Folklore, Fiddles and Fancy Footwork

Thousands of men, women and children of all ages streamed into Glen Echo Park this weekend for music and dance from 35 cultures from the U.S. and around the world at the 31st annual Washington Folk Festival.

Saturday, stages offered up performers ranging from homegrown Silver Spring folk music to Bulgarian dance tunes, from a Bolivian combat dance to traditional Irish dance, from Hawaiian hula to rockabilly. Spyros Koliavasilis performed Greek and other Middle Eastern music on the oud and other Middle Eastern instruments. He was accompanied by John Zapas and Stavros Blicas, as well as a little boy in the audience whose visceral response was to bob and clap to the beat. (His parents also tried to teach him to snap his fingers to the rhythm, a tradition going back to ancient Greece.)

Locals Ruthie and the Wranglers rocked the Potomac Palisades stage. Next came the dramatic and colorful Furia Flamenca flamenco dance troupe, whose fierce footwork, precise yet graceful arm movements and dramatically sweeping skirts came with seemingly boundless energy. Combining Gypsy heritage with modern choreography, they were accompanied by flamenco guitarist Torcuato Zamora. Furia Flamenca director Estela Velez praised Zamora as a pioneer who brought this art form to the D.C. area.

Sunday, Karma Gyaltsen performed the music of Tibet, accompanied on the Tibetan lute and dulcimer. Instruction was held throughout the day in the Spanish Ballroom, in everything from klezmer dance to French country dance to Irish step dancing, along with a Family Dance. Also in the family vein, kids jumped in with Bill Jenkins World of Music to play percussion instruments from Africa, Latin America and Asia and the Storytelling Stage featured Twinbrook Tellers—three young tellers sharing tales of animal, magic and adventure.

It’s no understatement to say there was music for every taste at the Washington Folk Festival. Russian balalaikas, sea chanteys, steel pan orchestra music and Slovakian flute were featured on Sunday. Other music styles ranged from American bluegrass to Scottish bagpipes, ballads and British-style brass, blues barbershop and bop. Dance performances included classical dance from South India and step dance with swords that originated in England’s coal mining districts.

The Storytelling Stage performers reminded us that storytelling isn’t just for little kids, but an important tradition in all cultures engaging listeners with a mix of history, magic and mystery. Sunday, Tim Livengood told of adventures at sea and Merrillee Pallansch shared fairytales from around the globe. Zoe Sagalow’s offering, “June Brides,” gave the “I Do’s” (and Don’ts) of courtship rituals from Scandinavia to the Caribbean and Sumner and Linda McLain mixed storytelling with puppetry, music and movement in “A Celebration of Life.”

The Washington Folk Festival is produced by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, in cooperation with The Glen Echo Park partnership for the Arts and Culture, the National Park Service, Montgomery County, the Richmond Folk Festival and WAMU 88.5 FM. From the performers to the sound crew and stage managers, the event is staffed entirely by volunteers.