This page is an historical archive, and therefore is out of date and will not be updated. Please visit our updated homepage at http://mit.edu/fdc for current information about the MIT Folk Dance Club.

* MIT Folk Dance Club *

The MIT Folk Dance Club sponsors three nights of dancing every week:
Sunday: International * Usually 2nd/4th Tuesdays: Contra Dance * Wednesday: Israeli

Updated November 27, 2005.

** Upcoming Dances

** Quick Index

Click to jump to a category.

* About The Club
* IAP Special Events
*Club Email Lists
*Special Events
*Vinovana, Our Performing Group
yellow ballHow to Find a Room We're Scheduled in
yellow ballOrganizational meetings of the Club
*Links to related dance sites

** About The Club

The MIT Folk Dance Club sponsors three nights of dancing each week throughout the year, all of which are open to the MIT community and the general public.

Sunday night International Dancing meets every week from 8:00 to 11:00 pm:
Location through December 11, 2005: Lobdell Dining Hall (Student Center 2nd Floor)
December 18, 2005: Sala de Puerto Rico (Student Center 2nd Floor).
December 25, 2005 and January 1, 2006: No dancing.
January 8 and 15, 2006: Sala de Puerto Rico (Student Center 2nd Floor).
January 22, 2006: Lobdell Dining Hall (Student Center 2nd Floor).
January 29, 2006: Student Center 491 (4th Floor)
February 5, 2006: Kresge Rehearsal Room A (in the basement).
February 12, 2006 through May 7, 2006: Lobdell Dining Hall (Student Center 2nd Floor).

Wednesday night Israeli Dancing meets in the Lobby of Building 13 , from 8:00 to 11:00 pm.

Israeli early beginner teaching usually occurs from 7:00 to 8:00 pm each Wednesday. Check our email announcement archive for updated information about each week's dance. Light kosher snacks and drinks will be provided each week.

International and Israeli Dancing each start with Early Teaching at 8:00 pm, followed by teaching and requests until 11:00 pm. Beginners are always welcome. Admission is free for MIT and Wellesley students; a $1 donation (or more) is requested from others.


On the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month (usually -- check the schedule), the Contra Dance for All meets in various locations from 8:00 to 10:30 pm (check the schedule for locations). Live music every time! Beginners are always welcome and are encouraged to come early.

Congratulations to our officers for 2004-05!
PresidentAmitai Liptonalipton [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-president [at] mit [dot] edu
Vice PresidentRobert Geisdrgeis [at] mit [dot] edu
TreasurerJessie Kneelandjessiek [at] mit [dot] edu, fdc-treasurer [at] mit [dot] edu
SecretaryJessica Rosenkrantzjrosenk [at] mit [dot] edu


Physical Education Credit is now available for MIT students who attend 6 contra dances during a fall or spring semester. Register at the PE Department website or in person at a contra dance.

The Club also sponsors Vinovana, our very own performing group, which is always interested in getting new members and performing opportunities.

All Club Meetings are open to the general public. We're especially interested in hearing from MIT students!

We also have an information line at (617) 253-FOLK (253-3655) which contains a portion of the information found on this website.
We're considered to be one of the best places for International Dance in the entire country. Come and check us out!

** IAP Special Events

The MITFDC gives classes and workshops as part of IAP each January.
See our IAP offerings for January, 2005.

** Club Email Lists

We maintain electronic mailing lists used to announce dances and other events of interest. These lists are for announcements only and have very low volume, so please sign up for the dance venues in which you are interested.

To be added to a list, please send an email to the appropriate address:

You can also check the MITFDC Info Line (617-253-FOLK) for announcements.

If you have any questions, please contact the Folk Dance Club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu.

** Special Events

* Annual Israeli Dance Marathon The Christmas Eve Israeli Dance Marathon takes place every year on or about Christmas Eve. We start at 6 pm and dance until 6 am. On Saturday December 24, 2005, it will be held in Walker Gym on the MIT Campus (142 Memorial Drive, 3rd Floor). People come from all over the continent (and even from Amsterdam!) to dance at MIT! We'll start with simpler dances and move progressively to harder dances as the night goes on, so be sure to come earlier rather than later...even beginners will have fun if you show up at six!


