We’re using an online platform to centralize our gathering for the weekend. In other words, this event is more than just a series of Zoom meetings—we’re creating a digital village. Beginning Wednesday, July 15th, you’ll receive an invitation to join our online space, which, while initially designed to recreate the functionality of community office spaces, is about to receive a Balkan twist. On the surface, it’ll look like a regular office building, but you’ll see rooms named for familiar places like the Registration Table, which will have volunteers ready to take your questions; the Meadow, where you’ll enjoy an afternoon class; and the Dance Hall and Kafana, where we’ll gather for live music and dancing. You’ll even be able to locate where your friends are within the map and casually hang out (i.e. video chat) around the Fire Circle and other organic gathering places.
For official programming, each “room” of our office space contains a direct link to a Zoom meeting where the real magic is taking place. We strongly recommend that you download the latest version of Zoom for the optimal experience. But if you want to take a break from class, there are plenty of areas to relax with friends and catch up contained within our online village.
Virtual Camp runs on Pacific Time from Friday evening, July 17, to late Sunday afternoon, July 19. Classes begin Saturday morning and continue on Sunday. A selection of instrumental, vocal, and dance classes at all levels are offered across six 90-minute class slots.
The early-evening programs include folklore presentations and group sings with musical accompaniment. Live-music dance parties featuring our world-class staff musicians will delight your feet; and the party continues in the Kafana, with a variety of musical sets by you and your fellow campers.
We welcome families! Children are welcome to participate alongside their parents and guardians in any adult class, and we have a special singing class with Lily Storm, just for them.
There are many opportunities to help us out behind the scenes! Please email our Site Manager, Corinne, here.
West Coast Virtual Camp is over! Mark your calendars for our East Coast edition, August 14-16. Stay tuned for more info coming soon!
Evening Serenade
Tano Brock was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. At a young age, he began attending various music camps in California with his family, where he picked up his first instrument, doumbek. He...Read MorePontic Dance Set
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 MoreDrómeno Dance Set
Bobby Govetas is an accomplished percussionist, performing on daouli and drum kit. He is equally at home playing the subtle rhythms of Macedonia and Thrace as he is rocking out with his friends....Read MoreImprovisation Class & Drómeno Dance Set
Christos Govetas was born in the village of Proti, in the province of Serres in Greek Macedonia. After emigrating to Boston in 1978 he joined the Rebetiko band Taxími as a bouzouki and baglama...Read More
Drómeno Dance Set
Eleni Govetas was born into the musical Govetas family and has been immersed in music since day one. She began performing on doumbek with her parents at the age of nine and has continued to add...Read MoreGreek Dance Line-Leading Class
Joseph Kaloyanides Graziosi was born and raised in the greater Boston area. Of Greek and Italian ancestry, Joe was exposed at an early age to Greek music and dance through both family contacts...Read More
Albanian Serenade
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
Drómeno Dance Set
Ruth Hunter began her musical career singing and playing Bulgarian folk music, but immersed herself in Greek music and culture after marrying Christos Govetas in 1995. She sings and plays...Read MoreAlbanian Serenade
Raif Hyseni hails from The Republic of Kosova, which has a large Albanian majority. He grew up in the town of Mitrovicë, where he studied accordion at music school and performed in amateur...Read MoreBulgarian Serenade
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 MoreBalkan Dance Class
Steve Kotansky, known widely as a versatile dancer and teacher, has made many research trips to Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, Greece, and Albania. He has been a regular on...Read More
Greek Strings Class
Nick Maroussis is a musician based out of Seattle, Washington, where he grew up playing strings in various rock bands in the greater Seattle area. His involvement in the Greek community and...Read MoreCulture Corner: Romani Music and Anti-Romani Racism
'Northern' Group Sing
John Morovich grew up in Seattle's sizable Croatian community. Since 1973, he has studied, taught, and performed traditional music and dance of Croatia and other parts of Southeastern...Read MoreBulgarian Dance Set
Zhivka Papancheva is a beloved Bulgarian folk singer from the Strandzha region. She started singing from an early age, and graduated from the boarding music school “Filip Kutev” in Kotel....Read MoreEvening Serenade
Aya Safiya is a Bay Area-born violinist who specializes in traditional Greek music. She has studied Greek violin for over 25 years with various teachers including Nicos Chatzopoulos and Nikos...Read MoreEvening Serenade
Eva Salina is a mother, gardener, and a passionate interpreter and instructor of Eastern European vocal traditions. Eva was born and raised in California, spent 14 years in Brooklyn and now lives...Read MoreCulture Corner: Romani Music and Anti-Romani Racism
Carol Silverman has been involved with Balkan and Romani music and culture for over thirty years as a researcher, teacher, performer and educational activist. An award-winning professor of...Read More
Class on Balkan Vocal Technique Hacks; 'Southern' Group Sing
Michele Simon has been involved with music all of her life, and with Balkan folk music for most of it, as a dancer, singer, drummer and teacher. She was raised surrounded by music of all kinds,...Read MoreBulgarian Dance Set
Milen Slavov was born in the Thrace region of Bulgaria. He began playing piano accordion at the age of seven, performing on stage at age 8, composing and arranging at 16, and producing multimedia...Read MoreChildren's Singing Class
Lily Storm has been researching and performing Eastern European folk songs for almost three decades. A long-time member of Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble, she has studied and collaborated with many...Read MoreDoumbek Class
Drawing on a music base in folk music from the Middle East, Turkey, Greece and the Balkans, Sean Tergis brings a unique element to his drumming through many different influences. Since 2002, Sean...Read More
Schedule subject to change. All times in Pacific.
