SWIFDI AUGUST CAMP
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  • Home
  • Join Us
    • Tell Me More
    • Register Here
    • Scholarships
    • Already registered?
  • Camp Life
    • Location: NM Tech
    • Sample Schedule
    • Parties
    • Children's Program
    • Camp Photos
  • About & Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Our History
    • COVID-19 Updates

2020 Updates in Response to COVID-19

Camp!!

We had a fabulous camp—incredible to see many friends after two years and to make some new ones, too. Thank you to everyone who came and made the weekend great!


​July 29 - August 1, 2021
on the campus of New Mexico Tech


​Featuring:
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Lee Otterholt teaching dances of the Balkans and beyond
Bruce Hamilton teaching English Country dances
Accompanied by The Parson Sisters
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Find out more about what we offer.
You must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 to attend this camp.


​
Regretfully, Jaap, Mea and Jan cannot attend due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. We will miss them greatly, and thank Lee Otterholt profusely for stepping up in their place!

Please watch this space for all updates.
Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you at: nmaugustcamp [at] gmail [dot] com.
Thank you to everyone who's accompanied us on these strange past years! For a look back at what we offered, keep scrolling...

Virtual Drum Classes

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RHYTHM & DRUMMING FOR FOLK DANCERS
Taught by Polly Tapia Ferber
Thank you to everyone who came to these sessions and made them so much fun!

Polly Tapia Ferber makes hearing, counting, and playing various dance rhythms accessible and enjoyable. Use any hand drum available: A doumbek, a djembe, a coffee can...your feet know the drill; now your hands and brain can get in on the fun! 
Image via the East European Folklife Center

Yay, tee shirts!

A big thank you to everyone around the world who is virtually participating in The Camp That Wasn't by ordering these shirts. We can't wait to see you repping them at the next Zoom dance!
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Virtual Dance Party July 25

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We were overjoyed to hear from Noralyn and Dave Parsons, versatile and graceful dance leaders, and Clara Byom, multi-talented multi-instrumentalist, that they wished to do another virtual dance night for our community. From everyone at SWIFDI, thank you to these three for their tireless efforts to create opportunities for us all to come together—and thank YOU, all our enthusiastic dancers from near and far, for joining us during this second night of folk dance, live music, and sharing space and time with one another.

The dance program from this night can be found here.

From Noralyn, Dave, and Clara: "Especially during this time of COVID-19, we realize that our living situation is unique - versatile dance leaders and dance musician in the same home. Recognizing this, we aim to host a handful of virtual events in support of New Mexico-based folk music and dance-related non-profit organizations. We look forward to dancing with virtually now and in person as soon as we are able!"

Donations (see below) support the mission of the Southwest International Folk Dance Institute. We deeply appreciate your continued participation in and support of the folk dance and music traditions we all love.

Donations

Please consider donating to SWIFDI with a secure PayPal transaction. All proceeds will go directly towards international folk dancing. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we have been able already to provide some financial support to our guest dance leaders and musicians who were scheduled for August Camp 2020 and who, like so many artists, have lost most if not all their work due to the pandemic. As always, your support is greatly appreciated.

Alternatively, you can address a check to SWIFDI and send it to:
P.O. Box 36055
Albuquerque, NM 87176

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first virtual dance party!

We regret to inform you that August Camp will not happen in 2020. But that doesn't mean we can't dance...
Our longtime and well-loved venue informed us that they are not holding any events in their spaces this summer, which unfortunately includes us. But don't despair, we have other ways to stay connected thanks to the magic of virtual spaces!
On May 2 we threw a virtual dance party over Zoom. The party went beautifully thanks to the hard work, dedication and talent of Noralyn and Dave Parsons—longtime members of the Albuquerque dance community—and Clara Byom—professional musician who would have provided some live music at Camp this year as part of The Parson Sisters.

The party was so successful that we hit our 100-participant max with logins from all over New Mexico and all over the country: hi, friends from AZ/CO/OK/CA/OR/MD! Thank you everyone who joined us and made this a real party! A fabulous time was had by all, and we are grateful to the Parsons and Clara for everything they put into it.
For a list of dances we did, click here.
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Click the image above for a full-sized PDF of the announcement for the ​May 2 dance.
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Celebrating 38 Years of NEW MEXICO Camp

A collaborative endeavor under the Southwest ​International Folk Dance Institute (SWIFDI)

P.O. Box 36055
Albuquerque, NM 87176