We hope you’ll join us on March 11–13, 2016 for our annual dance weekend at the Maplelag Cross-Country Ski Resort near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, about 4 hours northwest of the Twin Cities. The cloggers began hosting the Moosejaw dance and music weekend 30+ years ago to provide an opportunity to take workshops in old-time music, clogging, square and contra dancing, and other traditional dance forms from national and local musicians, teachers, and artists. The weekend features evening dances on Friday and Saturday night, workshops during the day on Saturday and Sunday, and lots of jamming all day long. Other highlights include skiing, hot tubbing, a woodburning sauna, and 4 endless cookie jars. Homemade midwestern-style food and lodging at the beautiful Maplelag resort are included in the registration cost. The weekend is open to dancers and musicians of any experience level.
This year’s theme is “SpaceJaw: To Boldly Dance Where No One Has Danced Before.” You may recognize a little Star Trek there, but Star Wars, Star Trek, Space Balls, Battlestar Gallactica, David Bowie, Alf, Galaxy Quest . . . its open to interpretation.
The online registration as of March 2, 2016, is closed.
A copy of the registration materials are available to download at the bottom of this page. Partial Scholarships and 2 full-ride Fellowships are also available (scroll down for more info).
For questions or comments, please email: moosejawdanceweekend@gmail.com
Moosejaw 2016 Staff
We are pleased to announce our staff for our 2016 weekend!
Old-Time Music by Run Mountain (Paula Bradley, Jim Burns, and Bill Dillof)
RUN MOUNTAIN combines the talents of Paula Bradley, Bill Dillof and Jim Burns into an exciting & engaging ensemble featuring powerful vocals accompanied by banjo, fiddle, guitar, harmonica & ukulele, with flatfoot dancing to boot! Green Mountain fiddler extraordinaire Jim Burns is featured in the documentary “Music for the Sky” and is well-known for his powerful fiddling, singing and guitar playing. Paula Bradley has performed/toured worldwide with old-time darlings “Uncle Earl” on banjo, guitar and banjo-ukulele and and old-time powerhouse Bruce Molsky and banjo innovator Tony Trischka on guitar. She sings and dances, too, but not at the same time. Bill Dillof is a old-time banjo master who has played old-time music for many years as part of NYC old-time stalwarts “The Canebrake Rattlers”. He blows a mean harp, too.
Everywhere they play they make a lot of new friends and fans who enjoyed their toe-tapping, energetic romp through American old-time classic fiddle tunes, hillbilly blues, mountain gospel, comic ditties and of course, the feat of feets – Appalachian clogging. RUN MOUNTAIN entertains with enthusiasm and skill and most importantly, with humor and heart. They have performed at the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, the Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival and many town concert series and fairs throughout the Northeast, as well as being featured performers at the 2012 Bluff Country Gathering in Minnesota. BUST DOWN!
Janine Smith, dance caller
Janine Smith calls square, contra, ceilidh, and family dances in the Washington, DC area. She shares her humorous (OK, sometimes goofy) and infectious passion for music and dance with dancers from Glen Echo, MD to Seattle, WA. She’s known for her calm, unflappable demeanor, and her skill at knowing just which dances to teach and call whether it’s to a room full of new and never-danced wedding guests or a group of skilled dancers looking for a challenge. She is one of the “Hot Square Babes”, a quintet of female square dance callers who throw square dance parties in the DC area, and a founding member of the DC Square Dance Collective.
The New Riverside Ramblers, high energy Cajun music
The New Riverside Ramblers bring high-energy Cajun dance music from the prairies and bayous of south Louisiana up-river to Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota. The band’s compelling version of Cajun French music blends many influences from different south Louisiana communities, and includes two-steps, waltzes and blues. The members of the band have been immersed in Cajun music for many years. They have studied and performed with Cajun music greats such as Dewey Balfa, Tracy Schwarz, Steve Riley, Marc & Ann Savoy, DL Menard, Eddie LeJeune, Calvin Carriere, Lionel Leleux, and others. Made up of Eric Mohring on fiddle, Aj Srubas on fiddle and pedal steel, Karen Kleinspehn on guitar, John Terr on accordion, Doug Lohman on bass, and Paul Loughride on drums. They will surely get you on the dance floor!
REGISTRATION:
You may register online and pay by credit card, or download the form and mail it in with check, cash, or money order.
To register online: ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
To download the paper form: The registration deadline was March 2, 2016.
SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS
There are 2 full-ride fellowships available for first time attendees ages 21 and older. For information and an application, click here: MJ2016FellowshipApplication. Applications are due February 12th, 2016.
There are also a limited number of scholarships available. These are open to attendees of any age, and are not restricted to first time attendees. Scholarships recipients are selected by lottery and attend the weekend for $155. For an application, click here: MJ2016ScholarshipApplication. Applications are due February 12th, 2016.