FolkMADness Camp

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29th Annual FolkMADness
Music, Song & Dance Weekend
Socorro, New Mexico
May 24-27, 2024

Music by: Thunderwings( Amy Englesberg, Cedar Stanistreet & Benjamin Foss), Toss the Possum (Rob and Laura Zisette), and more!
Calling by: Jeremy Korr, Lo Peckman, and more!
Singing led by: Jeremy Carter-Gordon and Lauren Breunig 

Register by April 7 for on-campus housing! Checkout the preliminary schedule!


About FolkMADness
FolkMADness is an all-inclusive 4-day camp in Socorro, New Mexico held Memorial Day Weekend at New Mexico Tech. The weekend kicks off with dinner, followed by a concert and contra dance on Friday evening and the final dances ends at noon on Monday. FolkMADness features all-day dancing, plus concerts, jamming, and day-time singing and instrumental workshops by featured musicians and callers.

Questions? Contact Lindsay Taylor.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
Full Weekend registration includes access to all events, on-campus dormitory lodging, and meals for Friday evening through Monday lunch. Deadline to register for Full Weekend registration is April 7th.

Events Only registration and Day Passes are available through the entire weekend, and off-campus housing is available at nearby hotels. Meals are available for purchase in the cafeteria during designated meal times.

Discounts are also available for Work/Trade positions, and people under the age of 26 years old. Non-dancing children under the age of 17 who are staying off-campus get in free!

LOCATION:
FolkMADness is held at New Mexico Tech University, located about 75 miles south of Albuquerque in Socorro. Socorro is at 4,500 feet and boasts warm days and cool nights. Socorro is also home to the Mineral Museum and a short drive from the Bosque del Apache for birding. Check out the Venue Page!

COVID POLICY:
Check back for final details, but assuming community COVID levels remain low, we will not have any COVID restrictions for FolkMADNESS 2024. We still encourage all attendees to be vaccinated and to test before attending camp to be on the safe side. 

If you cannot attend camp due to a positive test or close contact with a person testing positive we will provide you with a full refund. 

N95 or KN95 masks will be required for all participants when indoors if community levels of COVID in the Southwest Region begin to surge. All participants will be notified of such a criteria prior to camp.

TERMINOLOGY:
We are joining camps around the country in the effort to make our language more inclusive. FolkMADness moving forward with a goal of all workshops and dances offered during the weekend being gender-free, using Larks & Robins, positional calling, and neutral terms like partner, neighbor, shadow, etc. We recognize that some types of workshops are more difficult for callers to change, so any workshop that does use gendered calling will be clearly labeled. All FolkMADness participants should read and agree to our Dancer Code of Conduct before registering.

WORK TRADE POSITIONS:

We offer $75-$125 discounts for Work/Trade Positions. Some of the needed jobs are: Friday Setup, Big Gym Setup, Concert Set Up, Water Station Setup, Workshop Setup, Floor Cleaning Coordinator, Gym Upkeep, Snacks Assistant, and Admissions Assistant. To apply for a Work/Trade position contact Tristan Fin and wait for confirmation prior to registering. We request that anyone interested in Work/Trade register prior to April 1st.

CHILDREN:
FolkMADness has a long history of being a family-friendly event! All activities are family-friendly. Due to the increased fees by New Mexico Tech, we highly recommend any families with more than one child stay off campus in a hotel to save money. Meals are available for purchase in the cafeteria during designated meal times. Non-dancing children who are staying off campus get in free!

RAFFLE:
Each year, our raffle raises funds for our financial aid program. Please bring arts & crafts, musical instruments, gift baskets and other fun items for the raffle. You can also donate directly with your registration.

FRAGRANCE FREE:
We ask that our attendees try to be Fragrance-Free in consideration for other attendees. Many dancers are sensitive to fragrances. Please refrain from using any scented products such as perfumes, colognes and scented after-shave liquids, fragrant deodorants, or fragrant lotions for the health of your fellow dancers. Instead try to find fragrance-free alternatives! Allergic reactions include headaches, sneezing, scratchy throats, watery eyes and a few other symptoms that can ruin a dance experience.


Out of Town Artists

Callers

Jeremy Korr

Jeremy Korr is a popular bicoastal caller, based in Southern California most of the year and in Eastern Massachusetts during the summer. A dancer since childhood, Jeremy has been calling contras and squares around the country since 2003 and children and family dances since 1993. Jeremy is acclaimed for his fun dances, efficient walkthroughs, precise calling, and community spirit.

