East European Folklife Center

Thanks to everyone who came to our Board & Staff Office Hour this past Saturday! We loved hearing your insights and appreciate your time checking in with us before the camp season kicks off.

Couldn’t make the meeting? Visit our website or the link in our linktree to watch the recording and read the recap. And, as always, feel free to reach out with your own thoughts over social media, our listserv, or in-person when you see us around camp this year.

We have brand new dance instructors at Mendocino this year! Between Stoyan Getsov (Bulgarian Dance), Janetta Redžić (Balkan Dance), and Danny Staveris (Greek Dance), we’ll be moving and grooving with some fun, fresh faces at West Coast. Visit eefc.org to register for camp so you can meet them in person!

Want to learn more about this year’s new instructors and camp programs before you sign up? Be sure to come to our Board & Staff Office Hour this Saturday (May 16) at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. We’ll also be discussing the future of the EEFC, so check our latest newsletter for the link!

In a time of economic and political uncertainty, EEFC’s mission to share Balkan music and dance feels more important than ever. To preserve this community together, we invite you to join our next Board & Staff Office Hour on Saturday, May 16 (via Zoom), where we’ll share key priorities for the coming year, highlight new developments for the 2026 camp season (including first-time faculty members!), and outline ways to get involved.

This gathering is an opportunity to connect, learn more about where we’re headed, and explore how you can take part in sustaining and growing EEFC’s work. We’ll also share a few guiding questions to spark reflection and conversation about how we can continue to support one another as a community.

Stay tuned for our email newsletters for the meeting link and discussion questions, which we’ll share in the week leading up to the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

Don’t forget: we have one more online culture class for you before the summer camp season. Join Dr. Gail Holst-Warthaft to learn about Greek urban music from the rebetika to the so-called “art songs” of Theodorakis and Hadzidakis. We will also explore the nisiotika, music from the Aegean islands that became broadly popular in the fifties and sixties.

As always, we offer a sliding scale of fees, and links to streaming videos will be provided to registered students the day after each live class, so you can join us even if you can’t make the scheduled time. Class starts tomorrow, so sign up today at [bit.ly/EEFCGreekPopularMusic]!

Surprise! Before our summer camp season begins we have one more online culture class for you this month with Dr. Gail Holst-Warthaft. This course will focus on urban music from the rebetika to the so-called “art songs” of Theodorakis and Hadzidakis. We will also explore the nisiotika, music from the Aegean islands that became broadly popular in the fifties and sixties.

As always, we offer a sliding scale of fees, and links to streaming videos will be provided to registered students the day after each live class, so you can join us even if you can’t make the scheduled time. Sign up today at [bit.ly/EEFCGreekPopularMusic]!

🚨 Last call for East Coast scholarship applications due Sunday April 12!! Don’t miss out on a chance get support to come to Balkan Camp! 🚨

We encourage dancers, singers, and instrumentalists to apply whether they are new to Balkan music, song, and dance (and our workshops) or veterans, have Balkan roots or not, whether they are professionals or amateurs. If you’re excited to be a member of our wonderful community, you should submit an application.

Visit our website eefc.org for a chance to join this year’s cohort of scholarship recipients!

Last call for the season, folks! Our April online classes, the last ones till after Balkan Camp, are open for registration. Check out our two wonderful instrumental courses this month:

Introduction to Transylvanian Fiddle Music with Zoë Aqua
Mondays starting April 6,
8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST
[bit.ly/EEFCTransylvanianFiddle]

Thracian Gaida with Varol Saatcıoğlu
Wednesdays starting April 8,
8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST
[bit.ly/EEFCThracianGaida]

As a gentle reminder, all registrants get access to class recordings, so you can still partake of Zoë and Varol’s expert instruction even if you can’t make the classes.

Visit the links above or eefc.org to learn more and sign up today!