Banatfolk

Romanian Folk Dance Seminar

Organized by Marius Ursu

The 13th edition
Timisoara, Romania
5th – 15th of July 2016

Come Join Us for 10 Memorable Days of Music, Dance, More ...

... in beautiful Timisoara, the capital of Banat, a town in the west part of Romania, also known as the town of roses.
Timisoara it was the first mainland European city to be lit by electric street lamps in 1884. It was also the second European and the first city in what is now Romania with horse drawn trams in 1867. Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, drew the projects of one of Timisoara’s footbridges over the Bega. On December 20, 1989 was proclaimed the first city free of communism in Romania.

The Seminar Program includes:
Dance Lessons Maria and Marius Ursu, also master choreographers of the groups that will participate in The International Folk Festival “Festivalul Inimilor”
Watching the performances from The International Folk Festival “Festivalul Inimilor” (folk groups from 10 countries and more than 20 folk groups from Romania will take part: professional and from villages
Excursions to explore the beauty, rich history, and living traditions of Transylvania

We have a surprise for you:
We will prepare a choreographic suite from Banat, which we will present the closing show of The International Folk Festival “Festivalul Inimilor”

Plus ... Full Board, double accommodations in hotels and peasants' homes, cultural activities, excursions and transportation to all seminar activities. Single accommodation is available with surcharge.

Price:
• 780 euro. The fee includes the participation in all the activities mentioned above, the transfer from the Timisoara International Airport to the hotel
• 580 euro/person, for the persons that do not take part in the courses but take part in the other activities.
An additional 200 euro is required for a single room.

Schedule
Tuesday, July 5th, 2016
Transfer from the International Airport of Timisoara to hotel Central.

Hotel Central is located right in the heart of Timisoara, next to the Huniade Castle, and offers you air-conditioned accommodation with modern furniture and free Wi-Fi.
It has a restaurant serving typical Romanian and international cuisine.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/ro/central-timisoara.html

19,30 – 21,30 Dinner. Show with folk ensemble "Doina Timisului".

Wednesday, July 6th, 2016
08,30 – 09,30 Breakfast
10,00 – 12,30 Folk dance workshop
13,00 – 14,00 Lunch
15,00 – 17,00 Folk dance workshop
18,00 – 19,00 Dinner
19,00 – 23,00 Attending the extraordinary folk performance by the folk ensemble “Timisul”

Thursday, July 7th, 2016
08,30 – 09,30 Breakfast
10,00 – 12,30 Folk dance workshop
13,00 – 14,00 Lunch
15,00 – 17,00 Folk dance workshop
18,00 – Watching the Costume Parade of the groups taking part in the Festival of Hearts, followed by the Opening Ceremony
18,30 – 19,30 Dinner ( where the Festival takes place )
19,30 – 23,00 Attending the performances of the "The Festival of Hearts” ( Festival stage located in the Park of the Roses)

Friday, July 8th, 2016
08,30 – 09,30 Breakfast
10,00 – 12,30 Folk dance workshop
13,00 – 14,00 Lunch
15,00 – 17,00 Folk dance workshop
18,00 – 19,00 Dinner
19,00 – 23,00 Attending the performances of "The Festival of Hearts”

Saturday, July 9th, 2016
08,30 – 09,30 Breakfast
10,00 – 12,30 Folk workshop
13,30 – 14,30 Lunch
18,00 – 19,00 Dinner
19,00 – 23,00 Attending the performances of "The Festival of Hearts”

Sunday, July 10th, 2016
08,30 – 09,30 Breakfast
11,00 – 14,00 Visit to the Banat Village Museum

Banat Village Museum manages to make a thumbnail of Banat villages by building authentic wood, stone and clay houses made after the local model. Tourists attracted by the Banat culture can find household items used in the past centuries, can admire the architecture of the houses. These, though with 2 or 3 rooms, attract attention with guest rooms, known as "clean stove," big stove" or "good stove�, being the most beautiful furnished and decorated with precious fabrics - towels, rugs, tablecloths once called "masaie".

