zoom sessions from this printable Zoom Link Sheet/Schedule.

Zoom meetings will become active shortly before each scheduled event starts—please do not click on any link below until 10-15 minutes before the event’s start time. You can always join a session as it’s happening.

Passcode for all events is EastCamp.

 

Friday, August 13

Serenades

Dance Hall

  • 7:30 p.m. Balkan Brass with Zlatne Uste
  • 8:15 p.m. Bulgarian with Blato Zlato
  • 9:00 p.m. Pontic with Chris Tiktapanides

9:45 p.m. Kafana begins!

Link to Kafana schedule here.

 

Saturday, August 14

11:00 a.m. Bulgarian Tambura with Nikolay Kodjabashev
11:00 a.m. Albanian Singing with Merita Halili
12:30 p.m. Break for Lunch + Kids’ Activities with Anna Goldberg

1:30 p.m. Balkan Dance with Michael Ginsburg
1:30 p.m. Advanced Clarinet with Sal Mamudoski

3:00 p.m. Physical Conditioning for Dancers & Musicians with Andy Taylor
3:00 p.m. Turkish Singing with Brenna MacCrimmon

4:30 p.m. Snack Break!

5:00 p.m. Doumbek with Seido Salifoski
5:00 p.m. Theory: Meters, Scales, and Harmony with Kalin Kirilov – please note that Kalin’s class will not be recorded

6:30 p.m. Culture Corner: Art of the Bow with Beth Bahia Cohen

 

Dance Hall

10:00 p.m. Kafana begins!

Link to Kafana schedule here.

 

Sunday, August 15

10:30 a.m. Macedonian Romani Dance with Bergen Alimova
11:00 a.m. Accordion with Vlado Mollov

12:30 p.m. Break for Lunch + EEFC Board Office Hours

1:30 p.m. Balkan Headdress Tying & Lore with Miriam Milgram
1:30 p.m. Advanced Bulgarian Kaval with Valeri Georgiev

3:00 p.m. Albanian Dances of Kosova with Janet Reineck
3:00 p.m. Bosnian Singing with Mensur Hatić

4:30 p.m. Snack Break!

5:00 p.m. “Southern” Balkan Group Sing with Corinna Snyder & Friends


FAQs

General

I love what the EEFC is doing. Where can I donate to support more of this work?
You can donate via Paypal or via our website.

Will class materials be available?
Lyrics, song files, and other materials will be made available to campers at the teacher’s discretion. See the Resources & Materials tab on this page.

 

Technical

Do I need a Facebook account to participate?
No. We are using Zoom. Several days before camp begins, campers will receive an information letter that includes a link to an orientation video, as well as a link to a “Zoom Cheat Sheet” schedule for the weekend that will contain links to each event.

How can I avoid lag on Zoom?

  • Consider using a direct hardwire/ethernet connection to your internet instead of using wireless WiFi.
  • Turning off your camera may improve the flow of data.
  • Close all other applications on your computer. It’s best if Zoom is the only thing running.
  • Reduce other activities that steal bandwidth like large downloads or family members watching Netflix on the same internet connection during class.


Class Materials & Resources for Download

List updated 8/29/21

 

To download audio files and PDFs:
PC: right-click as you click on the red download link.
Mac: press Control as you click on the red download link.
Note: Some browsers work better than others for downloading. So if you’re not successful with one browser, try another.
 

Bulgarian Tambura with Nikolay Kodjabashev
Saturday, 11:00 a.m.
Chart PDFs:

 

Albanian Singing with Merita Halili
Saturday, 11:00 a.m.
Song lyrics PDFs

 

Kids’ Coloring & More with Anna Goldberg
Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Link to file of coloring sheets
Supply List: tools for coloring, such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc.

 

Balkan Dance with Michael Ginsburg
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Dračevka – Macedonia

Etere – Pontos, Greece

Rukavica – Slavonija, Croatia

 

Turkish Singing with Brenna MacCrimmon
Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
Mendilimin Ucuna Sakız Bağladım – Izmir/Urla

 

Doumbek with Seido Salifoski
Saturday, 5:00 p.m.
Rhythm charts PDF
Links to musical examples:

 

Macedonian Romani Dance with Bergen Alimova
Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
YouTube video links:

 

Accordion with Vlado Mollov
Sunday, 11:00 a.m.

 

Balkan Headdress Tying & Lore with Miriam Milgram
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Participants are invited to bring a pillowcase to class to use in learning how to fold a headdress worn by Albanian women from Italy.

 

Advanced Bulgarian Kaval with Valeri Georgiev
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Karnobatska Ruchenitsa: chart PDF + source recording

 

Albanian Dances of Kosova with Janet Reineck
Sunday, 3:00 p.m.
YouTube playlist of dances taught – (Updated with dance instruction 8/23/21)

YouTube playlist of videos made by Janet in Kosova
PDF of Janet’s doctoral dissertation The Past as Refuge: Gender, Migration, and Ideology among the Kosova Albanians
Link to website of Janet’s organization World Dance for Humanity

 

Bosnian Singing with Mensur Hatić
Sunday, 3:00 p.m.
Ja Bez Tebe Ne Mogu Da Živim

Dozvoli Mi Da Te Zaboravim

 

“Southern” Balkan Group Sing led by Corinna Skema Snyder
Sunday, 5:00 p.m.
EEFC Songbook PDF
YouTube playlist of featured songs

 


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Contact the EEFC Office if you need tech support or further clarification. Our staff and volunteers are eager to help, and your feedback will help us review and hone our processes. There is no question too small. See you at Camp!