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MEDIA INFORMATION

23rd Annual FLURRY FESTIVAL
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- FEBRUARY 12 - 14, 2010
www.danceflurry.org/festival

Contact info:

, Administrative Director

, Flurry Program Director

, Marketing (TV, Radio)

WHAT: The Flurry Festival is a celebration of music and dance from America and around the world -- Swing, Contra & Square, Tango, Waltz, Ballroom, African, Balkan, Celtic, Scandinavian and Salsa to name a few. Participants come to dance, watch, listen, or participate in a variety of workshops and jam sessions. The Flurry is a major economic contributor to the City of Saratoga Springs, which has embraced the Flurry since 1994.

Over the course of the weekend, Flurry participants celebrate a variety of cultures from around the world. Engaging in other peoples’ cultures while creating one’s own community helps us understand and appreciate people who are different from us, rather than feeling threatened by them.

WHERE: The Flurry takes place in several locations in downtown Saratoga Springs. Event headquarters is the City Center and The Saratoga Hilton. Other locations are Canfield Casino, Saratoga Music Hall, The Parting Glass Pub, Caffe Lena and Temple Sinai. Free shuttle buses circulate along Broadway to event venues on Saturday and Sunday. A hotel shuttle bus runs all day Saturday, stopping at hotels and venues along the way.

WHEN: Every President's Day Weekend (three-day extravaganza)
Friday -- 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Saturday -- 9 a.m. till 1 a.m.
Sunday -- 9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

ADMISSION PRICES: (Children 5 and under, free). Tickets are available for day, night, or all day. Advance Discount Tickets are available via online mail-in forms, or through PayPal (for full-festival only). Deadline midnight, January 25, 2010, EST. At-door tickets are on sale throughout the Festival weekend at the city Center ticket booth. We do not run out of at-door tickets. Discounts apply for student, senior and organization members.

EVENT SIZE -- ATTENDANCE :

• We expect roughly 5,000 attendees, 300 volunteers, and 500 performers (which include musicians, dance teachers, callers, and some performance dancers).

• There are over 200 separate sessions over the course of the weekend (most happening on Saturday). These include dance parties, dance and instrument workshops, concerts, dance performances and participatory singing & jamming sessions. There are 16 dance parties on Saturday night alone.

• Everyone! Attendees come primarily from the Capital District area, but many come from the northeastern US and Canada, and even from Europe.

• While most people come to dance, many Flurry attendees come to sing, play music, listen to music and watch dancing.

• Events are geared to all levels, from beginner to experienced. There are many workshops for novices (“Dance 101” classes) offered throughout Saturday and Sunday.

• Singles and couples enjoy attending the Flurry. This is a community dance event where people often switch partners after each dance. Many people have met their spouses at the Dance Flurry Festival.

• There are events geared toward adults, teens and families.

-- Sessions for families include storytelling, sing-alongs, family dances, kid-friendly concerts, dances from other cultures.

-- Sessions that teens might enjoy include hip-hop, improv, belly dance, swing, African, Irish step, drumming and concerts or presentations by other teens.

• Instrument workshops and demos for all ability levels: vocals, fiddle, wind instruments, banjo, mandolin, piano, guitar, drums and more.

WHAT KIND OF DANCING:

• A wide variety of dance forms is offered: Contras, squares, swing, Latin (salsa/tango), English Country, waltz, hip-hop, clogging, zydeco, cajun, belly dance, improv, African and more.

• Dances from many different cultures: African, Scandinavian, Scottish, Celtic/Irish, French-Canadian, Israeli, Balkan, English, Cajun, Native American, Middle Eastern, French and more.

• The Flurry is not about “competitive” ballroom-type dancing; it’s about having fun with plenty of opportunities to learn new dances. Dress is casual and comfortable. Soft-soled, clean shoes (shoes not worn outdoors) are required on dance floors.

• After all these years, contra dancing remains the most popular dance form. Contra dancing is very easy to learn. If you can walk, count to eight, and you know your left from your right, you can learn to contra dance.

PERFORMER HIGHLIGHTS:

(Please see website for complete performer list and links to their websites.)

• ¡Retumba! and Alex Torres & His Orchestra -- Latin/Salsa bands
• Saints of Swing -- swing dance band
• Stillhouse Rounders -- old-time dance band
• De Temps Antan -- Quebecois band
• Dirty Rice -- Zydeco band
• Yankee Chank -- Cajun band
• Adirondack singers and storytellers -- John Kirk & Trish Miller, Joe Bruchac.
• Family performances by: The Storycrafters, Vanaver Caravan Kids, Beth and Scott Bierko, Terri Roben, Mark Rust and more.

See Schedule on website -- www.danceflurry.org/festival/schedule.html

Responses from attendees when asked “What do you like about the Dance Flurry?"

• The energy, the people, the variety.
• The diversity of events, different cultures represented.
• The dance energy is amazing.
• The wonderful people who are involved - dancers, performers, and those who organize and run the Flurry.
• Music everywhere!
• Wonderful diversity of dance and lessons!!!
• The fantastic energy level. Congenial people, relaxed atmosphere, good location, range of dancing and music offered; a real smorgasbord to try.
• The chance to dance all day and night, meet different types of people and to be exposed to different music and culture, and learn something new in a safe and beautiful environment. This year it was the many high school and college kids dancing and playing.
• Wonderful to see the amazing variety of music and dance, the quality of people, and the fact that there are beginner instruction to at least get you started.
• The great variety of dance events; majority of participants are friendly & helpful. The dance styles I'd otherwise never try, and the smiles on every passerby. The joy of all that dancing! The energy level and the just fun on everyone's faces.
• The sense of community.
• The overwhelming plethora of fantastic things to do every minute of the day. great live music; friendly dance partners (mostly); interesting workshops, wonderful performers and a feeling of re-union with the larger dance community.
• Celebration of traditional music, and of the creativity in expressing it! All the friendly people and "dance angels."
• The infrastructure and organization is amazing! Fabulous music and callers! Great dancing.... escaping winter's grip for a few days....joy.... friends....music...getting exhausted doing something I love....
• The wide variety of workshops offered and the amazing energy that comes from such a large number of talented dancers, musicians etc. all in the same place.
• Reunion, Dancing all day and all night with the best musicians in the country. The insane number of people and the diversity!
• Well organized, wonderful Festival. Real people/great dancing. The variety of people; ages, nationalities, person types. You have the absolute BEST MUSIC of all festivals.
• Watching someone new discover this great gathering! Variety--something for everyone. The gathering of young & old together, sharing in dance/music, and passing it on.
• The peaceful nature of the whole thing, in a day where the world is falling apart.
• The range and *diversity* -- both preservation of all music that leads to dance, and the future of music and dance.
• The joy both my children express participating in it! Son 12, Daughter 16. Everybody loves to dance. Everything!

The Flurry Festival is sponsored by the DanceFlurry Organization (Formerly "Hudson-Mohawk Traditional Dances, Inc."), a non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional participatory dance and music from the United States and around the world.

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