Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Occupation: During the day when not dancing and listening to Balkan music, I teach little, little people (ages 2-4) at a Montessori preschool.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: Balkan music and dance pop up at the great, surprising times when my friends reach out to tell me that a band is playing at a Brooklyn bar, at the unpredictable and delightful Raya Brass parties and during Golden Fest. Most intensely, I get my yearly, almost-fix during the summer when I return home to Southeastern Bulgaria, a town called Dimitrovgrad, where my family runs a folk dance ensemble called Zvezditza. With the group, I dance and play music almost every day in preparation for a concert or a folk festival.

Number of times at Balkan camp: This was my first camp!

Studied at camp: I took intermediate tapan, beginner tambura, and dance classes and played with Bitov ensemble. Looking forward now to learning more!

Memorable moment at camp: Camp was a series of scenes and experiences that surprised and touched and impressed. The friendly new faces who were eager to share their passion for everything Balkan; the first time the Bulgarian musicians played a familiar tune that immediately welcomed me back home; the Chichovo tune that was just like the one my dad and I loved to dance to; the moment when my dear friend gave me a warm hug and told me that she was at the dance hall during the Bulgarian set only to make sure that if and when the music stirs nostalgic joy and memories, she will be there to support me; the Blender Band and the wonderful people I met through it! Our serious-goofy practices and oh-such-fun performance!! And the precious times when so many friends gave me hugs and spoke a kind word, especially at the last day of camp, when I was so very in need of sleep and so very heartbroken to see that the week of this homelike, warm, fun, joyful magic was over. Thank you all for a most beautiful, touching, hospitable and spirited camp!!!

Location: Waitsfield, Vt.

Occupation: I mentor farm- and forest-based education.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I play Balkan music in a wonderful little group, consisting of cello, clarinet, doumbek and violin! Most of the music that I listen to at home is Balkan, and—after Balkan dancing at camp for the first time and thoroughly enjoying it—I go to the small Balkan singing and dancing meet-up that occurs sometimes near my home.

Number of times at Balkan camp: First time!

Studied at camp: Singing with Eva Salina, doumbek with Polly Ferber, dance classes.

Memorable moment at camp: Many moments at camp awed me. The sheer talent of so many musicians and dancers was deeply inspiring and a true delight to be around. Never before have my ears been so pleased so many days in a row! Never before have I danced so late into the night so many nights, energized by the amazing sounds and people around me! I loved the family vibe, too—the closeness and simultaneous openness of the campers. Perhaps the strongest sentiment I had was that after being that weird girl lonesomely in love with Balkan music for much of my life, it felt a little like coming home. Thank you, EEFC! I am so very grateful for this experience!

Location: Arlington, Va.

Occupation: Belly dance instructor and dance studio administrative team member

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I don’t get too many opportunities throughout the year; usually just Golden Festival and occasional gatherings.

Number of times at Balkan camp: First time!

Studied at camp: I took beginner santouri, a variety of dance classes and the songbook singing class.

Memorable moment at camp: I grew up playing music but, since high school, dance has become my primary means of artistic expression. However, I miss playing instruments and was excited to be able to take music classes in a such a welcoming environment at camp. Waking up to santouri class, although difficult after late nights at kafana, quickly became my favorite part of the day.

During our first lesson, Yianni [Roussos] gave us a CD of music to help us practice. I didn’t get a chance to listen the first day or so but I got in the habit of going in to practice during my lunch hour. After practicing the song we were learning in class, I started noodling around. I have a pretty good ear so I was able to pluck out a song that I was familiar with because my roommate Jen Shearer had used it this past winter in a choreography she designed for her belly dance students. The next day in class while we were warming up I started playing the tune and Yianni said to me “Oh, you learned one of the other songs from the CD?” I hadn’t yet listened to the CD and only then did I realize that the song Jen had used must have been one that she had gotten from a previous camp CD. It was such a fun moment to realize even though I had never been to Balkan camp I had already taken in pieces of it by spending so much time with Jen. Although it was just a little coincidence, the moment still made an impression I won’t soon forget.