NOTE: Each event in the schedule is linked to its corresponding Zoom meeting. Of course, you can also access the Zoom sessions from within the Sococo online platform interface (see the Workshop Details) tab.
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.
Friday, July 17
4:00PM “Campground” opens
5:00PM Belated Canada Day Party with live music by Raif Hyseni & Merita Halili, then Eva Salina
6:00PM “Lamb Roast” with serenades by Tano Brock & Aya Safiya (6:00), then Kalin Kirilov (6:30)
7:00PM Dance Hall begins, with music by Drómeno
8:00PM Kafana begins
Saturday, July 18
9:00AM “Campground” opens
9:30AM Balkan Vocal Technique Hacks with Michele Simon
11:00AM Improvisation class with Christos Govetas
11:00AM Kids’ Singing class with Lily Storm
12:30PM Break for Lunch
2:00PM Doumbek class with Sean Tergis
3:30PM Balkan Dance class with Steve Kotansky
5:00PM “Northern” Group Sing with John Morovich
6:00PM Break for Dinner
7:00PM Dance Hall: Pontic with Beth Bahia Cohen (7:00), then Bulgarian with Milen Slavov & Zhivka Papancheva (7:30)
8:00PM Kafana begins
Sunday, July 19
9:00AM “Campground” opens
9:30AM Greek Dance Line-Leading class with Joe Graziosi
11:00AM Greek Strings class with Nick Maroussis
12:30PM Break for Lunch/EEFC Board Office Hours (1:00)
2:00PM Culture Corner: Romani Music and Anti-Romani Racism with Magda Matache & Carol Silverman
3:30PM “Southern” Group Sing with Michele Simon, Tom Farris & Bill Cope
Will there be a workshop geared toward East Coast time?
Yes! Please pencil in August 14-16, 2020 for an East Coast edition.
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 music and video be available?
Class materials, such as lyrics and song files, will be made available to campers at the teacher’s discretion. See the Resources & Materials tab on this page. Classes will not be recorded and disseminated for this edition of Virtual Camp.
Do I need a Facebook account to participate?
No. We are using Sococo and Zoom. Beginning Wednesday, July 15, campers will receive a link to an orientation video and will be invited to join the Sococo platform and begin exploring.
How can I avoid lag on Zoom?
Lily Storm – Kids’ Singing
Saturday, 11:00 a.m.
Anna Sto Dhasos (song lyrics PDF)
Teften Kate (song lyrics PDF)
Sean Tergis – Doumbek
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Audio files & charts
Steve Kotansky – Balkan Dance
Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Collection of audio files
Group Sings
“Northern” Balkan with John Morovich (Saturday, 5:00 p.m.)
“Southern” Balkan with Michele Simon (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.)
EEFC Songbook PDF
Greek Dance – Joe Graziosi
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
Class playlist (PDF)
Culture Corner: Romani Music and Anti-Romani Racism with Magda Matache & Carol Silverman
Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
Balkan and Turkish Romani Music and Dance Resources (PDF)
Roma and Human Rights Resources (PDF)
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We’ve had years to hone our in-person workshops, and we know their ins and outs like the back of our hands. This is a new endeavor for our organization, and while we are doing our best to anticipate your questions, you might have one we haven’t thought of yet!
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!