3pm-5pm – Poitou and Limousin dance workshop – exciting opportunity to learn these regional French dances from great dancer Lucas Thebaut. (PLEASE NOTE: DANCE WORKSHOP WILL BE AT ST. ANDREWS HALL, Upper Hanover Street, S3 7RQ. This is 5 minute walk from Broomhall Community Centre)
ALL EVENING EVENTS ARE AT BROOMHALL COMMUNITY CENTRE. 6-7pm – Shared meal. Bring and share something to eat before the bal. All welcome ! (if bringing food to share, please indicate if veggie, vegan, meat and potential allergens present, thanks!)
7pm-7.45pm Beginners’ dance workshop. Never danced balfolk before ? Don’t worry, just come along to this workshop to learn the basic steps, then you’ll be away!
8pm-10pm Turbobal. Come and dance or listen to fantastic music from Turbobal !
10pm-11pm session. Bring your instruments and join in ! All welcome !
Eurosession is delayed a week in May but we’ll return to Shakespeare’s on the 16th May, and our pre-session dance workshop is on ‘Dancing by Eye’ – all about how to recognise common bal folk dances, and how to successfully join in a new dance even if you’ve never done it before.
After the workshop we’ll continue with our usual Eurosession, and you are free to play, sing, request dance tunes, chat, drink, and put the world to rights. Bring comfy shoes that turn easily, and/or instruments if you want to play later on in the session.
About the workshop Bal folk is a collection of regional dances from across Europe and it’s impossible to know them all. Folk musicians often learn tunes “by ear”. In this workshop, we’ll be talking about the dancing equivalent – let’s call it dancing “by eye”. We’ll be sharing tips on how to recognise common bal folk dances, and how to successfully join in a new dance even if you’ve never done it before. This workshop is perfect for anyone new to bal folk. If you’re not-quite-a-beginner, there will be opportunities to try out taking a lead in group dances in a small, friendly environment.
Jenny Norris will be teaching, with music from Jo Veal.
Jenny and Jo on the dancefloor. Credit: Luc Rocher.
Jenny only discovered bal folk seven years ago but has experience in salsa and blues dancing as well as English dance traditions. Jenny has taught at festivals such as Skint, IVFDF and Cenizas, and at bal folk events in Bristol. She enjoys finding the common threads between dance traditions, as well as digging into what makes each style unique. Her teaching focuses on improvisation and connection in lead/follow dancing.
Jo has played French traditional dance music on clarinet since the early 90s, ranging from high-energy, driving bourrées, through to subtle, slinky mazurkas. Her experience as a skillful musician includes playing with top ceilidh band Hekety, klezmer band Minnie Moosika, and the Bell Hagg Orkestar, duos with Andrew Swaine and Anna Pack, and the enthralling improvisations of the Emergence Collective.
Donations We suggest a £5 donation for the workshop, although any extra helps us to keep Eurosession inclusive and offer fair rates to teachers and musicians. We accept cash or transfers via PayPal (see our donations page).
Keep on caring! Eurosession is a welcoming community and we want everyone to feel safe. Please stay home if you feel unwell.
