CONVENOR For further information, please contact the conveners by email using the link.

We dance an eclectic mix of easy dances and some not quite so easy. All dances are called and dancers of all abilities are welcomed. No previous experience is necessary and you do not need a partner. You’ll even get a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit in the interval.

The history of folk dance dates back several centuries, though very little detail is known about its origins. While nobody is really sure what folk dancing looked like two thousand years ago, historians are confident that it already existed at that time. Because folk dances are highly traditional and are passed down through the generations, the evolution of the genre has been slow as various cultural groups preserve their own particular style of dances.

In England it was not until the 17th century that dances performed by rural folk (“country dances”) were collected and distributed through popular publications for public distribution.

The 17th-century English music publisher and bookseller John Playford edited and published as many as 900 country dances through his publication “The English Dancing Master”. The first edition was published in 1651. His work was carried on after his death by his son Henry through to the final edition in 1728.

The English musician Cecil Sharp was a teacher and principal of London’s Hampstead Conservatory of Music. He spent his life collecting and promoting English traditional songs and folk dances. He published six volumes of English country dances from 1909–27 and in 1911 he founded the English Folk Dance Society. English Country Dances are still being composed celebrating local events of today.

Now, the members of our u3a group do not dress up in period costume for their two-weekly meetings but they do enjoy the gentle exercise, the music and the social interaction afforded by English country dancing. No previous experience is necessary. It is not even necessary to remember the moves of any particular dance as all the dances are “called” every time they are danced. Why not come and try it for yourself? Just drop in to St Michael’s Church Hall, Galmington (through the front entrance and the double doors and then to the right) , you will be sure of a warm welcome.