Afro-Cuban Drum, Dance, and Song Camp the Summer! - Registration

[windhorse]

10th annual Explorations in Afro-Cuban Dance & Drum Program

Registration is now open for the 10th annual Explorations in Afro-Cuban Dance &
Drum Program (a.k.a Cuba Camp) held at Humboldt State University in Arcata,
California. The dates are July 24 – July 30, 2005. This years faculty feature Lazaro
Galarraga (Song), Francisco Aguabella, Sandy Pérez, Jesus Diaz, Michael Spiro,
and John Santos (percussion), and José Francisco Barroso, Susana Arenas, and
Reynaldo Gonzalez (dance), as well as Mark Lamson, Chris (Flaco) Walker, and
David Peñalosa rounding out our staff. We are offer 5 levels of drum classes and 3
levels of dance classes. All of our faculty accompany dance classes. Hearing
Lazaro Galarraga and Francisco Aguabella playing everyday together is something
I'm really looking forward to. Many evenings are spent hearing the faculty play
rumba at house parties, or dancing salsa. The program ends with a performance
featuring our entire faculty. If you are interested and for more information, go to
http://www.humboldt.edu/afrocuban

-Howie Kaufman
Program Founder/Coordinator

[CongaCaja]

Howie,

Wow! Great line up of teachers! I'm going to see if I can work that into my schedule and talk to my teacher (Mike Spiro) about it.

thanks for the posting.

cjk

[windhorse]

Cool! I was quoting Howie,, and so I'm not him..
But, I'm going, so thought I'd share the good word..

Hope to see you there!

Dave

[Jongo]

Hey has anyone done this workshop/camp before? Sounds really interesting I would like to hear from someone who has participated if they would not mind sharing their experiences. Like what they got out of it in terms of music and life experience. The instructors are top notch so that should not be a problem. I can't go to Cuba ($ & immigration probs yo) so this might be the next best thing.
Juan

[windhorse]

I have participated,, and loved it. That's why I made that original post. It's a fantastic learning experience where years of information are condensed into a week.

I've talked quite a bit about it on the latinpercussion tribe at tribe.net,, so not inclined to go on about it here,, but suffice it to say that if you are in the least interested,, you really should try to go! It's so worth it!

Dave

[Jongo]

Thanks for the reply, it sounds like a great opportunity. How far away is Arcata from San Francisco?

[windhorse]

Arcata is at the extreme Northern end of the coast of California, just above Eureka.

So, a new wrinkle is that we're going to have four from our group going!! This will be fun, as last year it was just me. I learned a great deal and met lots of interesting folks,, but having a group of familiar players will be powerful.

[CongaCaja]

Dave,

What do you mean by "four from our group"? Who is your group?

Btw, I just saw John Santo's (one of the camp instructors) Machete Ensemble last weekend at the Palace of Fine Arts in SF. Good time!

FYI, I just check with Yahoo! Maps and it reports that Arcata is a 6 hr drive from my place in SF. Wow! That's far!

cjk

[windhorse]

We have a Rumba study group that meets on weekends and sometimes Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Not a "band",, just people that play music together.

Now we're up to 8 going!!



Edited By windhorse on 1115991810

[CongaCaja]

Dave,

Wow, 8 from your group...that should be lots of fun you all.

Is your rhumba study group from the bay area? What's the level (from beginner to advanced) of most your group?

Also, what was the general experience level of the attendees of the camp?

Do attendees participate is both percussion and dance?
...or are those sort of separate tracks of study?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm quite curious about this camp

thanks... cjk

[windhorse]

Dave,
Is your rhumba study group from the bay area? What's the level (from beginner to advanced) of most your group?
Also, what was the general experience level of the attendees of the camp?
Do attendees participate is both percussion and dance?
...or are those sort of separate tracks of study?

Nope, we're in Colorado..
We've got everything from raw beginners to fairly advanced for land-locked midwesterners.
The attendees of the camp have a choice of taking the dance, song, and drumming all three, or just one if you wish.. You make the choice, and can take any level class you like. But, they will recommend a level since you have to audition for anything above level 1 (beginners).
Levels seem to be mostly evenly spread out at the camp, but less of the fives than ones.

[CongaCaja]

Out of curiosity, what airport are you guys flying into? That place is fairly remote.

Or, are you guys driving from Colorado (yikes!)

cjk

[windhorse]

Not sure if anyone is flying..
The ones I'm sure of going are driving.

I'll be doing a West Coast tour, taking a month or so for the whole trip. I start in San Jose and move up the coast ending in Portland.

[CongaCaja]

Cool. Enjoy you driving trip up the coast.

Btw, another question : when you went to this previously, did you stay in housing on campus? Or did you stay in a nearby hotel? Are there nearby hotels?

Though I live in California, I've never been to Humbolt. I've heard that the area is absolutely beautiful, but other than that, I'm clueless about the area.

cjk

[windhorse]

What you've heard is true.. Beautiful!
I stayed there on campus in the dorms last year,, think I'll do the same this time too..

On the website, if you scroll down to lodging and transportation,, they list several close hotels, and my recomendation would be the Fairwinds. It's the cheapest -- run by one guy, quite a character (I had a friend who stayed there last year) and it's practically the same distance from the classes as the dorms..
The plus for being in the dorms is getting fed three meals a day that you don't have to cook, visit with all the others staying on campus, and the food's not bad.