episode 4 - stay or go (MySpace 4/16/2008)

Subject	Where's the kef? - episode 4 - stay or go
DateCreated	4/16/2008 9:32:00 PM
PostedDate	4/16/2008 9:36:00 AM
Body	This year was the first time I haven't attended the Arcata Folkdance festival. I'd ordinarily be on the crew, tending sound. But after a meeting last summer when I told them they had a scheduling confict with the International Roma Day event in SF - they assumed I wouldn't be around, and took me off the contact list. Self-fulfilling prophecy. But based on what I've written so far, you could also say it's my karma. Let's return to the Brass Menazeri event in episode 2. It was now less than a week before the Arcata Fest., but I still hadn't figured whether I was going to attend. Some people I really like were coming to perform and teach drum and balkan ensembles. But the evening party band line-up didn't seem particularly enticing. For years I've been skipping festival and camp dance classes and concentrating on the evening parties and music sessions. I do that at the camps so I can catch up on sleep. At folk dance oriented festivals, I do that because the dances taught tend to be ones not supported by the live bands, and I may have little opportunity to do them again. Anyway, for what it's worth, at this Arcata festival, they'd engaged two top-notch older guys as the dance teachers. Not that I have a personal problem with their gender or age, per se - but I'd say that the planners' thoughts re. gender and age appeal are somewhat different than mine. I'd seen one of these veterans for the first time only at last year's Kolo Festival. I was taking a break from the kitchen, and walked into a rap he was giving about some aspect of folk dance. I remember hearing him say something like "I often tell my students, 'Look for the dance in the dance'". I remember thinking, this guy is really on to something. There's something very important that I may need to learn from him. But I also remember thinking, what a 'folk dance' thing to say! My brain thinks more like 'Look for the dance in the music'. Back to the predicament at hand. Regardless of lack of enthusiasm, it's stupid - right? - to not take advantage of a festival in your own home town. I could just show up, pay the full price and relax. No set-up and take-down hassles. And this time no one could get on my case about the sound being too loud. So I hoped I could make up my mind at the B-M event. One factor was whether I could line-up housing in the Bay Area for after the IRD event on Friday. But the band members are more acquaintances than friends, and I didn't want to be pushy. For sure, though, some of them were planning to be at the IRD, if only to hear Ismail Lumanovski on clarinet. Yes, that was a good reminder of values - the music I like to hear, and dances I like doing. Sani Rifati would be teaching and reviewing some of the contemporary dances that fit with this live music. Seemed like I should do it - it would be worth the drive. To see what I mean about the music, go to YouTube and look up "Smajko" and also Husnu, and Yuri, too. A few days later, I find out from MySpace friend "R" that there is space in his car to drive down Sunday from the Bay Area to the second IRD event in LA. That did it - I was going. Would figure out the housing after getting to the Bay Area - and would bring the drum along, in case I found people to play with. One of those sub-epic adventures. It turned out that I had to find another way to get to LA - but that is another story altogether, and no need to chronicle it in this blog. Next: episode 5 - Santa Monica Previous: episode 3 - Arcata Start: episode 1 - the Peninsula