Embassy of Sweden in collaboration with Glen Echo Park and the local folkdance community are offering free Swedish/ Nordic folk dance lessons! The dance lessons will take place in Glen Echo Park, Bumper Car Pavilion.
Swedish Square and Couple Dances led by the Nordic Dancers of Washington, DC, August 25 at 7:00 pm.
Dance Teacher: Christine Kalke
Fiddler: Paul Carlson
First hour dance class, followed by social dance. Beginners are welcome. No need to bring a partner. Bring clean hard-soled shoes with low wide heel if you can. Free of charge. Water supplied.
Reservations much appreciated but not required!
More info:
The Nordic Dancers of Washington DC is folk dance group that was founded in 1972. The group preserves the traditions of community dance groups (folkdansgille, folkdanslag, tanhuryhmä) that were brought to this country by immigrants from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The group is composed of about twenty people, including many who were either born in one of these countries or are of Nordic descent and others who were drawn to the distinctive music and dances. The group's repertoire consists of traditional village dances, both for couples and groups, and set dances choreographed from traditional forms and figures. https://sites.google.com/site/nordicdancersdc/
Paul Carlson got his start playing classical violin when he was four years old. After college, he became interested in folk fiddling while living in North Carolina. He studied for several years with Jason Cade, a nationally known Irish fiddler and fiddle teacher. This experience made him become interested in Swedish fiddle music, the kind of tunes his grandmother played on the same fiddle that Paul plays today. Paul played for many years with the North Carolina Triangle Spelmanslag with Bart Brashers, the former President of the American Nyckelharpa Association. After moving to Washington, DC, he has played with the Nordic music group Skandal and the Washington Spelmanslag. With support of a travel grant from the American Scandinavian Association, he attended and performed at the pan-Nordic Nordlek Festival and the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. He is the full-time fiddle player for the Nordic Dancers. In 2013 he also performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the Nordic Cool festival and recently at the 2016 Swedish Fire Festival in Staunton, Virginia, as well as in several local venues. Paul teaches violin full-time in his Classical Fiddle studio in Arlington. http://www.classicalfiddle.com/
Photo Credit: Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se