Folk Dance Workshops

Folk dance workshops are a popular way to step back in time to learn dances from the past. Or you can mix it up to make them more contemporary….

We went to see a great company perform last night called ‘Folk Dance Remixed‘. They are a ground-breraking company creating unique fusions of traditional Folk dance and contemporary Hip Hop dance!

The live music was from a violinist, a drummer and a beat boxer who was ace, and gave it all a contemporary twist.

The dancers did Morris dance, May Pole dance and traditional English country dances all with lots of Hip Hop, Breakdance and Street dance thrown in, and it worked really well!

At the end of the performance they ended the night with a Ceilidh where all the audience could join in. They taught us the steps to the dances and we all had a really good time.

They performed at Cecil Sharp House which is the home of Folk dance and music in the UK. Ummmm I wonder what all the older folk dance people will make of it?!

It got us thinking about when Zest teaches Folk and English Country dance workshops in schools – maybe we should liven it up a bit and add in some Hip Hop moves, i’m sure our students would love that!

We currently teach lots of different Folk dance styles. You can choose which dance style you’d like to choose, to fit with the topic or time in history that you might be studying:

Dance styles

May Pole – dancing around a tall fixed pole holding on to coloured ribbons. These twist and wind to create intricate patterns

Morris Dance – usually danced in lines with bells on your ankle, you may hold sticks or white hankies to dance with

Waltz – a partner dance with intricate footsteps and precise musicality

Processional dances – danced in circles or lines

Irish Jigs – high energy dances to lively music called ‘Jigs’

Baroque dances – courtly style dances in partners or small groups. Where people weave in and out to dance with different people