by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 18 January 2016
On Saturday, January 23rd, at 7:30p, the first in the monthly Balkan Dance Café will literally kick-off at Stone Way Café. Through 2016, on the third Saturday of the month (Feb 20th, Mar 19th, April 16th, etc.) Ruth Hunter hopes to gather together a community of Balkan music listeners and dancers, to share and experience this fun and casual celebration of the Balkan culture.
Hunter offers this fun scene for the Balkan community, as well as for those who want to experience their rich culture for the first time. As to the dancing, Hunter reassured the unfamiliar. “Shuffle your feet, and go in the right direction,” she advised. According to her, “it’s more like walking together with other people,” while music plays. Anyone can pick it up – and go!
‘Pull In Others’
Musical accompaniment at the January Balkan Dance Café will be Dromeno, a Balkan music band consisting of Hunter and her family. (The name, roughly translated, means ‘traditional, cultural happening.’) In Dromeno, Hunter plays the accordion, while her husband, Christos Govetas, on the clarinet, joins her with vocals. Their daughter plays the saxophone and other percussion, while their son is on drums. In addition, Dromeno features the talents of guitar player Nick Maroussis.
Yet, Hunter has no intention of monopolizing the stage at the Balkan Dance Café. She looks forward to engaging the talents of a wide selection of Balkan-music bands, including some of the local talent that take part in Honk! Fest West during the Solstice Parade, and The M9, a youth band that plays Serbian music.
In the close-knit community, “I know everybody in the Balkan scene,” Hunter explained. She and her husband have been in Seattle nearly 20 years, although Hunter grew up in Hawaii, where she first picked up the accordion. Her marriage to the Greek Govetas only built on her appreciation of his homeland’s culture, and their shared love of music created Dromeno.
“We’re busy every weekend, either with an ethnic event here or a show out-of-town,” Hunter explained. She wants to establish the Balkan Dance Café so it can feature many musical talents, beyond her own. “There are so many great bands,” Hunter acknowledged, “I’m trying to pull in others.”
Also, “there are a lot of young, fun musicians here,” Hunter observed, “but not a young, fun dance scene, yet.” Hunter wants to contribute to building one, starting at Stone Way Café. The Café is all-ages, which allows Hunter and her friends, and her kids, and their friends, to all gather together and share their love of the Balkans, and the music from there.
‘A Fun Hoe-Down’
In the Balkans, families do everything together, everybody gathers together, and at Balkan Dance Café, Hunter wants to create the same opportunity. Generally, ‘Balkans’ include countries that share the Balkan mountain range: Serbia, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. With this event, Hunter intends to celebrate the shared, and the unshared, cultures of these distinct places. For instance, Hunter pointed out, among the Balkan countries, like Bulgaria, they have different languages and traditions, from others like Greece and Turkey, but their culture also shares a lot of the same markers and dance movements.
Ultimately, for Hunter, this is about the music, of course. “I think the [Balkan] music is the coolest thing ever,” said the slightly biased musician, “it’s pretty approachable, and fun!” After all, the Balkan Dance Café is not intended to be an academic or formal presentation of the Balkan cultures. “It’s more a fun hoe-down,” Hunter joked.
The same holds true for the dance. “I want to demystify it,” Hunter explained. Balkan dancing doesn’t have to be difficult, or only for others to enjoy. She sees a lot of similarities between Balkan dance and country line dancing. “You do not need a partner, at all!” she observed. For those still nervous, each Balkan Dance Café will start with a short lesson.
‘Inclusive, Welcoming And Fun!’
At the very first Balkan Dance Café, held last September, also at Stone Way Café, Hunter had a great reception. The turnout impressed her, along with the event organizers at Stone Way Café, who welcome opportunities for families and friends of all ages to gather together for free entertainment.
“I love the Stone Way Café,” Hunter said, “It’s a warm, welcoming environment. You can sit, eat, drink and be social.” She knew the venue owners in one of its previous incarnations, as Tiny Ninja, and when she decided to launch the Balkan Dance Café, “I set my heart on Stone Way Café.” It took everyone time to find dates that fit everyone’s busy calendars, but ultimately, “the Stone Way Café has been very easy to work with,” Hunter observed.
One big pull to the Stone Way Café, for Hunter, was the all-ages policy. “That’s the crucial part,” she said, “Kids these days have no place to go; nowhere to listen to music.” Hunter’s kids play music with other bands, and while playing a legendary Downtown Seattle nightclub, they weren’t able to stay and listen to others perform. At a Fremont nightclub, the same laws kept the minors from using the venue’s bathrooms after their performance.
“The whole idea is to have it be inclusive, welcoming, and fun!”
Dance, And Join In
For now, Hunter doesn’t have any plans for more than one gathering each month, although eventually she’d welcome other venues hosting similar gatherings – and allowing more Balkan bands to play, and more dancers to dance.
One of these other opportunities is coming up on Saturday, March 5th, at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. Over 30 bands will play the Balkan Night Northwest, from 3p – Midnight, giving attendees a great evening of music and celebration of the culture.
As for the more casual, and always fun, Balkan Dance Café, “bring a hanky if you want to lead a dance,” Hunter said, “but there is nothing required,” to dance, and join in.
Attendees will be asked a $5 donation, to cover the bands and overhead. Stone Way Café will also have beer and cider for sale, as well as local wines and Kombucha, along with very yummy food until 8p.
Grab a hanky, or not, and shuffle down to Stone Way Café on Saturday for an evening of Balkan Dance! If you have a private event, or an idea for a concert or other free show appropriate to all ages, contact Stone Way Café Manager Samantha Rough at 206/420-4435.
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