Also, jamming out to a Balkan rendition of the Star Wars theme song in kafana, seeing the amazing generosity from the community during the auction and realizing how thankful I was to everyone who donated for making it possible for me to attend camp. One more: sitting and having a late breakfast at the picnic tables on a beautiful sunny morning and hearing the sounds of multiple ensembles and classes wafting through the air.

Location: Richmond, Va.

Occupation: Musician and massage therapist.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I just moved to Richmond, and am playing with the following bands: Richmanian Ramblers (Romanian music); The Vulgar Bulgars (traditional klezmer, Balkan, Romani music with funky original arrangements); and My Son the Doctor (traditional klezmer and Balkan music). I also busk on my own and play tons of Balkan music; people love it!

Number of times at Balkan camp: First time at camp!

Studied at camp: Albanian violin, Albanian ensemble, Greek violin, Bulgarian ornaments, songbook singing.

Memorable moment at camp: I loved how friendly and welcoming everyone was, how much everybody loved to play this beautiful music and how supportive everyone was. My favorite moment was getting to sing with the Macedonian village ensemble evening performance for dancing; almost all of my cabin mates were in the class and/or in the songbook class that joined them! I loved porch front jams playing this beautiful music with my cabin mates.

Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

Occupation: Student; I did my undergrad in applied linguistics at UVic and am now working toward a master’s in speech pathology at UBC. Before that I was trained in Russian ballet in Mexico. I teach ESL and Spanish at a language school and also teach circle dancing.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I went to a circle dance camp in Mexico, where I met Steve and Susan Kotansky. They told me about Balkan camp and about the possibility of getting a scholarship.

Number of times at Balkan camp: This was my first time.

Studied at camp: All of the dance classes except one session, when I took frame drum with Polly [Ferber]. I was there mainly for dancing.

Memorable moment at camp: I loved the intergeneration community vibe. There were 80-year-old people and 2-year-old children all eating in same dining hall—amazing food and musical parties every night. I loved the community atmosphere; you could feel that it’s been going on for a long time.

Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

Occupation: I am a fiber artist and a ceramicist. I also sub in the Albuquerque School System in bilingual elementary schools.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I folkdance sporadically and I sing Balkan music on a weekly basis with a group of experienced and inexperienced singers in Santa Fe. We are led by Willa Roberts.

Number of times at Balkan camp: I went to camp for the first time in the late ‘70s and this last summer was maybe the fifth time. I think it was 16 years between the last time I got to go to camp and this most recent time.

Studied at camp: I loved Michele Simon’s warm-up class and I loved that it happened first thing in the morning. It warmed up my voice for the other singing classes I took. I got very useful information on how to use my voice, which has made me more confident when I sing. I learned new material from Carol [Silverman] and singing with Brenna [MacCrimmon] made me more comfortable about singing in Turkish.

Memorable moment at camp: I was very happily surprised by how little camp had changed over the years. It was still the welcoming, fun, beautiful place I remembered. I was also touched by the generosity toward the camper who had had her luggage stolen.

Location: Eugene, Ore.

Occupation: Unemployed audiologist 🙁

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I dance with two different folk dance clubs in the area. I participate in workshops held in the Eugene and Portland area (Veselo and Balkanalia). I’ve been the foreman of the floor crew that lays down the wooden floor over cement for several years at Balkanalia. I attend Balkan folk dance parties in Seattle (NW Balkan events and Folklife). I talk about Balkan folk dance with almost anybody that knows me.

This year I taught several Balkan dances at the new Dance Pavilion at The Oregon Country Fair. This enabled willing participants to join in and dance while our local Balkan band, Kef, provided live music. The Oregon Country Fair is a very large and unique annual event that draws attendees from all over the country. This year there were 17,000+ staff workers with over 50,000 fair-goers. I am trying to expand this to have more time to teach Balkan dances before each live Balkan performance next year. This is such a good opportunity to expose many (especially young folks) to Balkan dance and culture—people who might never be exposed otherwise.

