Our Dance Development programme aims to support the development and flourishing of English folk dance in areas such as youth and adult learning, participation, and practitioner development.
We want more people – and a wider range of people, in communities across England – to experience and enjoy English folk dance.
EFDSS will be presenting at People Dancing's Summer Intensive 2025
We're delighted to share that our Folk Education Network Coordinator, Kerry Fletcher will be leading the workshop Sociable Dancing: Teaching and Creating with Folk at People Dancing's Summer Intensive. The event will take place on Wednesday 23 July at De Montfort University in Leicester.
Kerry, together with musician Oli Matthews, will inspire participants to expand their knowledge of folk dances to enhance their toolbox of dance stimuli, build a shared sense of place, and discover the joys of moving together in sociable dancing.
Based on social folk dancing (known as ceilidh, country, or barn dancing), this energising workshop is for practitioners who want to incorporate this joyful and highly adaptable form into their teaching and facilitation with people of varied ages, abilities, backgrounds and settings.
Topics include:
- Structure and creativity
- Figures, formations and conventions
- Gender-free calling and terminology
- Adapting dances for disabled dancers
- Adapting dances for odd numbers
- Approaching folk dance as part of the school curriculum
- Working with music, both live and recorded - phrasing, rhythm and tempo
- Exploring connections with diverse folk dance traditions.
Participants will come away from the workshop with:
- Practical knowledge of a common repertoire of social folk dances
- Good practice in teaching social folk dance in schools and community settings
- Skills to create and adapt dances for varied ages, abilities, and settings
- Understanding about the intrinsic partnership between folk dance and folk music.
This joyful workshop is suitable for practitioners in any dance form and working in any context wishing to gain new skills for their dance toolbox.
Find out more and book your place.
Support for the grass roots
We award Mini Grants to support social folk dance organisers.
2024/25 Mini Grant announcement
2023/24 Mini Grants announcement
Thank you to our supporters
We kick-started this Dance Development programme in 2015 thanks to generous legacies received from the late Rita Smyth and Jennifer Millest.
We now need additional funding to continue this important initiative. If you may be able to help, please email Katy Spicer (Chief Executive and Artistic Director, English Folk Dance and Song Society).
Or you can donate to Dance Development online now.
What is English folk dance?
English folk dance encompasses a rich diversity of dance forms that have developed over many centuries in communities throughout England. These traditions are alive and thriving as part of a living and evolving tradition, alongside many other forms of traditional dance present in England today.
Folk dance styles include:
- Morris: Cotswold, border, North West, molly and carnival
- Sword: rapper and longsword
- Percussive: clog and step dance
- Social: ceilidh, barn, country, Playford and Cornish
- Other: maypole, broom dancing and hobby horse
Discover more in our Beginners’ Guide to English Folk Dance.
Resource Bank
Our Resource Bank of free, downloadable teaching and learning materials includes many resources for folk dancing.
Browse the filtered list of dance resources
Ongoing and upcoming events
We offer training and networking opportunities for folk dancers, educators and callers to develop their skills in dancing, teaching and leading in varied settings.
As well as running the Folk Education Network and other professional development opportunities for educators, we deliver one-day training courses. We are continuously developing new partnerships with dance organisations to deliver these courses and events around the country.
Recent event
Folk Education Development Day, Engaging Young People in Folk Dance
March 2024. Cecil Sharp House, London. Read the PDF report
A few past events
For several years we have taken folk dance to every young dancer taking part in One Dance UK’s U.Dance National Festival.
Thank you so much for your wonderful contributions to the U.Dance National Festival 2023. Both the ceilidh and the clogging workshops went down an absolute storm – the participants LOVED them. Thank you for bringing such an energetic and engaging element to the festival – Laura Nicholson, One Dance UK
#DancePassion 2019 – award-winning clog dancer Laura Connolly's workshop was streamed by the BBC in 2019 as part of their #DancePassion event. Watch the video
How To Teach English Social Folk Dance – sharing knowledge and skills in teaching in schools, community settings and adult learning.
Keeping Folk Dancers On Their Feet – an introduction to safe and effective dance practice.
Steps for Success: English Social Folk Dance Today – a national conference at Cecil Sharp House in March 2018, presented in partnership with People Dancing. Find out more and watch the film.
Work with Young People
Folk dance is an inclusive, accessible, sociable and fun dance form. Working with young people is important because they are able to learn valuable skills and knowledge, inspiring the next generation of folk dancers.
Folk Dance in Schools – this short film shows different folk dance styles in creative learning projects at all key stages in schools across England.
We create partnerships and championing youth folk dance across the country, including with One Dance UK’s U.Dance national youth dance festival.
Watch our YouTube playlist of more youth dance projects
Guidance on Inclusion and Accessibility in Social Folk Dance
Dance Resources
We produce many high quality resources for teachers and dance educators.
Free online Resource Bank
Folkshop – books and CDs to support dance teaching, including the ever-popular English Traditional Dancing and Community Dances Manual.
We are pleased to be a partner organisation for the academic Dancing Dialogues project, researching traditional, national and folk dancing activities happening in three regions in England, and facilitating networking between dancers and dance researchers.
Dance at Cecil Sharp House
Regular English Country Dancing and Morris Dancing classes for adults
Youth Ceilidhs and Family Barn Dances.
Still more evening dances and ceilidhs are presented by other organisations at Cecil Sharp House.
Get in touch
Email Jen Cox, Dance Development Manager: [email protected]
Join our Education Newsletter to keep up to date with our work.
Donate now to support Dance Development
