International Folk Dance -- which, in American usage, primarily means traditional village line and circle dances from Eastern Europe and the Middle East – has been a treasured activity in many parts of the US since the 1930s, and was particularly popular from the 1950s through the 1970s. 

For decades, teachers offered folk dance workshops and annual dance camps all over the country. Local weekly folk dances, especially at colleges on the coasts and in the Midwest, drew huge numbers: in the 1960s, UC’s folk dance group routinely drew 50-100 people every Friday night for four solid hours of dancing. But cultures change over time, trends come and go, and today’s international folk dance groups are much smaller and older, mostly people who started folk dancing in high school or college. However, the dancers are still as passionate about this activity as in their youth, and though we are a recreational group rather than a performance troupe, we are eager to share these treasured dances with wider audiences, and perhaps inspire others to check out this activity we love so much.

Cincinnati is home to two weekly international folk dance groups, each of which welcomes visitors and offers teaching for the first hour each week:

1) Thursdays 7:15-9:15 pm Clifton Cultural Arts Center, 3412 Clifton Ave. $5/week. Contact: Wilson Palmer, 513-751-4352.

2) Saturdays 7:45-9:45 pm The Hader Room, Twin Towers, 5343 Hamilton Ave, College Hill. $5/week. Contact: Brian Eastman, 513-853-6180.

For a more detailed introduction to folk dancing, Kate Spencer will be teaching a beginning class (ages 13-up) through ArtsConnect in Springfield Township: Wednesdays, 7:15 - 8:45 PM (May 7-June 11) at the Grove Center, 9150 Winton Road. $80 for the class: theartsconnect.us/31/classescamps. Can’t make all six weeks? Drop-ins welcome at $15 per session.