Center for Traditional Music and Dance

The Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD) is a New York City nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation and public presentation of traditional music and dance associated with the city’s immigrant and ethnic communities. Its work combines ethnographic research, documentation, artist development, education, public performance, festival production, archiving, and technical support for community-based cultural organizations. Rather than treating traditional arts as static museum objects, CTMD works with artists, teachers, cultural associations, and community members to help living traditions remain active, visible, and transferable across generations. The organization was established in 1968 by Martin Koenig as the Balkan Arts Center, during the later years of the North American folk music revival and soon after the United States changed its immigration system through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The original focus was on Balkan dance and music, particularly Albanian, Macedonian, and Greek traditions. Koenig and Ethel Raim also conducted field research connected to Ralph Rinzler’s artist scouting for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. Raim joined Koenig as co-director in the mid-1970s, helping broaden the organization’s institutional and community focus. The Balkan Arts Center changed its name to the Ethnic Arts Center in 1981 and adopted the name Center for Traditional Music and Dance in 1997. These changes reflected a widening geographic and cultural remit. Over subsequent decades, CTMD developed relationships with communities from across New York’s five boroughs, including Greek, Jewish, Italian, Irish, Puerto Rican, Albanian, Arab, Dominican, South Asian, Indo-Caribbean, West African, Filipino, Mexican, Peruvian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Colombian, and other communities. Its programs have supported both established master artists and emerging performers, while also helping some educational initiatives grow into autonomous organizations. A central part of CTMD’s approach is its Community Cultural Initiatives program. These multiyear projects typically begin with fieldwork and relationship-building, continue through collaborative program development with local artists and organizations, and conclude with a transition toward self-sustaining community activity. The model may include artist documentation, classes, public concerts, festivals, recordings, organizational development, and youth education. Current or more recent initiatives identified in reference material include work with Chinese, Ukrainian, and Colombian communities, as well as the An-Sky Institute for Jewish Culture. CTMD also operates or has operated youth-oriented Sharing Traditions programs, a Touring Artists program, major concert and festival activities, archives, publications, recordings, and fiscal-sponsorship and technical-assistance services. Its archival work includes audio and visual recordings, photographs, and printed materials documenting hundreds of events and nearly one thousand performing artists. In collaboration with City Lore and the World Music Institute, CTMD has participated in the New York World Arts and Culture Archive, a research network focused on the city’s immigrant cultural heritage and world-music history. The organization’s public role extends beyond New York. Touring Artists has brought traditional ensembles to stages around the United States, while CTMD festivals and partnerships have presented artists from the Balkans, the Mediterranean, Central Asia, Latin America, East and South Asia, the Arab world, West Africa, and other cultural regions. Its broader goal is cultural equity: enabling communities to maintain and represent their own artistic heritage while inviting wider audiences to encounter the diversity of New York’s performing arts traditions.

CTMD began in New York City in 1968 as the Balkan Arts Center, founded by Martin Koenig to promote Balkan dance traditions. Its formation coincided with renewed interest in folk arts in North America and with major changes in United States immigration policy that contributed to new patterns of migration and community formation. Koenig and folk-music researcher Ethel Raim conducted fieldwork and helped identify performers for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. Raim later became Koenig’s co-director, and the organization expanded from presentation into research, documentation, education, and community development. The original program concentrated on Albanian, Macedonian, and Greek music and dance. As New York’s population changed, the organization developed relationships with a much wider range of immigrant and ethnic communities. It became the Ethnic Arts Center in 1981 and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance in 1997. The successive names reflected a shift from a regional Balkan emphasis toward a citywide mission focused on the living cultural traditions of New York’s diverse communities. Over the following decades, CTMD developed festivals, concert series, touring projects, recordings, publications, educational programs, and an archive. Its work included projects involving Jewish, Italian, Irish, Puerto Rican, Arab, Dominican, South Asian, Indo-Caribbean, West African, Filipino, Mexican, Peruvian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Colombian, and other communities. It also assisted traditional artists who later received National Heritage Fellowship recognition, including performers associated with Serbian, Jewish, Irish, Greek, Italian, Palestinian, Puerto Rican, Guinean, Korean, and other traditions. The Community Cultural Initiatives model became a major expression of CTMD’s mission. These projects generally use several years of fieldwork, collaboration, documentation, presentation, and education before transitioning toward independent community activity. Sharing Traditions extended the organization’s educational work to children and young people, and initiatives associated with the program helped support the growth of organizations such as Mariachi Academy of New York and Pachamama Peruvian Arts. CTMD’s public presentation work has included the Queens Ethnic Music and Dance Festival, Festival Shqiptar, Quisqueya en el Hudson, Kitchrie Festival, New York World Festival, Global Beat of the Boroughs, and many other concerts and cultural events. The organization has also presented touring artists across the United States. Its archival and partnership work with City Lore and the World Music Institute contributed to the New York World Arts and Culture Archive, which brings together printed, audio, and visual resources on immigrant communities and world-music performance in New York. In addition to artistic programming, CTMD has provided fiscal sponsorship and practical assistance to artists, ensembles, and emerging cultural groups. Support has included planning, budgeting, fundraising, accounting, artist management, promotion, production, and administrative services. The organization’s continuing mission is to advance cultural equity by helping communities preserve and express their own traditions while making those traditions accessible to broader publics.

