The Irish Set Dancers from Devon are planning to take part in several events during summer and autumn 2022. Here are details of the main ones. There is a lot to look forward to.
Ceili at Whimple
Sunday 17 July we have a ceili at Whimple Victory Hall with live music. Mark and Norma from The Perfect Cure will be playing for us on melodeon and piano, with Katie from the Highly Strung Band on flute. The time is 2 till 5 pm.
Sidmouth Folk Festival
Sidmouth Folk Festival takes place from 29 July to 5 August this year. Among the many hundreds of events are Irish Set Dancing workshops from Kevin and Carol Monaghan, and a ceili on Wednesday 3 August. Will Allen will be playing for the ceili, which will be at 7:30 pm at St Teresa’s Church Hall. See their website for more information.
There will be no set dancing in Newton Abbot on 3 August, as many of the dancers will be at Sidmouth.
Dance for Nigel
This dance in memory of Nigel who died last year will include French, Breton, Irish Set and Cajun dancing. It will take place at Longdown Village Hall on 28 August at 2 pm. It will be a chance to try a variety of different dances, and to meet Nigel’s parents, who knew nothing about the dancing he loved.
Sets Mad in Basingstoke
The set dancing weekends in Basingstoke are always very popular, and attended by dancers from all over Europe. This year we will be back there after the pandemic to dance to Rise the Dust and learn dances from Padraig and Roisin McEneany who are coming over from Ireland especially for the event. The dates are 23 to 25 September, and the dancing will be at Cliddesden Village Hall, in Hampshire. You can get more information from Kevin and Carol Monaghan here.
A weekend in Longford
The first weekend in November, 4th to the 6th, there is a set dancing weekend in the Longford Arms Hotel, Longford. Some of us are planning to go to this. There are three set dancing ceilis over the weekend with three of the top Irish bands, so it should be worth the trip. Longford is in the Midlands of Ireland, an area we haven’t visited before as a group, so it will be a chance to see some different places, as well as doing some dancing in Ireland. Information about this can be got from the organisers, whose details are on the Sets.ie web site.
That is a summary of the summer and autumn 2022 events I have planned! Get in touch for more information about anything.
