Five Mini Grants are awarded to social folk dance organisers
Following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the English Folk Dance and Song Society were keen to support those who wished to return to dancing in person with our new mini grants for social folk dance organisers.
In October we invited proposals from individuals and groups who wanted to start up or return to social folk dance events. Five mini grants of £500 were offered to help cover the costs of developing and running these events or projects.
We were delighted with the number and variety of applications received, with numerous thoughtful and exciting ideas to read about! We had a hard job choosing our five award winners, and we are delighted to announce the following successful applicants:
Sheffield Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF)
The organisers of IVFDF in Sheffield applied for funding to support their upcoming festival in February 2022. The grant money will go towards various aspects of the festival which will encourage a more diverse group of people to attend - including a folk dance workshop for wheelchair users and an Indian fusion ceilidh!
The Cotteswolde Country Dance Band are aiming to broaden participation in and enjoyment of traditional English ceilidhs. The grant will part fund a series of ceilidhs in the West Midlands. These dances will include variety performances incorporating folk singing, storytelling, dancing, designed to appeal to a broad audience.
Louise Siddons
Louise Siddons is an internationally known gender-free social folk dance caller. Louise will be collaborating with renowned fiddle player Linda Game to establish a new monthly series of gender-free dances with live music at the Moulsecoomb Community Hall in Brighton. Louise and Linda hope to reinvigorate the social folk dance scene in Brighton by bringing a new level of inclusivity that will encourage diverse participants.
Holly Clamp is the newly appointed organiser of the Hastings May Queen celebrations, the second longest running active May Queen celebration in the country having been established 88 years ago! The grant will enable Holly to establish a new team of maypole dancers for this event by running workshops in local schools. Holly looks forward to sharing the very beautiful art of maypole dancing to a much wider audience.
Hessle Ceilidh Band, a long established four-piece band based in East Yorkshire, are looking to engage young people from local youth clubs, Hull College and Hull University in a public ceilidh in the centre of Hull. The grant will help the band to promote social folk dance in Hull to a diverse and inclusive audience offering many people their first chance to experience this. Through this event, the band aims to build an audience for a series of future regular events.
Laura Connolly, Dance Development Manager, November 2021
Watch now: Getting Back to Dancing in Person
A recording of a focussed event on 18 September 2021 for all social folk dancer callers, organisers and educators. Mutual support and sharing of thoughts, experiences and challenges ahead as we get back to dancing in person post Covid-19 restrictions.
Meeting hosts: Laura Connolly (EFDSS Dance Development Manager) and Kerry Fletcher (Folk Education Network Co-ordinator), with Rachel Elliott (EFDSS Education Director).
Speakers: Jane Curry and Andrew Findlay from The London Barn Dance Company; John Sweeney, folk dance caller and organiser of Kent Ceilidhs and Contrafusion; Dr Wendy Timmons, Vice Convenor of the Traditional Dance Forum Scotland and Programme Director, MSc Dance Science and Education, University of Edinburgh.