 

Lo Peckman

 

 

 

 

 

Bands

Toss the Possum

Laura Zisette (sometimes dubbed “Mama ‘Possum”) is a classically trained pianist. She never wanted to play contra piano. She preferred dancing. Then, one year she broke her toe in the first fifteen minutes of a week-long dance camp. What to do with a whole week? As luck would have it, Bob McQuillen was on staff and became her mentor. While working together, he encouraged her with “Don’t worry. There are no wrong notes in contra dancing…well, except maybe that one.” When she started the family band, she obsessively arranged clever or beautiful band arrangements. Her kids grudgingly read through them at home, and then, at the gig they would ignore the plan and play whatever they wanted. Over time she learned to let go of her expectations for planned and polished performances. It turns out they were right–sponteneity is more fun and can often create the most magical moments! 

Rob Zisette began playing fiddle at age 8. He somehow continued to get better each year despite sporadic lessons from age 8-12, and very little practice (because too much practice “would take all the fun out of it!”). Rob is an incredibly versatile player. His great sense of humor comes through his fiddling and singing. He can emote lyricism, take on the high energy of Klezmer styling, create hauntingly beautiful Celtic sounds, and tear it up on a driving southern fiddle tune. Rob adds other colors to the band with his beat-boxing and his varied toys (including a trumpet kazoo). Rob also loves to dance and frequently teaches dance workshops in contra, blues and waltz. Being a dancer himself, his first goal as a musician is to create some magic for the dancers. When Rob starts to play, you know you are in for a ride!

Thunderwing (Amy, Cedar, and Benjamin)

Amy Englesberg grew up in a musical family, and her love of music has continued to this day. She started playing piano at the age of five, and trained classically with Ginny Snowe in Bellingham, WA. In 2010 she began playing piano for contra dances, which is where you can mostly find her performing these days in bands including Free Raisins and Wake Up Robin. She has travelled to over 30 states to perform, mainly for contra dances. Amy is based in Springfield VT with her family, where they are starting a farm with friends. Amy carries joy with her wherever she goes, and works to encourage this same joy in all.

Cedar Stanistreet grew up playing both classical violin and traditional fiddle music, and studied violin performance at the Crane School of Music. For the past ten years he has played for contra dances across North America with bands including Nor’easter, Cardinal Direction, Maivish, and Cloud Ten. His spirited, rhythmic playing and clear tone keep dancers on their feet. In between gigs, Cedar can be found at home in Brattleboro, Vermont, growing vegetables, baking bread, and birdwatching. He also repairs violins, violas, and cellos.

Benjamin Foss is a musician and luthier based near Belfast, Maine. Benjamin grew up in southern New England attending and playing for contra dances and building fiddles and banjos out of everything he could find. He is passionate about continuing the traditions of New England tunes, songs and dances and is always excited to share tunes and knowledge with the people around him. Benjamin plays in several contra dance combinations on fiddle, guitar, tenor banjo, and occasionally other stringed instruments. On rare occasions can be found calling dances. Benjamin has taught at many music camps and weekends and also teaches private lessons. When he’s not playing, he’s building and restoring guitars, banjos and mandolins in Brooks.

Singing Leaders

Jeremy Carter-Gordon
Jeremy grew up in New England immersed in traditional song and dance. He holds an MA in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage, and spent a year studying Swedish folk dancing at the Eric Sahlström Institute in Sweden. Jeremy sings with Windborne, a vocal quartet that studies and performs polyphonic singing traditions from the US and a variety of other cultures. He is known for his banjo picking and powerful bass voice, along with a joyous enthusiasm for song and dance.

Lauren Breunig
Folk music and dance were the backdrop to Lauren Breunig’s upbringing: attending Pinewoods camp with her family, singing shape note music in friends’ living rooms, dancing contra and ECD often and energetically, and touring with Village Harmony singing camps. It was at Village Harmony camps that her love of folk music grew to include traditions from other parts of the world, and she has continued to study and perform with internationally renowned vocal band Windborne. When she’s not on stage with Windborne, Lauren works as a circus artist, teaching and performing aerial fabric, trapeze, and partner acrobatics.

 


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FolkMADness Camp Archive
2019
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
2003 2002 2001

Pictures from past Folkmadness Camps!:
Folkmadness 2008
Folkmadness 2014
Folkmadness 2015

Videos of Folkmadness 2019 May Camp:

Videos of Folkmadness 2017 May Camp: Courtesy Ben Werner

Videos of Folkmadness 2015 May Camp: Courtesy Ben Werner

FolkMADness Venue | FolkMADness Registration Information | FolkMADness Registration Form

New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society