I often go to local parks here to practice playing my kaval. In doing so I often get the opportunity to tell people about the kaval and dance and culture. I am not in a Balkan band now. I don’t think that my playing is good enough yet. However I do play the kaval on occasion with other musicians with whom I play others types of music. I’ve been practicing a lot and hope to be able to play some Balkan music for our local dance clubs to dance to as my abilities progress.

Number of times at Balkan camp: I’ve been to Mendocino Balkan Camp three years prior to attending this year. I first attended camp in 2010.

Studied at camp: Kaval. I also took dance classes from Milo Destanovski, Alex Marković and Martin Koenig.

Memorable moment at camp: I’m always so impressed with the how good the musicians are at camp and how hard they work to increase their skill and knowledge of the culture. I’m also impressed with how helpful and willing others are to mentor those of us that are at different skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Valeri Georgiev was the kaval instructor this year. He is so helpful and patient with his students that have such broad range of capabilities and skill levels.

I put in a lot of time practicing in preparation for coming to camp this year. However, I found myself feeling very frustrated as I was struggling with the material at camp. I thought I was further along than I was. Sometimes it seemed painful and hopeless to me. But now the lesson seems clear: seeking to improve in something requires hard work and patience. If it’s worthwhile, then trudging through it with diligence and patience brings rewards later. I came home with much greater knowledge, skill and determination to keep working on playing the kaval. I have continued to practice diligently since camp and feel like I’m moving along quite well. It amazes me how when something seems impossible (such as some of the required fingering changes on the kaval)—if I just slowly work on the those changes that within a few minutes or the next day it becomes natural to do that which seemed impossible not long ago.

Location: Oakland, Calif.

Occupation: I sing with Kitka, and I am a caterer, fishmonger, sound designer and composer.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I play oud and study on my own, and also [sing] with Kitka. For dancing, I go to community dances when they happen, and go to as many Balkan shows as I can to dance the night away.

Number of times at Balkan camp: This was my first year at camp.

Studied at camp: I took Michele’s [Simon’s] vocal techniques class, Greek singing with Christos [Govetas], Turkish singing with Bob [Beer], and Greek ensemble with Lise Liepman. I ended up for the fifth slot trying something new every day, including Serbian dance, brass band, kemençe, Rhodope singing and beginning tapan.

Memorable moment at camp: I was so touched by the way the community opened its arms to me, both socially and artistically. I had injured my wrist previous to coming to camp and so I wasn’t able to play oud as I had hoped. I was on my way mournfully to an empty second period, when I passed Lise’s Greek ensemble, and it was so glorious I couldn’t help but stick right where I was. I got an idea that perhaps I could join them, learning the tunes just with my voice. I was a little nervous to ask, but when I did, I was met with such enthusiasm and support that all my fear melted away. I was able to sing with the ensemble the whole week, and learn songs which came up later that summer as I was in Greece studying music with the Labyrinth program.

Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Occupation: I guess technically I’m unemployed, but I am often designing t-shirts and logos for people for money.

Connection to Balkan music/dance: I intersect with Balkan music for the rest of the year by playing [guitar] along to recordings usually, or if I’m on the left coast I can play Balkan music with real people!

Number of times at Balkan camp: This was my second year at Balkan Camp and there are sure to be more.

Studied at camp: I was studying mostly rebetika at camp.

Memorable moment at camp: An experience that really stuck out to me this year was watching Vlado [Pupinoski] and Kalin [Kirilov] play casually at the smokers’ table. They were just having musical conversation; changing so often in between new melodies but totally on the same page at all times. Then, after a twenty-minute medley of absolute mind destruction for the audience, they would have a cigarette and leave it between their fingers while they played the next tune like it was nothing. It was something I had never seen before.