FASH CHAT
Saturday November 1st 2008 is the FASH annual dance, do reserve the date in your diary. Our music will be provided by 'Masquerade', an excellent trio from Kent and I shall be leading the dancing. The evening will comprise a mixture of dances both old and new, easy and more challenging, popular and not so well known, using a variety of shapes, styles and rhythms.
Hilary and I started folk dancing in Ramsgate in 1973, and on our move to Southampton in 1975 we became members of the Solent Country Dancers and a small group based on Foxlease, the Guide Training Centre at Lyndhurst. I started calling in 1975 and initially focused on dance club events and barn dance evenings for community groups. My repertoire was mainly ceilidh style dances with a few simple modern contra dances and the occasional popular 'Playford style' dance.
As my own dancing horizons widened so did my calling repertoire and my interest in calling 'Playford style' dances both old and new with their wonderful music, and the exciting drive of modern contra dances. These soon became firm favourites, eventually leading to invitations to call at festivals and public dances outside Hampshire and the South, and even a few 'calling' trips to the USA.
In recent years the number of attendees at FASH's annual dance has been reducing and it is hoped that the change of venue to the Bedhampton Social Hall together with our musicians from Kent will help restore its popularity. The hall is only 3 minutes drive from junction 5 of the A3(M) / A27 just east of Portsmouth, a relatively accessible venue compared with Soberton which is somewhat 'out in the sticks' on a dark November evening. So do come along and support your local folk association not only on Nov 1st but also at our Sunday workshops at Soberton Village Hall the first of which is on 5th October with Rosemary and Steve Hunt, and below Steve tells you a bit about it.
October 5th Playford Dance workshop.
Do come and play your part in bringing the lovely music of the Playford collection to life. As with any dancing, this is a two-way process. The musician starts the ball rolling, but when the dancers really begin to enjoy the dance, this reflects back to the musician, who responds by fine-tuning the music to suit the visible performance. The dancers in their turn react to the changes in the music and so on . . . .
Come and discover the huge variety of material that exists within Playford. Everything from rumbustious village dances to highly refined court dances may be found within the collection, so that in a genuine Playford programme there should be something for everyone. This is as true of the music as of the dances themselves, since an equally wide variety of musical styles is to be found in Playford.
There is great pleasure to be found in "getting it right", especially when involved in something that you are not familiar with. This is greatly increased by the group experience when a whole set of dancers achieves a really satisfying performance. The process of getting it right involves everyone in the set as well as the caller and musician. The interaction between dancers, both in eye contact and physical contact during the dance movements, and in the encouragement and guidance that it is possible to give through these contacts, contributes hugely to the enjoyment you experience. Of course, things don't always go well, and when this occurs, it may result in a different form of pleasure, often breaking out into laughter!
So, please come and discover, and hopefully pass on the good word, that Playford is not all "po-faced" and serious, but can be enormous fun, great entertainment and highly satisfying to take part in.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Hanger Farm Arts Centre
This Arts Centre is in Totton and on Saturday 18th October, 8pm, Rick Foot & Keith James present Songs of Nick Drake. Then on Saturday 1st November is an all acapella Singing Workshop led by Fiona Moore. For more details see www.hangerfarm.totton.ac.uk
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Submitted by (to whom technical queries and requests for additional links only) and Edited by Dennis Wheeler, Penshurst, Vicarage Lane, Swanmore, Hants SO32 2PW 01489 892911 editor@fash.org.uk).