I think this video is a good depiction of what balfolk can be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8OUy5JM6Jw

As I understand it, balfolk (or bal folk) means a folk ball. The wikipedia article gives a more in-depth description:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfolk
but as a folk activity, there's a lot of variation and places where it has its own flavor.

As for the John Cage link, yes, sorry. I debated between linking to the pertinent wikipedia article or this other one and apparently in my indecision broke the link. 

So Balfolk is a real thing, but Bubblefolk is just for April Fools.

On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 1:36 PM Luke Donforth <luke.donforth@gmail.com> wrote:
I think this video is a good depiction of what balfolk can be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8OUy5JM6Jw

As I understand it, balfolk (or bal folk) means a folk ball. The wikipedia article gives a more in-depth description:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfolk
but as a folk activity, there's a lot of variation and places where it has its own flavor.

As for the John Cage link, yes, sorry. I debated between linking to the pertinent wikipedia article or this other one and apparently in my indecision broke the link. 

On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 12:53 PM Gregory <glibguide@protonmail.com> wrote:
To make matters more confusing for me, I've found an unlisted youtuve video on a Bal Folk playlist which has an italian name and film maker (Produzioni Clandestine), with people dancing Bal Folk who are all speaking Spanish, to French music, and the title of the video is "Bal Folk Scottish"

....help me out?

Greg



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On Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 at 11:39 AM, Gregory via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Im trying to understand this. What is Bal Folk? I gather from preliminary research

  • bal is short for ballroom?  because it's primarily partner dances? kind of like what old time waltzing and polka is? some sort of mixture of partner dances with structure patterns sort of like squares or English major dances

  • why is it done to french music? is it french? At first I assumed Bal was short for Balkan and envisioned people in lines holding hands (which would be fun to 60's pop for sure)

Luke - you were missing a link for "John Cage Classics".

Thanks

Greg



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On Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 at 5:02 AM, Luke Donforth via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hi all,

I'm not sure if you've experienced it where you are, but up here in Vermont, the big hot thing lately has been Bal Folk dancing. Driven by the beautiful music, it seems to be popping up like mushrooms after a thunderstorm. Bal Folk is happening in southern Vermont, with a monthly dance in Brattleboro, as well as occasional ones in Burlington.

But the real sign that Bal Folk has come into the mainstream is that there's now a splinter style. Just as contra beget techno contra, Bal Folk has spawned Bubble Folk. Yes, that's right, it's Bal Folk dances but instead of traditional French tunes it's done to Bubblegum Pop from the 1960s like Sugar, Sugar by the Archies. These rocking classics increase the intergenerational appeal, as does the fact that everyone can chew gum while dancing; popping bubbles in time with the music of course.

Stay tuned for next year, as the smart money is on ECD; with trendsetters now embarking on writing dances for John Cage classics.

Happy dancing!




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