the episodes

How this started - the eleven "episodes".

It began in 2008 with an issue I was trying to address: a longstanding frustration with recreational folk dancing. I had trouble learning new material, and often felt awkward. Yet occasionally I also heard people say I was a good dancer. Sure, in the course of life, being hypercritical of oneself is a common pitfall. But I started noticing that beyond the internal conflict, I was also dealing with a contrast of values and esthetics within folk dancing that I had not previously noticed or heard discussed.
At the time, I was using Myspace for miscellaneous blogging. To maintain continuity between posts on this topic, I numbered each one as an "episode". Though I may not be focusing on the original issue, I think I'll keep the name for now. Kef is a good thing. Though you can't necessarily make it happen - when it does, it is always appreciated.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

split weekend - detour to Castro Valley (Facebook 9/23/13)

September 23, 2013 at 4:18pm

The annual Glendi at St. Seraphim's in Santa Rosa is locally famous for food, music, and enthusiastic dancing from across the Balkans.  Edessa was the band this year, so it was very hard to skip Sunday, and detour instead...

...to the Independence Day celebration at Holy Cross Monastery near Castro Valley.  Also food and live music, but a much smaller crowd - and a very different experience, with its own validity and constraints. 

After an introductory announcement in Bulgarian, most everyone headed off towards the church.  A voice passing by said quietly in English, "We're going into the church," and it sounded like an advisory.  No anonymity - we're all in this together.  The flag and its people get blessed.



Such a treat to do pravo and lesno - comparatively simple, and yet perhaps not so simple - with people who genuinely care about the steps, and about the music, too.

 images credit: via Peter Kopralev
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