Thursday, March 8
1st Congregational Church,
2345 Channing,
Berkeley.
March 8, 7:30pm.
$25 general/$20 students, seniors, members.
Friday, March 9
Dance Palace,
503 B St.,
Pt. Reyes.
8pm.
$20 general/$16 members/$5 kids & teens.
Saturday, May 5
Herdeljezi is a traditional Romani (Gypsy) neighborhood celebration announcing the end of the cold indoor season and the beginning of the warmer season of movement and outdoor life. Survival from the winter and the seasonal renewal of life is celebrated at Herdeljezi through the sharing of music, dance, food and community.
Live Music & Dancing
daytime and evening with:
Amanet: Rom wedding-style band from NYC (4:50 & 11pm)
Rumen Sali Shopov & Kitka (3:20 & 10:20)
Brass Menazeri Balkan Brass Band (2:10 & 8:00)
Vadim Kolpakov & Vasily Yankovich: Russian Roma musicians with dancing, from the "Romen" Moscow Roma theatre (6:40 & midnight)
And more! There's a daytime program in Ives Park, and an evening program (additional fee) at the nearby French Garden Restaurant.
See the full schedule here.
Thursday, May 24
We’ll feature an amazing line up of musicians from the Bay Area. Members of bay areas hottest Balkan Bands, The Toids, Brass Menazeri, and Ensemble Sali (featuring Rumen Sali Shopov) will combine with the dancing talents of Elizabeth Strong and Zoe Jakes to present a dynamic and transcendent night of traditional and original music and dance. The musical ensemble will offer you a dynamic selection of Romany (Gypsy) music, folkloric music from the Balkans and Turkey, as well as Original music from composer Dan Cantrell. The sublime dancing of Zoe Jakes and Elizabeth Strong, fusing elements of Tribal Belly Dance, Middle Eastern Dance, Romani (gypsy) dance and original choreography is surely a treat not to miss.
Tuesday, October 2
Ashkenaz
1317 San Pablo
(at Gilman), Berkeley.
Dance lesson 7:30, music 8:30;
$10.
Yeah, we know, it's hard being an East Bay Balkan music fanatic. We've tried it ourselves. It's always "Amnesia this" & "Ebonic Center that." What happened to all the Roma that used to live in the Berkeley flats anyway? (It's true!) I guess they had to move out of their chic 4th St. storefronts eventually.
Well relief is nigh. Stalwart Ashkenaz, arguably the midwife of Bay Area the Balkan music & dance scene, is here to help: Balkan Tuesdays are back! & we intend to kick em off in style.
Featuring Kaladrios (formerly known as the Greg & Aya band) playing beautiful traditional Greek music, and then, well, us. Come on down!
Saturday, October 20
Dan Cantrell & his group of supremely talented performers forge a resonant new sound from a blend of Roma, Jewish, & Eastern European influences. Cantrell received a prestigious award from the Creative Work Fund to become the 22nd Annual Jewish Music Festival's commissioned artist for the opening night extravaganza, Musical Fortunes. An Emmy-award winning film composer, front man for the Balkan rock outfit the Toids, and performer with acts ranging from Joanna Newsom to Tom Waits, his creations beckon you to listen. This unique performance is augmented with circus arts, & features a host of prodigious musical talent.
Eliyahu & Qadim guide you through Middle Eastern deserts, North Indian mountains, & the warm waters of the Mediterranean. The group is composed of Indian, Iranian, Jewish, Moroccan & Syrian musicians & celebrates the common musical & spiritual heritage of the troubled region's ancient cultures.
Saturday, February 2
Hey everyone! My new band, led by Juliana Graffagna (former director & performer with Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble will have our San Francisco debut on Saturday! Come down to BlueSix (Joe Lewis's new acoustic venue) and balk out to some lush, slammin, trancey Albanian, Greek, Rom & Amerikanski music!
Plus: it's free! As part of the Mission Arts & Performance Project, aka MAPP. Which means we'll likely have some unexpected guests (and, well, honestly, there are a couple I'm expecting, myself, but you won't expect em cos I'm not telling!).
Featuring:
- Juliana Graffagna, vocals and percussion (former vocalist & music director of Kitka)
- Aya Davidson, violin and vocals (also of Kaladrios)
- Tom Farris, guitar and laouto
- Peter Jaques, clarinet and vocals (also of Brass Menazeri)
- Bill Lanphier, bass (also of Trio Mopmu, the Toids)
- Rumen Sali Shopov, percussion, tambura, bouzouki and vocals (renowned Bulgarian concertmaster)