All posts by Ben Werner

Special Event: Gender Free Contra Dance – February 23

Join the New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society for a Gender Free Contra! All dances taught!

What does gender free mean? We’ll be using the role terms Larks and Robins, and fostering a safe space where anyone can dance either role! Lark ends the swing on the Left and Robin ends the swing on the Right. Check out our website for more information on role terminology.

Band: Rusty Tap
Caller: Ben Werner
Location: Aux Dog Theater Dance Space
Dance: 6:00 – 8:30 pm
$5 for many
Free for Students with ID!

February 2018 Community Letter

Dear NM FolkMADS Community,

As this year’s board president I want to personally thank each of you for your support of FolkMADS through your donations, membership, and attendance at our dances and camps. My gratitude extends to musicians, callers, sound folks, and volunteers who keep the gears moving smoothly. I’d like to dedicate this letter to sharing my appreciation of some of the people who serve our community.

Many of you think it is our board that puts on dances. In reality, it is our Albuquerque and Santa Fe dance committees that organize our dances, schedule bands and callers, and manage all sorts of “behind the scenes” logistics. I don’t want to downplay the value of our board. We handle finances, the legal machinery of running a non-profit organization, as well as a number of issues that affect all of us in the community. But, ultimately, without the volunteer efforts of the local committees, we wouldn’t have a dance.

Naming folks is always a risky business since there’s the risk of forgetting to name someone who deserves our gratitude. Actually, it’s a certainty that I will forget someone. My apologies in advance. If you’re at a Santa Fe dance please thank Cathy Turner, John Taperek, Katherine Bueler, Kelly Kellstedt, Robin Gurule, Shari Hirst, and Wyn Lewis for their service. I’d like to briefly single out caller and community-builder Katherine Bueler. Katherine is spearheading an effort through the Odd Fellows and in collaboration with FolkMADS and other local organizations to bring youth-oriented events to Santa Fe. Thank you, Katherine!

In Albuquerque, the folks who put on your dances are Clara Byom, Nancy and Bob Ford, Steve Mills, Bruce Thomson, Stacey Chan, and Holly Gilster. Clara and Bruce are musicians at some of our events as well as board members. Clara serves as our board Vice President. Nancy is treasurer as well as a long-time community member and organizer. Bob and Steve are also longtime members; they take care of sound. Stacey is a prior board member and handles the management of membership and dues. She also schedules bands and callers for Albuquerque. Holly is an actress and singer and an overall fun and multi-talented lady; Holly has been providing snacks at Albuquerque dances and she also leads events at our May camp. Speaking of camps…

Beyond our local dances, we have two weekend camps. Our large one, FolkMADness, runs during the Memorial Day weekend on the campus of NM Tech in Socorro. Lisa Bertelli, Nancy Ford, and Deb Brunt are the main organizers. Angela Welford runs the super fun raffle. We have a second camp, around Halloween, Boo Camp. That’s another great camp in the Jemez mountains. Ben Werner and Stacey Chan are running it this year. If you’ve never attended one of our contra weekends, join us!

Ben Werner, Stacey Chan and Deb Brunt serve all of us in an important communication role. Ben and Stacey manage and maintain our folkmads.org website and Deb keeps us informed of community happenings via the weekly events email.

Finally, I want to thank new board members. Lindsay Taylor appeared out of nowhere (actually from Denver) with many years of experience in the Contra and non-profit scene. Lindsay serves as secretary. With her experience in marketing and fundraising, she and our Vice President Clara Byom (also with experience in fundraising) are exploring ways to bridge the gap between our income and expenses.

Our second new board member, Robin Gurule, has been an active member of the Santa Fe community for many years, as a musician, dancer, and organizer. Robin brings her accounting background to the board to transition to treasurer, a role that Nancy Ford has held for a number of years.

If you run into one of these great service-minded folks please thank them for being an important part of what it takes to produce events we all enjoy.

Sincerely and with gratitude,

Sol Lederman
sol.lederman@gmail.com
2018 FolkMADS president

 

FolkMADS Board of Directors Call for Application

Dear FolkMADS Community Members,

Are you interested in helping our community? Would you consider serving on the Board of Directors to help our organization keep doing the great things we’re doing?

We would like volunteers to come forward and help FolkMADS continue through the next two years! We are electing at most six people to serve on the board for two year terms, beginning in January of 2018 and continuing through December 2019.

Submit your statement of candidacy by Nov 11th @ midnight! Note that you must be a member of FolkMADS to serve on the Board.

Let’s thank our board members who have completed their two-year terms:

  • Angela Welford
  • Lisa Bertelli
  • Lucy Frey
  • Sol Lederman
And let’s also recognize those who are continuing on the board through December 2018:
  • Bruce Thomson
  • Clara Byom
  • Emily Ruch
  • Erik Erhardt
  • Nancy Ford

Please let any of us know if you have any questions about giving back to our community by serving on the Board.

Thanks!

Sol Lederman
FolkMADS President

Special Event: House Concert and Contra Dance

Special Event: Wednesday January 25th:
House concert & dance
 in Albuquerque
433 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque
Julie Vallimont (Nor’easter and Buddy System), Audrey Knuth (Free Raisins) and Rachel Bell (Andrew and Noah Band and Old World Charm School)
Join these nationally famous musicians for an intimate evening of music and dance. 
7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Concert: 7:00pm – 8ish
Dancing: 8:15 to 10pm
Callers: Open Mic
Admission: Pay what you can
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