52nd Anniversary Spring Festival of Eastern European Dance and Music will feature the finest in Balkan, Eastern European, and Mediterranean dance, music and culture. The festival will include dance, music, singing workshops, concerts, culture sessions, and evening dance parties with live music. This is one of the largest and most significant festivals of its type and attracts participants from across the US and Canada.

Friday, March 24th:
8PM- Midnight: Mini-workshops featuring the folklore of Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Turkey and the Rroma followed by a dance party with live music.
Saturday, March 25th:
9AM-5PM: Dance, music and singing workshops featuring the folklore of Balkan, Eastern European and Mediterranean folklore.
7PM- Midnight: Concert and dance party featuring music and dance from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Turkey another Eastern and Mediterranean lands.
Sunday, March 26th:
9AM-5PM: Dance, music and singing workshops featuring the folklore of Balkan, Eastern European and Mediterranean folklore.
The Spring Festival is an eagerly awaited annual event which draws enthusiasts of Balkan and other Eastern European as well as Eastern Mediterranean music, dance, food, and culture from throughout North America to Chicago – a chance to celebrate with old friends and to make new ones.

Guided by master dance teachers and inspired by virtuoso musicians you will want to dance, sing, and jam all weekend long! Be enthralled by splendid performances of music and dance at the Saturday evening concert, and then enjoy great dancing on a sprung oak floor to exhilarating live music. With mouth-watering delicacies prepared by expert Balkan cooks our sizzling parties are renowned coast-to-coast and have proven equally popular among dancers, world music fans, and the Balkan and Eastern European communities. Bring your family and friends too!

This program is part of the Global Voices spring festival series at the International House at the University of Chicago, which co-sponsors the festival along with the University of Chicago Center for Eastern European and Russian/Eurasian Studies (CEERES) and the Ensemble Balkanske Igre, which performs the traditional dance and music of the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The Ensemble in recent years has co-sponsored or provided logistical support for concerts with such distinguished artists as the great Ivo Papazov (winner of the 2005 BBC Audience Choice Award in world music), Esma Redzepova (“Queen of Romany Music”), Orchestra Boban Markovic (First & Golden Trumpet” at the Guca Dragacevski Sabor Gathering of top brass bands), Ivan Dyakov (top Macedonian singer in Bulgaria), Orchestra KAL (Romany orchestra that was at the top of the world music charts in Europe in 2006), Le Mystere De Voix Bulgaire and other top artists. Authentic Rrom dance, music, and culture will be prominently featured in performance and in fun, participatory workshops lead by Rumen Shopov and Sani Rifati.

For more details:http://www.balkanskiigri.com/spring-festival-details.html

Click here to read the Hyde Park Herald article about this event by Global Voices Metcalf Fellow, Rena Slavin.