Dancing Dialogues - The Project
This project is designed to develop a network of dancers and dance researchers interested in discovering and sharing more about traditional, national and folk dancing activities happening in three regions in England.
The project aims to work together with traditional dance groups active within three selected areas of England (South East, Midlands and South West). There are many such groups operating in halls and community centres throughout these regions that are currently under researched. These include largely amateur companies based in England from a range of diasporic communities maintaining their cultural identities such as Polish, Ecuadorian, Irish, Spanish and South African groups, together with local regional dancers of, for instance, Cornish step, morris, sword and clog dance.
These are some of the questions to be addressed:
- What role do traditional and national dances play for communities in England today?
- How have groups adapted, created, and survived during and post the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How do traditional dance groups actively contribute to creativity and community?
- How do dance group participants experience regional and national identity through their dancing?
- How do the groups employ music, props and costume in their dances?
We welcome participation from dance groups in these regions and from interested researchers. We will be contacting groups with questionnaires, holding an online symposium, travelling to meet groups in practice and performance. Finally, we will be holding a workshop for dancers to share their steps, dance forms and thoughts on current dancing in their communities.
See Taking Part for how to add your group to the online map, request further information and ways of participating, or just to add your contact details to stay in touch.
The photos provided are copyright from Folk Dance Remixed - Allan Hong and Craig Newman and from U-Dance @ Southbank - Roswitha Chesher.