* Beginner's Nights Beginner's nights are for people who haven't done much dancing before and want to learn some and for more experienced dancers who want to practice the basics. In other words, they are for everyone. You need no prior experience and you don't need a partner. Beginner's Nights for all 3 nights of dancing occur in September and January each year.


* The Israel Folkdance Festival of Boston takes place each year in March, in Kresge Auditorium on the MIT campus. Future festivals will be on Sunday March 5, 2006, and Sunday March 11, 2007. The show includes performances by dance ensembles from all over the United States and Canada. Tickets are $12, $10 if ordered before March 1. Call MIT Hillel at (617) 253-2982 or visit http://www.israelidance.com/bostonfestival for more information and to order tickets.

** Vinovana

Vinovana is our performing group. It is currently on hiatus.

If you are interested in performing in an international folk dancing, singing, or instrumental group, please contact the club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu .

** Where We Meet

These are the locations where we usually meet. Click on a location to see it on a campus map.

1. The Stratton Student Center (Building W20). It is located at 84 Mass. Ave., directly across the street from the main entrance to MIT. La Sala de Puerto Rico and Lobdell Dining Hall are located on the second floor. Rooms W20-407, W20-491, and our club office W20-437 are located on the fourth floor.
2. Lobby 13. Can be accessed from either Vassar St. or the Infinite Corridor (go in the main MIT entrance at 77 Mass Ave and turn north at Lobby 10).
3. Morss Hall and Walker Gym. Morss Hall is the big hall on the first floor of the Walker Memorial (Bldg. 50) near the intersection of Memorial Drive and Ames Street, normally used as a dining hall. The gym is on the top floor.
4. Kresge Auditorium. Kresge is the triangular dome with a turquoise roof, set back on a plaza at 48 Massachusetts Avenue (across the street from the main MIT entrance). Rehearsal Room B is located in the basement.
See a Mapquest map and get driving directions

See a schedule for the #1 bus which runs along Mass Ave.

Parking

Free parking is available in the N10 Lot (off Albany Street east of Massachusetts Avenue) or West Annex Lot (on Vassar Street west of Massachusetts Avenue, next to the West Garage), or on the street.
No parking permit is required at these lots after 5:30 pm or on weekends. Metered street parking is free after 6 pm.

Update: As of 4/30/04, the Kresge Lot is no longer available for people without MIT parking permits.

** Club Meetings

Organizational club meetings usually take place once a year in late May or early June.
Contact the club officers at fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu to find out about upcoming meetings.

** Links to other folk dance resources

International and Other kinds:
* The Folk Arts Center of New England home page, including their calendar Folk Dancing 'Round Boston.
* New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA) runs a folk festival each April in Natick, MA, as well as a contra dance each Thursday night at the VFW in West Cambridge. (In January 2006, this dance moves to Springstep in Medford.)
* Country Dance Society, Boston Centre (American and Contra dancing.)
* contradancelinks.com, a comprehensive page of links to other Contra Dances around the world.
* Larry Denenberg's Beginner's Catechism page
* The Cambridge Folk Orchestra plays at various folk dances in the Boston area, and occasionally plays at MIT at our Sunday night international dances.
* The MIT Folk Dance Club Songbook, a compilation of lyrics of the songs in our record collection.
* Our own Neil Rosen has written a Folk Dance mp3 Player which can be used along with a database of dances.
* The Tuesday Night Revival is an advanced Balkan dance group that used to dance at MIT, and now holds dances about once a month in Arlington on a Friday or Saturday.
* The Dance Gypsy is a calendar of contra and other folk dances throughout New England.

Israeli Folk Dancing:
* israelidance.com, which includes a test to see if you are a true folk dance addict and a session-finder, in case you're thinking of moving and want to see if there's dancing there first.
* Ken Avner's Israeli Folkdance page
* Sunday night Israeli Dancing at Temple Emanuel in Newton (formerly located at Harvard Hillel). This page also includes links to other Israeli dancing sessions and classes in the Boston area.
* Monday night Israeli dancing in Brookline with Raphael and Ronnie.
* Israeli Dance Plus, Boston's newest weekly Israeli session, meets on Thursday evenings at Springstep in Medford. It is run by Becca Rausch and our own Larry Denenberg.

Comments on this home page and other subjects are welcome.
Send mail to fdc-request[at]mit[dot]edu .

Web page maintained by Daniel Salomon dsalomon [at] post.harvard[dot]e d u