Social Stepping at Sidmouth Folk Week 2013

I’m really excited to be going to Sidmouth Folk Week with Instep Research Team for a series of events around Social/Freestyle step dancing. We will be running some workshops as well as a couple of step dance sessions open to step dancers and would be step dancers to have a go and enjoy step dancing informally together.

Scroll down for the schedule of workshops and sessions, or download the flyer including more information

Sidmouth Social Stepping flyer 2013

Improvised step dancing was once common throughout these islands, and was intimately tied to our musical traditions. We will be looking at three English styles: Southern Stepping, Freestyle Lakeland step dancing and Lancashire street clog. These styles (and others such as East Anglian and Dartmoor stepping) provide a refreshing alternative picture of our step dance heritage to the more formal stage and competition influenced styles championed in the English Clog revival.

I will be running the Lakeland workshop taking a fresh look at the style and using some the Lakeland step units in an improvised way. We know that, in the Lakes, people often step danced in shoes as well as clogs, and that they stepped within social dances and at social gatherings, for example a parties after sheep shearing. We don’t know for certain what they did, but it is a reasonable guess that they used the same basic step dance units that were taught to children by the travelling dancing masters. It’s great fun and we will be dancing to traditional un-dotted Lakeland Hornpipe tunes played by Lakeland Fiddlers Carolyn Francis and Scott Hartley.

Social Stepping events at Sidmouth Folk Week 2013 : 2nd-9th August 2013

Sunday 11:15-12:45pm Bulverton Marquee Event 313	Lancashire Street Clogging Learn some easy ‘heel & toe’ clogging based on steps collected in South Lancashire. Open to all levels of experience,clogs are provided. Alex Fisher, musician Bill Place.
Monday 6:30-7:30pm Arts Centre Event 478	Lecture: ‘Recording Stepdancing in the South’ Chris Metherell plus dancers.
Wednesday 12:30-2:00pm All Saints Church Hall Event 633	Southern Stepping Workshop Polkas, jigs, hornpipes, maybe waltz rhythms and putting steps into simple social dance figures. Simon and Jo Harmer, Janet Keet Black, Kerry Fletcher. Musicians Jigfoot, Will Duke, Katie Howson, Dan Quinn.
Wednesday 8:00-10:30pm Rugby Club Event 689	Steppin’ Time! Social Stepping Session with members of Instep Research Team Music led by Jigfoot, Will Duke, Dan Quinn and Katie Howson. All steppers and interested musicians welcome.
Thursday 12:30-2:00pm All Saints Church Hall Event 735	Freestyle Lakeland Step Dancing Workshop Learn some simple Lakeland steps from Toby Bennett danced to traditional hornpipes played by Lakeland fiddle players Carolyn Francis and Scott Hartley. Open to all comers. Hard soled shoes (or clogs)
Thursday 8:00-10:30pm Rugby Club Event 785	Social Stepping Session, Steppin’ Time Again! Hosted by Lakeland fiddlers Carolyn Francis and Scott Hartley with Jethro Anderson and members of the Instep Research Team. All steppers and interested musicians welcome.