Fall Camp 2023

Fall Camp on Nov. 10 (2pm) to Nov 12 (2pm) will feature two excellent master teachers – Steve Kotansky (Balkan, International) and Gergana Panova (Bulgarian).

Camp will take place on the Brandeis-Bardin Campus of the American Jewish University, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, easily reachable from LAX or Burbank airports. It is beautiful and rustic in all the right places but also provides modern comforts. The motel-style rooms and the main dance room have both heat and air conditioning. Nestled in a woodsy alcove near Simi Valley, Fall Camp is a lovely place where you can enjoy being close to nature while still having the creature comforts of excellent meals, rooms with private bathrooms, and more.

You can dance when you feel like it, and when you don’t, do other things such as catching up with friends, playing Scrabble, working on a jigsaw puzzle with others, getting a massage, completing a craft project, reading a good book, meditating, or doing nothing at all. You don’t have to drive treacherous mountain roads to be with nature, and WiFi is available too!

If you play an instrument or sing, you can join the “Potluck Band.” The band is one of the things that has made Fall Camp so special. Participants who sign up will receive parts for them based on their instrument and their experience level. In addition to having time to practice individually at home, the Potluck Band will have several practice sessions at camp and will play some dances at the Saturday evening party.

There will be some changes from Fall Camp 2019-2022, but camp will still have many of the ingredients that made it such a special experience. After 5 years of creating and organizing Fall Camp, Marc and Jan Rayman are now playing smaller roles, with Lee Otterholt leading the camp.

Like many post-pandemic enterprises, the new management of the facility has increased their prices. They also have a new pricing structure, where the price is the same for each person regardless of whether they want to share a room or have a private room. The registration price for a single, double, or triple room is now $535 (the same price as a single room for Fall Camp 2022). We charge only $375 for commuters, who will be able to enjoy all the camp meals and activities. Commuters may choose to go home each night or stay with friends in a nearby hotel, Airbnb, or Vrbo.

You can find out more and download the registration forms (and waivers) at FallCamp.org. If you have questions, you can email Kelley at moc.liamg@pmaCllaFecnaD. The one unpleasant part of Fall Camp will be saying goodbye to everyone else at the end of a fabulous weekend. But the wonderful dances we’ve learned and the memories of all the fun will stay with each of us.

— Jan Rayman