Events
SummerDance: Immersion Week (Ages 9-18)
SummerDance: Immersion Week is dedicated to the pure joy and community connection created by The Vanaver Caravan’s dance & music program. Whether you are looking to improve your dance technique, relieve stress, or get inspired to choreograph, strum, or sing--Immersion Week provides a full introduction to a myriad of dance and music styles from a stellar group of teachers. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
🌍 The World Comes to Milton (EarthBeat)
Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00 PM | Milton Train Station
Part of the Colors of the Earth concert series, this family-friendly evening of global dance and live music will transport you to Ireland, China, Mongolia, Korea, Senegal, Taiwan, Guyana, Quebec, and back home to the USA. Free and open to the public.
Waterfront Wednesdays: Featuring Matoaka Little Eagle & Julia Haines
Waterfront Wednesdays in Hudson – July 30
Featuring: The Vanaver Caravan’s musicians and friends: Matoaka Little Eagle & Julia Howle Haines
bring a cross-cultural evening of music and storytelling by the river, as part of Hudson’s Waterfront Wednesdays series.
🕖 When: Wednesday, July 30 at 7 PM
📍 Location: Tidewater Center, Hudson, NY
🔗 More Info: https://www.waterfrontwednesdays.org/
15th Annual Bon Odori Dance Festival for Peace
The traditional Bon-odori Dance Festival is a part of Buddhist ritual ‘Obon’. Here in the Hudson Valley we extended this summer event not only for fun, but also for raising an awareness of peaceful living. No nuclear wars and energy.
SummerDance: Performance Week (Ages 9-18)
SummerDance: Performance Week culminates at a public performance at the Rosendale Theatre on the evening of August 8th. All Summer-Dancers take the skills they learned during the previous week and bring their dance to life, choreographed by the SummerDance Faculty. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
A Night at the Movies: SummerDance Showcase
Join The Vanaver Caravan for A Night at the Movies: A Live Variety Show in Dance, Music, Mime & Film on Friday, August 8 at the Rosendale Theatre at 6pm. This lively student showcase from the SummerDance Intensive transforms film favorites into a genre-hopping celebration of dance and music. Admission is pay-what-you-can (Suggested $15)! GET TICKETS NOW.
Save the Date🗓️A Life in Song: Memorial Concert for Bill Vanaver
A Life in Song: Memorial Concert for Bill Vanaver
Come celebrate the joyful, expansive spirit of Bill Vanaver with an unforgettable lineup of music, dance, and remembrance. This is more than a concert—it’s the beginning of a legacy fund that will keep the music alive.
Save the date: Sept 14 at UPAC.
CaravanKids: Week Two (Ages 4-8)
CaravanKids workshops are two weeks bursting with dance, music, creativity, and adventure. Each day, we go to a new country, meeting with different teachers from around the world. Little ones receive secret missions from fairies, embark on creative projects, and stamp their special passport journal. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
CaravanKids: Week One (Ages 4-8)
CaravanKids workshops are two weeks bursting with dance, music, creativity, and adventure. Each day, we go to a new country, meeting with different teachers from around the world. Little ones receive secret missions from fairies, embark on creative projects, and stamp their special passport journal. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Old Song Festival
The Vanaver Caravan is coming to Old Songs Festival!
Join us for a weekend of music, movement, and magic at this joyful, family-friendly gathering of folk, traditional, Celtic, and world music and dance. Old Songs is known for its relaxed atmosphere, participatory workshops, and multigenerational spirit—and we’re thrilled to be part of the 2025 lineup!
We’ll be dancing, teaching, and performing all weekend long. Come jump on the band wagon and boogie with us in Altamont, NY, June 27–29!
Catch us at these times:
🕺 Saturday:
– 12:30–1:30 PM: Soca with Ariana (Main Dance Center)
– 4:15–5:15 PM: World Dance for Families
– 7:20–7:40 PM: Evening Concert Performance
💃 Sunday:
– 9:30–10:30 AM: Lindy Hop/Swing with Brian & Rafal
– 10:45–11:45 AM: Global Dance Sampler
– 1:45–2:30 PM: Youth Company & Junior Youth Company Main Stage Performance
🎻 Festival info & tickets: festival.oldsongs.org
The Hudson Valley Beltane Festival
One of the best kept secrets in the Hudson Valley! The Beltane Pageant is a performance of myth, magic, and puppetry which fuses the pomp and whimsy of a Renaissance fair with the delights of a springtime picnic gala. Don your best fairy wings and join us!
All dancers in our institute are invited to perform in this year’s Pageant. TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
EarthBeat in North Carolina
The Company presents EarthBeat in North Carolina. Saturday, April 26th at 7:30pm
Price w/ Fees: $28.19 - $54.88
First Flight High School
100 Veterans Drive
Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Phone: (252) 564-8781
Email: info@outerbanksforum.org
Spring: Adult Modern with Talli Jackson (Mar-May)
📅 Dates: Thursdays March 20 - May 22⏰ Time: 6:15 PM – 8:15 PM 📍 Location: Stackhouse Studio, 65 Cereus Way, New Paltz, NY 12561
Join Talli Jackson for a rigorous intermediate/advanced adult class which welcomes you to come as you are, play for pleasure, and reach into a deeper experience of your body in space.
Drop-ins welcome!
March Swing Series with Brian Lawton
📅 Dates: Fridays in March 2025 (March 7, 14, 21, 28) ⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM 📍 Location: Stackhouse Studio, 65 Cereus Way, New Paltz, NY 12561
Join The Vanaver Caravan this March for a rare and delightful Swing Dance Series led by the one and only Brian Lawton.