http://www.muzeulsatuluibanatean.ro/

14,00 – 15,00 Lunch
16,00 – 17,00 Rehearsal of the choreography to be performed on the Festival stage
18,00 – 19,00 Dinner
20,00 – 22,00 Closing performance of "The Festival of Hearts” including performance of the choreographic suite learnt at the Seminar classes

Folk trip to Transylvania
Monday, July 11th, 2016
07,30 – 08,00 Breakfast
08,30 Departure to Baile Felix (Crisana)
13,00 – 14,00 Lunch
14,00 – 16,00 Free time
16,00 – 18,00 Folk workshop - rehearsal of all the dances that had been taught
19,00 – 22,00 Dinner and dancing. Show with folk ensemble from Bihor.

Baile Felix is a thermal spa resort near the commune of Sânmartin in Bihor County, Transylvania, Romania. They are among the best known and most quality thermal spas in the country. Baile Felix is also at a close distance to Oradea, a major city in western Romania. Among the guests of the spa include personalities such as Marlene Dietrich, Claudia Cardinale, Charlie Chaplin, Marshal Charles de Gaulle, the painter Salvador Dalí, the billionaire Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy. Today Bad Felix with 200 springs the largest resort in Romania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baile_Felix

Tuesday, July 12th, 2016
08,00 – 09,00 Breakfast
08,30 Departure to Maramures
13,00 – 14,00 Lunch.
14.00 – 18.00 Visit the Sapânta Merry Cemetery and the Monastery of Bârsana
19,00 – 22,00 Dinner and dancing. Show with folk ensemble from Maramures

The Merry Cemetery (Romanian: Cimitirul Vesel) is a cemetery in the village of Sapânta, Maramures county, Romania. It is famous for its colourful tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the persons who are buried there as well as scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction. The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies – a belief that views death as something indelibly solemn. Connections with the local Dacian culture have been made, a culture whose philosophical tenets presumably vouched for the immortality of the soul and the belief that death was a moment filled with joy and anticipation for a better life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Cemetery

Bârsana Monastery in Romania is an Orthodox monastery situated in the village Bârsana, Maramures County.The first documents that refer to Bârsana Monastery dates back to 1390; a document of 21 July 1390 on the royal family properties Dragos mentioned a road that bifurcates, leading to a boom in Bârsana village and the other to the monastery. Also in this document are mentioned Monastery Valley and Kings Park.
Ensemble wooden monastery was built after local tradition, under the direction of architect Dorel Cordos. It is composed of: Maramures specific gate, bell tower, church (with a height of 57 m), summer altar, the monks' cells, the chapel (built on several levels), and house masters house (workshop) artists. Recently built museum in the monastery.
http://www.manastireabarsana.ro/index.html

Wednesday, July 13th, 2016
08,00 – 09,00 Breakfast
09,00 Departure to Cluj-Napoca
12,30 – 13,30 Lunch
14.00 – 18.00 Visit the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania
19,00 – 22,00 Dinner and dancing. Show with folk ensemble from Cluj-Napoca

The Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania (in Romanian Muzeul Etnografic al Transilvaniei) is situated in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. With a history of more than 80 years, the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania is one of the first and greatest of its kind in Romania. It has two exhibition sections, one of which is to be found in downtown Reduta Palace (21, Memorandumului Street), while the other exhibition section is the open-air Romulus Vuia Park situated on the city's north-west side, in Hoia Forest. The museum has a collection of more than 50,000 objects reflecting the occupations, the habits and the life style of the Transylvanian rural population. Part of this collection is to be found in the Reduta Palace while the rest of the objects are in the open-air section.
http://www.muzeul-etnografic.ro/ro

Thursday, July 14th, 2016
07,30 – 08,00 Breakfast
08,00 – Journey back to Timisoara, lunch
16,00 – 19,00 Folk workshop - rehearsal of all the dances that had been taught
20,00 – 22,00 Dinner - Music and dance with folk ensemble "Doina Timisului"

Friday, July 15th, 2016
08,30 – 09,00 Breakfast
Departure of the participants
Transfer from the hotel to Timisoara International Airport

Banatfolk organization reserves its right to change the program.