Country Dance Festival AJ

COUNTRY DANCE WEEKEND
JASANA BONUŠE
&
The ECTA Contra Dance Convention

Traditional American Contra, Square and Country Dances

11.10. - 13.10.2024

We have a wonderful selection of experienced callers!
Dances are taught in Czech and English.

Bev Bernbaum – Canada
Carol David-Blackman – DE (ECTA)
Meike Beyen – DE (ECTA)
Marcus Igla – DE (ECTA)
Gerhard Kamm – DE (ECTA)
Jörg Mehlhase – DE (ECTA)
David Dvořák – CZ (ECTA)
Jitka Bonušová – CZ
Jan Pumpr – CZ

Dear dancers,
We invite you to join us at the Jasan Bonuš Country Dance Weekend in Prague from 11 – 13 October 2024.
The dance weekend, organized in memory of Jasan Bonuš – the founder of the Country dance movement in Czechoslovakia, has taken place every other year since 1993.
Our main contra and square dance caller will be Bev Bernbaum from Canada. We are honored to be joined by callers and dancers from the European Callers and Teachers Association (ECTA).

Since the festival (if you’re american, think “dance weekend”) occurs at the end of a two-week-long dance and tourist trip in Czechia, approximately 30 dancers from the United States will join us. In past years, there have been approximately 200 dancers from the Czech Republic and a handful of dancers from across Europe, including but not limited to representation from Germany, Denmark and Austria. Dances are taught in both Czech and English.

The program will run in two halls simultaneously. We believe that everyone will find something special. On Saturday evening we will dance to live music.

We look forward to meeting you on the dance floor.

Jitka Bonušová and Jan Pumpr

Program draft

Friday, October 11

18:00 – 20:30 registration
20:30 – 23:00 opening dance with Bev Bernbaum and Jitka Bonušová

Saturday, October 12

09:00 – 12:30 dance classes in two dance halls
12:30 – 14:30 lunch break
14:30 – 17:30 dance classes in two dance halls
The ECTA Contra Dance Convention will be held in one of the dance halls, everyone is welcome .

19:30 – 23:00 evening dance with all callers and live music, dance group performances during the breaks

Sunday, October 13

09:00 – 11:15 dance classes in two dance halls
11:30 – 12:30 all callers and dancers together

All events take place in Sokol hall in Prague. No need to bring a dance partner.
Detailed program will be downloadable as a PDF here during spring 2024.

Language

The evening dances will be taught in English and Czech (some callers are able to call in both at the same time, otherwise we have volunteer translators who do an excellent job translating from either English to Czech, or the other way around).

Location

All events take place in the Sokol building (Žitná street 42, Praha 2) in the center of Prague, close walking distance from the I.P. Pavlova subway station. Please note that street shoes are not permitted past the changing rooms (separate changing rooms are available for men and women).

Transport

The dance hall is a 4-minute walk from the I. P. Pavlova station.
If you arrive by train, buy a ticket for the subway and take the C line (direction Háje) two stops to I. P. Pavlova station.
If you arrive by plane, we highly recommend that you use an official taxi – ask the dispatcher in front of the arrival hall. The price to the hall should be around 800 CZK per ride. You can pay by cash or credit card.
Parking is very difficult to find in Prague. If you have a car, we recommend parking in the Park+Ride at the Prague Congress Center (GPS: 50.0607308N, 14.4280300E). It’s easy to take the subway one stop to the I. P. Pavlova station. If you decide to park on the street instead, pay attention to the sign colors — because Blue zones are only for residents (even on nights and weekends). Purple zones are hourly paid parking – pay until 20:00 on Friday, weekend parking is free. If you are interested where to find these purple zones, look to this map.

Accommodation

Prague is a very busy tourist city, even in October. There are many accommodation possibilities in the area. We recommend that you book a room as soon as possible. Google maps is a good resource to read comments about hotels and pension houses in the neighborhood.
Our local recommendations:
Hotel Luník, about an 8- to 10-minute walk from the dance hall.
Hotel Legie, a little less expensive but still a good option (5-minute walk).
Březina Pension, a 7-minute walk.
There are hostels available nearby, check hostelworld.com or google for options.
For those looking for the least expensive option, pack your sleeping bag and sleeping pad and stay at the dance hall. It costs 6 USD or EUR per person night — a price that cannot be beat! There are changing rooms with showers for men and women, and you only have to leave the building for meals.

Dress (clothing and shoes)

ATTENTION: No outside walking/street shoes are allowed on the dance floors. Everyone is required to change shoes prior to entering the dance halls (there are lockers available for street shoes, clothing, & small bags). The dance halls have wooden floors and we must be careful to protect them from damage.
No special clothing is required for the dance classes. We recommend that you wear comfortable clothing that does not restrict movement. More formal Country Dance style clothing is encouraged for the Saturday evening dance with live music, but it is not required.

Meals

Food is not provided or available at the dance hall. There are many options near the hall – everything from fancy restaurants, grocery stores and cheap eats. If you want to enjoy a special meal out, we recommend calling and booking a table in advance. In this case, Google maps is a good resource again.

Prices

Full Weekend (Complete program starting on Friday evening and ending on Sunday at noon — includes classes and evening dances)

Regular adult ticket: 890 CZK (36 USD/EUR)
Stay in Sokol hall: 120 CZK/night (6 USD/EUR)
Bring your own sleeping bag and pad, towel, etc.