• 2007

  Global Beat of the Boroughs newsletter begins

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  CTMD launched an electronic newsletter covering events, artists, and New York’s traditional music scene.

• 2001

  New York music programming curated for Smithsonian Folklife Festival

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  CTMD curated programming representing New York music for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

• 1997

  Organization adopts current name

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  The organization became the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, its current name.

• 1981

  Organization renamed Ethnic Arts Center

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  The first major name change marked a broader emphasis on New York’s ethnic and immigrant communities.

• 1976

  Queens Ethnic Music and Dance Festival begins

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  CTMD began a long-running festival presenting traditional arts from multiple New York communities.

• 1970

  Expansion of field research and artist scouting

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Koenig and Ethel Raim conducted fieldwork connected with Ralph Rinzler’s efforts to identify performers for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.

• 1968

  Balkan Arts Center established

  [1]Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Koenig founded the organization in New York City to promote Balkan dance and music traditions.

A community-centered cultural nonprofit using research, education, performance, archiving, and organizational support to sustain the traditional performing arts of New York’s immigrant and ethnic communities.

• Community arts development

  Community Cultural Initiatives

  CTMD’s multiyear community partnership model combines ethnographic research, artist and event documentation, public presentation, youth education, and organizational development. Projects begin by identifying local traditions, practitioners, and needs; continue through collaborative programming; and aim to leave behind durable, self-sustaining cultural activity. The model has been used with numerous immigrant and ethnic communities in New York and has supported the formation or strengthening of independent cultural organizations.

• Youth education · 1990

  Sharing Traditions

  Sharing Traditions provides classes, workshops, and other educational support intended to connect young people with the traditional music and dance of their communities. Programs have included Mountain Jewish, Bukharan Jewish, Indo-Caribbean, Mexican, Peruvian, Chinese, and Ukrainian traditions. Some participating initiatives later developed into more independent cultural organizations, including Mariachi Academy of New York and Pachamama Peruvian Arts.

• Artist presentation

  Touring Artists Program

  The Touring Artists program presents ensembles and performers representing a range of traditional cultures and helps bring them to venues beyond New York City. It functions as both a performance platform and an audience-development initiative, increasing public exposure to traditional arts while providing artists with professional presentation opportunities.

• Concerts and festivals

  Masters on Stage

  Masters on Stage encompasses CTMD’s concerts, festivals, workshops, and related public presentations. Events have showcased local and international artists from Balkan, Jewish, Mediterranean, Arab, African, Latin American, Chinese, South Asian, and other traditions, often through partnerships with major New York arts presenters.

• Archive

  New York World Arts and Culture Archive

  CTMD’s archival holdings include recordings, photographs, printed materials, and documentation from decades of research and programming. Together with City Lore and the World Music Institute, CTMD contributed to the New York World Arts and Culture Archive, a research resource focused on immigrant communities and world-music performance in New York.

• Publication · 2007

  Global Beat of the Boroughs

  Global Beat of the Boroughs is CTMD’s electronic newsletter, providing information about related events, artist profiles, and developments in New York’s traditional music community.

• 2007Sizhu Silk and Bamboo Music Concert Series

  New York City

  A concert series centered on Chinese silk-and-bamboo instrumental traditions.

  Outcome. Presented Chinese traditional music to New York audiences through concerts and later family programming.

  Source
• 2004Global Beat of the Boroughs

  New York City

  A concert series presenting traditional arts from communities across New York’s boroughs.

  Outcome. Created a recurring platform for community-based artists and ensembles.

  Source
• 2002New York World Festival

  New York City

  A festival partnership presenting traditional music from Mediterranean cultures.

  Outcome. Expanded public presentation of international traditional music in New York.

  Source

• 1997

  Adoption of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance nameStrategy

  Background

  CTMD had developed a wide portfolio of research, education, festivals, archives, and community partnerships spanning many cultural traditions.

  Action taken

  It adopted the name Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

  Aftermath

  The current name positioned the organization around traditional performing arts rather than a single ethnic or geographic category.

  Source

• 1981

  Adoption of the Ethnic Arts Center nameStrategy

  Background

  The organization was expanding beyond its original Balkan focus and working with a growing range of New York immigrant and ethnic communities.

  Action taken

  It changed its name from Balkan Arts Center to Ethnic Arts Center.

  Aftermath

  The new identity reflected a broader citywide cultural mission.

  Source

1. 1Center for Traditional Music and Danceen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Center for Traditional Music and Dance official websitectmd.org