About Our Summer Workshops

The HFAA's Annual Summer Hardanger Fiddle Music and Dance Workshop offers a very special opportunity for getting to know Norwegian Hardanger fiddle music and dance traditions in depth. We are dedicated to nurturing beginners and providing challenges for the more advanced. We invite you to come and join us in an environment that has been called "the warmest and most supportive in North America." Come to HFAA and experience the excitement and inspiration of four days of intensive immersion!

Hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) classes: We offer four concurrent full-time classes to accommodate all levels from beginner to advanced, teaching a variety of Norwegian hardingfele traditions. Loaner instruments are available on advance request. Even if you have never tried the hardingfele before, you are welcome to join us!

Dance classes: This is a rare opportunity for dancers of all levels (whether children or adults, beginners, intermediate or advanced) to learn how to listen to the music, relate to the fiddler and partner and build a wonderful dance.

Instrument loans: Need to borrow a hardingfele? Can you lend a hardingfele? The HFAA's unique Workshop Hardingfele Loan Program allows students who do not have a hardingfele to borrow one for use during the workshop. Read more about this program here. If you have a hardingfele that you are willing to lend, please indicate that on the registration form or, if you are not attending the workshop, write to president@hfaa.org to arrange for safe travel for your instrument.

Children and teens: Children and teens are welcome, as HFAA endeavors to promote the appreciation of traditional music and dance among younger generations! Children who have the ability to participate in music and dance activities may attend the classes. There are no childcare facilities available, so parents should be prepared to watch their children and work cooperatively with other parents. Advance registration is required for all children. Teens are welcome to attend without a parent, but they must have an adult chaperone. To make arrangements, please contact the Workshop Chair at workshopchair@hfaa.org.

Facility: Folklore Village is the setting for all workshop activities. Located on the edge of a restored prairie 35 minutes west of Madison, Wisconsin, Folklore Village offers a perfect venue for hardingfele and dance classes, concerts, lectures, and dance parties. Beautiful, air-conditioned Farwell Hall includes a spacious sprung wood dance floor and separate classrooms for fiddle instruction. Across the road, Plum Grove Church, built in 1882, offers excellent acoustics for small lectures or classes. Bunkhouses offer simple accommodations, as does the tenting area. For those who want more privacy or air conditioning, see our list of nearby housing options.

For more information, contact:

Workshop Chair: Cathie Springer, workshopchair@hfaa.org

Hardingfele Scholarships: scholarships@hfaa.org

Dance Scholarships: youngdancer@hfaa.org

Hardingfele Loans: president@hfaa.org

HFAA phone number: 612-568-7448