| 2008
Hardanger Fiddle
Music & Dance
Workshop
Workshop Program |
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Instruction begins at 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and ends with lunch on Sunday after a morning review session. The schedule is listed at the bottom of this page. Part-time attendees are welcome. See Registration information for options.
Hardingfele: Expect a nurturing environment that will help you acquire, develop, and deepen your skills. You need not have played hardingfele or Scandinavian fiddle before, but you should have some fiddling skills. On Friday and Saturday mornings, hardingfele students divide into five classes depending on level of ability and interest. Workshop tunes are taught by ear, in a call and response method. Students may download tunes from the HFAA Web site in advance of the weekend. Written music transcriptions are available at the workshops. Afternoons include private lessons, seminars on relevant topics, review sessions to prepare group (lagspel) tunes for evening dances, and assistance with fiddle maintenance.
Dance: The HFAA does not set any gender limitations or experience prerequisites for our dance workshops. All are welcome. Instruction is tailored to both beginning and experienced dancers. Morning and afternoon classes will feature dances from the West Coast of Norway. In the afternoon, we may also offer lectures on hardingfele-related dance traditions, question-and-answer sessions, and an opportunity to view and discuss Norwegian dance videos. Dancing in classes and at parties is to live hardingfele music. NOTE: Dance and hardingfele classes are taught concurrently. If a student wishes to take classes in both, we recommend that he or she sign up for hardingfele on Friday and dance on Saturday. Our instructors will try to accommodate Saturday-only enrollees, but we recommend that students attend both the Friday and Saturday sessions, as Saturday's work builds on the work done on Friday.
Talent showcase: The 6th Annual Talent Showcase, which will take place on Friday night, is an opportunity for workshop participants to show their talent in traditional Norwegian music and dance. Performance slots are given on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign-up begins with registration on Thursday.
Mini-workshops: Classes in kveding (Norwegian
traditional singing) and munnharpe (mouth harp) will
be offered in the afternoons.
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review
last year’s tunes 
Private,
20-minute coaching sessions with the teachers can be scheduled throughout
the weekend to help you solve your personal fiddling challenges.
Sign up for a session at the registration desk. Fiddlers who would
like to try hardingfele but do not have an instrument are welcome.
Please indicate on the registration form that you would like to borrow
an instrument (or that you have one to lend). If you have no fiddling
experience but think you might be interested, you may audit the beginner’s
class. Contact the Workshop Chairperson at workshopchair (at) hfaa
(dot) org if you have questions about hardingfele classes. 
Dance
parties on
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings will feature a variety
of fiddlers, including our lagspel group, playing for dances
from different regions of Norway,
and offer a chance to practice dances taught at previous HFAA workshops.
A festive Saturday evening includes a traditional
Norwegian dinner (many choose to wear their bunads then), a parade
of all fiddlers
and a concert featuring our workshop teachers. The general public
may purchase tickets for the concert at the door. Those not already
participating in the workshop who wish to attend the dinner must
reserve in advance using the workshop registration form.