Farandol Folkdancers Christchurch, New Zealand

8th FDNZ National Camp:
Farandol's 30th Anniversary Extravaganza

Introduction

Polish your dancing shoes and plan to grab an early bird fare to Christchurch for Waitangi weekend, 2009. Christchurch's Farandol Folkdancers are organising next year's national weekend of dance and fun, to be held from 6-8 February 2009. Dance tuition, folk song, and evening dance parties will fill a lively weekend, in what will also be Farandol's 30th year of existence.

With the Cashmere Club venue situated on or near two major bus routes that run through motel territory, access will be relatively easy for those without vehicles.

Dynamic tutors Maggie O'Regan and Sonya Arabadjieva will lead the workshops. Maggie O'Regan is well known as a dance tutor and performer in the UK. Her skills have been called on for dance events both small and large, such as the Society for International Folk Dance's biennial summer school. Maggie has developed a wide knowledge of Balkan folk dance as a result of attending many dance courses in the Balkans. However, she also has a general international repertoire.

This will be Maggie's first visit to NZ, so will be a great chance for us to learn at (or should that be from?) the feet of an expert.

Many will already know Sonya, whose experience is impressive and wide-ranging. She and her group, the Bulgarian Roses, have performed in various cultural events in Auckland, winning the Aotearoa International Dance and Music Challenge (Viva Eclectika) in 2007.

Since she was eight, Sonya has lived a lifetime immersed in dance. As a teenager, she began her professional dancing career in the Pautalia Ensemble. During her seven years with this group she toured Serbia, Macedonia, the Ukraine and Russia. Sonya's subsequent primary teaching career has seen her teaching folk dance and organising dance spectaculars. Now resident in NZ, she continues this involvement.

The weekend is not only about dance. Saturday afternoon will bring an opportunity to rest our feet and work our vocal cords instead, lead by Buda Miljković, conductor of the choir Musica Balkanica. Musica Balkanica are dedicated to celebrating and preserving traditional Balkan music, and are rapidly making a name for themselves in the Christchurch choral scene.

Another face known to many is that of Wellington's Cashy Yates, who has a well-deserved reputation for making dancing fun. As the caller for the Friday night party, Cashy will put us through our paces in great style.

Saturday night will be the weekend's high note, beginning with a gala dinner to celebrate Farandol's 30th. The party mood will continue as we dance the night away to Dunedin's Footspa band. Lead by Marcus Turner, Footspa specialise in music from Europe and beyond, and will focus that night on the lively and evocative music of the Balkans.

Where and When

Programme

Morning and afternoon teas will be available.

Registration

The whole weekend is a mere $100 (if you get in quick!), including three dance workshops, one singing workshop, morning and afternoon teas, two evening parties, and the gala dinner. Lunches and Friday night dinner are also available, as are dance notes, a music CD, and a DVD video, to leave no excuse for forgetting the dances. it's also possible to register for the Friday or Saturday separately, if you can't make it to the whole event.

Please note that all the meals are catered, so you must register and pay for them in advance!

How to get there and around?

Cashmere club, is on a major bus route. Use the journey planner at Metroinfo (Journey Planner link on the left of the page).

View a map of the Cashmere Club (in new window).

The Cashmere Club has a Metro stop outside on Colombo St and is also only a short walk from the Orbiter stop near the corner of Centaurus Road and Colombo Street (and an earlier one near the corner of Cashmere Road and Colombo St). The Orbiter goes through the Riccarton motel area and the Metro buses go through the Merivale/Papanui Road motel area. Apart from the Orbiter, the bus routes of interest are 10, 66 and 67. All routes go through the Central Bus Exchange. Note that on Waitangi Day (Friday), the buses run to the Saturday timetable.

There is also an entrance off Colombo Street near the library to the main Cashmere Club car park area, but sometimes this is locked with a chain across at night.

Copyright © 2008–2009 by Volker Kuhlmann and Farandol Folkdancers Created: 20 Apr 2008, last updated: 12 Feb 2009         URL: http://farandol.folkdance.org.nz/camp09/