Željko Jergan

Lyuti Chushki

Zadnja Stanica

Yuliyan Yordanov

A three-day immersion in South Slavic dance! Four classes, three days, two dance teachers, and one fabulous experience!

Dance to live music both evenings, with Steelton's own Zadnja Stanica on Friday evening and Washington-based Lyuti Chushki ("Hot Peppers") on Saturday evening. Perennial favorite dance instructors Željko Jergan and Yuliyan Yordanov return to Harrisburg to lead dancing and workshops.

Details below:
Friday Dance with Zadnja Stanica
Dance Workshops
Saturday Dance with Lyuti Chushki
Sunday Dance Review

CROATIAN DANCE WITH ZADNJA STANICA

and dancing led by Željko Jergan
Friday evening, March 9

St. Lawrence Club

13 Highland St, Steelton, PA 17113 Directions

• Come early for dinner!

  Doors open at 5 pm; kitchen opens at 5:30

• Music starts at 7 pm

Tickets:

• $10 General Admission

  at the door.

THREE DANCE WORKSHOPS

Saturday, March 10

Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church

5501 Locust Lane, Harrisburg, PA 17109 Directions

• 10:30am - 12pm — Balkan Basics Dance Workshop

  with Željko Jergan and Yuliyan Yordanov. Learn basic styling from South Slavic peoples. Željko will teach basic Croatian kolo and drmeš steps; Yuli will do the same for basic dances from Serbia and Bulgaria. For beginners -- no experience necessary!

• 1:00 pm - 2:45 pm — Croatian Dance Workshop

  with Željko Jergan. Intermediate / advanced material from Željko's new CD, Resonance of Croatia. Prior dance experience recommended.

• 3:00 pm - 4:45 pm — Bulgarian Dance Workshop

  with Yuliyan Yordanov. Intermediate / advanced material from all regions of Bulgaria. Prior dance experience recommended.

Lunch is on your own. No partner needed; most dances are non-couple. Wear soft-soled shoes and loose clothing suitable for dancing.

Tickets for Each Workshop:

• $16 General Admission

  , $12 SFMS Members, $10 Students (to age 22)

• All three workshops $40

  (SFMS members $30)
• Admission is at the door. No advance registration required.
• For more information, call Bart at 717-234-3844
  or email bart.carpenter (at) sfmsfolk.org

BULGARIAN DANCE WITH LYUTI CHUSHKI

Saturday evening, March 10

St. Lawrence Club

13 Highland St, Steelton, PA 17113 Directions

• Doors & kitchen open at 7 pm

• Dancing starts at 7:30 pm

• Lyuti Chushki will play Bulgarian and some Serbian dances
• Croatian dancing to recorded music between sets

Tickets:

• $10 General Admission

  at the door.

DANCE REVIEW

Sunday morning, March 11

at The Movement Center

2134 N Second St, Harrisburg, PA 17110 Directions

• 10-11:30am

Tickets:

• $10 for Saturday class attendees

• $16 General Admission

  , $12 SFMS Members, $10 Students (to age 22)

About Željko Jergan

Visit Željko Jergan's website»

A native of Varazdin, Željko was a leading performer with the Croatian National Folk Ensemble Lado for 12 years; he also performed with the Zagreb National Ballet and Modern Dance Companies. Since moving to the United States in 1986, he has created more than 350 original choreographies for 70 different ensembles, including Les Sortilèges, Brigham Young University, the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, and St. Anthony's Folklore Ensemble of Los Angeles.

Now living in Pittsburgh, Željko has received two full fellowship grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in support of his artistic work. When he's not researching and creating new choreographies, Željko stays extremely busy working with the international folk dance community, where he is in popular demand for his depth and style in teaching Croatian folk dancing. He has traveled extensively, giving folk dance seminars and workshops in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Taiwan.

He is also our most frequently requested dance master, appearing here almost every year since 2000. This year he is presenting material from his new CD, Resonance of Croatia, and the accompanying DVD created from his recent trip to Japan.

About Yuliyan Yordanov

A native of Doyrentsi, a village in the Lovech region of north central Bulgaria, Yuliyan Yordanov was raised by his grandparents and learned dancing at a young age. After graduating from the acclaimed Bulgarian Academy of Music and Dance Art in Plovdiv, he worked professionally as a dance director, choreographer, and folk dance instructor.

Since moving to the US in 2001, Yuli has created and/or worked with dance groups in the Bulgarian and Serbian communities in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas; performed with Mesoghios Greek Dancers in Madison; directed various amateur performing groups in Chicago and Milwaukee; and sung and played tupan with "Malo Selo" and "Veseliyka," two Madison-based bands. He has taught at folkdance camps across the U.S., including Mendocino for the Eastern European Folklife Center (EEFC) in California and the Bakanske Igre Spring Festival in Chicago. He is currently based in New York City.

SFMS first heard about him from the Nashville and Chicago groups and co-coordinated his wildly successful East Coast tour in 2006, in collaboration with dance groups in Bethesda and Princeton. And the rest, as they say, is history: he's been here every season since! This will be his fifth weekend in Harrisburg. He will have CDs and DVDs of his dance material for sale during the weekend.

About Zadnja Stanica

Visit Zadnja Stanica on Facebook »

Zadnja Stanica is a tambura ensemble made up of five Croatian-Americans: Mike Furjanic (violin and tamburica), Rick Vukmanic (tamburica), Pere Krpan (celovic), Mate Krpan (brac, accordion), and Steve Grassa (bugarija, guitar). The group plays the traditional instruments of a tambura orchestra and is the "house band" of the St. Lawrence Club in Steelton.

About Lyuti Chushki Bulgarian Folk Band

Visit Lyuti Chushki’s website »

In the Bulgarian language Lyuti Chushki means "Hot Peppers", and that is the kind of spicy traditional Bulgarian music this band plays. The toe-tapping music, played on traditional instruments from Bulgaria, takes you back to the old country — it is joyful, evocative, compelling and lyrical, in modes and rhythms generally not found in western music.

Lyuti Chushki brings together professional musicians from Bulgaria and American musicians from the Baltimore/Washington area. They have been playing together for festivals, weddings, concerts, and other special events since 1997, all along the East Coast. They have also participated as key supporters in the summer music and dance program founded in in Plovdiv in 2005. Band members are Valeri Georgiev (kaval); Tzvety Weiner (vocals); Len Newman (tambura); Varol Saatcioglu (gaida); Larry Weiner (tupan); and Bruce Sagan (gadulka).

Their instruments include kaval (end-blown flute), gaida (bagpipe), gudulka (bowed stringed instrument with resonating strings), tambura (fretted instrument similar to a guitar) and tupan (large drum). All of these serve to accompany the unique Bulgarian vocal style, which has a beauty all its own.

About St. Lawrence Club

Visit the St. Lawrence Club's website»

The St. Lawrence Society (Drustvo Sveti Lovro) was founded by Croatian immigrants in 1895 and has maintained a continuous presence in the community since that time. The club frequently hosts events that celebrate the rich music and dance traditions of the local ethnic Croatian community, including many that they generously co-sponsor with Susquehanna Folk's World Music & Dance series. The club also sponsors the St. Lawrence Junior Tamburitzans and Adult Tamburitzans, which are recognized as two of the finest "tammie" groups in the United States. The St. Lawrence Club is at 13 Highland Street in Steelton.