Saratoga Dance Flurry
The Caravan will make our annual winter sojourn to the music-filled halls of the Saratoga Dance Flurry! Come join us for workshops, social dances, and lively performances all weekend long. LEARN MORE AND GET TICKETS.
Winter: Adult Modern with Talli Jackson (Jan-Mar)
📅 Dates: Thursdays Jan 23 - March 13⏰ Time: 6:15 PM – 8:15 PM 📍 Location: Stackhouse Studio, 65 Cereus Way, New Paltz, NY 12561
Join Talli for a rigorous intermediate/ advanced adult class which welcomes you to come as you are, play for pleasure, and reach into a deeper experience of your body in space. Drop-ins welcome!
WinterDance 2025 ❄️
Stay connected and keep warm and active this winter with our eight session series for ages 4-18 in New Paltz and Stone Ridge. Classes begin January 6th 2025. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Into the Light at the Rosendale Theatre
Join us for our 17th year of Into the Light! Matinee Performances on Saturday and Sunday December 14 and 15th, 1:00pm & 4pm. TICKETS.
Into the Light Previews in Rhinebeck, NY
Join The Vanaver Caravan and Arm of the Sea for Into the Light Previews at Rhinebeck Reformed Church on December 7th! Experience a 45-minute excerpt of this beloved holiday performance at 1:30, 2:45, or 4:00 pm. These special previews are free and open to the public, presented in collaboration with the Sinterklaas Festival organizers. RESERVE YOUR SPOT.
Swing Dance with Ramona Staffeld
Tuesday October 29th, MaMA in Stone Ridge
Class 1: Beginner Lindy Hop – 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (1 hr) - $25
Class 2: Advanced Lindy Hop & Social Dance – 7:15 PM to 9:00 PM (1hr 45mins) - $45
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from Ramona Staffeld, flying in from Australia for one night only!
Pre-registration Required – Space is Limited.
Modern/Contemporary Dance Class for Adults with Talli Jackson
A rigorous intermediate/advanced adult class which welcomes you to come as you are, play for pleasure, and reach into a deeper experience of your body in space.
Conversing With The Muses ~ a Symphonic Journey
3:30 pm — Bill Vanaver ~ “Conversing With The Muses” ~ a Symphonic Journey. In this captivating presentation, Bill will be playing an electronic version of his “The Nine Greek Muses” symphonic suite, interspersed with descriptions of each “Muse/movement,” each drawn from one of the various regional styles of Greece.
5:30pm — Potluck Dinner
7:00 pm — Bill & Livia Vanaver and Friends. Featuring a variety of World Folk Music songs and instrumentals from Appalachia to Bulgaria, played on instruments from banjo & fiddle to Cretan Laouto. Bill and Livia will be joined by fiddler Andy Teirstein and Toby Stover on keyboard.
Register here: https://matagiri.org/events/bill-vanaver-symphony-pot-luck-and-concert/
Matagiri Sri Aurobindo Center, 1218 Wittenberg, Mt. Tremper, NY 12457
(845) 679-8322 · info@matagiri.org
34th Annual Adirondack Folk Music Festival
Come and enjoy the sounds of great musicians. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and some good friends. The Festival is free and open to the public.
SummerDance Student Showcase
Join us for a Vaudeville-Style Variety Show at the historic Rosendale Theatre on August 9th! 🎉🎶 The SummerDance Student Showcase will feature eclectic performances from ballet to Afro-Caribbean Soca, Appalachian clogging, and more! Directed by Brian Lawton, this event is the grand finale of The Vanaver Caravan's SummerDance Intensive. 📅 Date: August 9th, 6:00 PM 📍 Location: Rosendale Theatre 🎟️ Tickets: Pay What You Can (Suggested Donation: $15)
SummerDance: Performance Week (Ages 9-18)
SummerDance: Performance Week culminates at a public performance at the Rosendale Theatre on the evening of August 9th. All Summer-Dancers take the skills they learned during the previous week and bring their dance to life, choreographed by the SummerDance Faculty. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
14th Annual Bon Odori Dance Festival for Peace
Featuring: Vanaver Caravan SummerDancers at 12:30 PM
A joyful and deeply meaningful day of remembrance, peace, and Japanese folk traditions—featuring live music, artisan vendors, and participatory dance.
🕐 When: Sunday, August 3, 12:00–8:00 PM
📍 Location: Kingston Point Beach, 53 Delaware Ave, Kingston, NY
🔗 More Info: bonodori.org
Bill Vanaver and Friends
Bill Vanaver is known to audiences for his outstanding instrumental work, and sense of humor. Bill Vanaver, has been composing, arranging, performing and teaching for over 60 years.
Festival of the Arts: Swing with the Vanaver Caravan
A joyful and participatory exploration of Swing dances from the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Join us!
SummerDance: Immersion Week (Ages 9-18)
SummerDance: Immersion Week is dedicated to the pure joy and community connection created by The Vanaver Caravan’s dance & music program. Whether you are looking to improve your dance technique, relieve stress, or get inspired to choreograph, strum, or sing--Immersion Week provides a full introduction to a myriad of dance and music styles from a stellar group of teachers. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Waterfront Wednesdays
A weekly summer community celebration offering a blend of free onshore and on-water programming, including live music, dance performances, juggling workshops, food, and art displays. More info: waterfrontwednesdays.org.
A Dance to Benefit the Rosendale Library
The Vanaver Caravan will host a cèilidh (kay·lee), a traditional Irish get together that involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music. Register for free here.