Hi folks, we regret to let you know that given the current Omicron context, we have decided to cancel our exciting plans for the 9th January, so you can un-save the date and set it free.
We hope to do *something* on 13 January but will decide nearer the time whether that will be in person at Shakespeare’s or online. (Or both; we did manage to rig up a live stream from Shakespeare’s into Zoom in December, so you can expect that again in the future).
Wishing you all some small, safe, and special gatherings until we meet again.
About the evening: We’re returning to Shakespeare’s with a Rondo / Rondeau workshop for December. These deceptively simple dances are danced with a partner or in short chains of four or five. Expect some fun footwork and variations yielding a jaunty swagger. After the workshop we’ll continue the evening with a festive feel, slipping in as many seasonal tunes as we can manage to dance as we can manage to pair with a traditional dance from elsewhere in Europe. So we encourage musicians to get your merry thinking caps on and bring some seasonal tunes to start off the festive season with good cheer!
Key Details: Dance workshop: 8:00 pm to 9pm (UTC+1 / BST): Eurosession: 9: 00 pm to 11 pm (UTC+1 / BST): Venue: Shakespeare’s Pub. S3 8UB Zoom: We hope to connect from Shakespeare’s to Zoom.
Precautions for Shakespeare’s Please ensure you have a negative lateral flow test result within 24 hours of the session (or are testing regularly), However note that although we will make hand sanitizer and facemasks available, at November’s session, not many participants wore a mask. Last month we approached capacity with about thirty people, so may need to encourage socialising in the courtyard., but will again open windows and fire-escape for ventilation.
Donations at Shakespeare’s: We suggest a £5 cash donation for the workshop, although if you give more then we can better support our teachers and musicians with fair payment.
Inclusivity and wellbeing Eurosession is a welcoming community and friends and teddy-bears are welcome. However please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in recent contact others who were ill.
Tips for the Zoom session
About the Zoom option We also hoping to connect from Shakespeare’s into Zoom with at least audio, and possibly video. probably with a second Zoom room for chatting or playing other tunes. Do let us know what you think of this proposal, or feedback to us afterwards.
Zoom access: If you made a note of our Zoom details in the past, you can continue to use those details. If you need a reminder, please email sheffield.eurosession at gmail.com in good time. We may ask for a £2 minimum payment to help to keep our Zoom sessions secure.
Zoom tips for Everyone: Please mute when someone else is playing, and use the Chat feature to communicate. For help with navigation and screen layout, see Zoom’s guides about Self-selecting a Breakout Room and for Video-Layout.
Musicians on Zoom: Instruments often sound better with the Original Sound feature – see the Zoom Help about enabling this. It’s also helpful to let dancers know what dance type you’ll be playing (if you know yourself!).
Dancing on Zoom: You can enjoy the challenge of identifying and recollecting the different genres and giving feedback to the musicians, or dance whatever you fancy with your video on or off.
And finally:
Bal with Salmanazar, January 9th in Crookes Social Club This has been cancelled, due to the current need for precautions.
A bonus Eurosession for November to gather our extended online community again!
Image from Pixabay
Hello folks – it’s time to reconnect. This Eurosession is an opportunity to meet online to share tunes and dance at home. We’ll do our eco bit by participating from home, and help people stay safe by connecting at a distance. So check your time-zones, and polish up your favourite tunes or clear a space to dance, and join us online for another vibrant Zoomsession.
There won’t be a workshop on this occasion but a couple are in the pipeline for the new year.
Session access and donations: If you made a note of our Zoom details in the past, you can continue to use those details. If you need a reminder, please email sheffield.eurosession at gmail.com in good time before the session. We will ask for a £2 minimum payment as a precaution to help to keep our Zoom sessions secure.
More tips: You’ll have the option to join and leave Zoom breakout rooms to move between the session, workshop, and the bar. See our quick guide if you get stuck.
If you plan to share a tune: It may sound better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this this in your Zoom settings.
Tips for enjoying the evening
The rest of the evening should provide similar experiences as previous sessions – marvellous musicians, delicious dancing, and a bit of chatting. Here are tips for maximum enjoyment:
Zoom tips for Everyone: Please mute your audio when you are not speaking / leading the music, and use the Chat feature for background communication. To switch views between seeing one individual (Speaker View) and all participants (Gallery View), consult How-Do-I-Change-The-Video-Layout. Head to the bar for a longer chat alongside the workshop or session; for help see our quick guide, or Zoom’s longer guide to Self-selecting a Breakout Room
Musicians: Please play tunes for dancing, prioritising dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe. [Preferably avoid English and Irish, because we have plenty of those in other local sessions!] In the Zoom sessions, only one person (or device) can broadcast at any one time; use the chat to help create a a rolling running order of dance tune offers. It generally sounds better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this in your settings. When you’ve been chosen to lead, let the dancers know what dance type you’ll be playing if you can. Then select Original Sound when you’re ready to play, and turn it off again for normal voice transmission.
Dancers: Get your dance shoes on; if you have a danceable space, book it for the evening, You can attempt to dance the right genre of dance at the right time (albeit half a beat behind!), or dance whatever takes your fancy. More important is to dance as though no-one is watching, or as though you can cheer up everyone else who is watching! It’s also fine to turn your video off if you feel freer dancing in private.
Eurosession is an inclusive and caring space for all. Invite your co-space-sharing mates / family / teddy-bear along if appropriate 😉
Onwards and forwards! For November, we’ll kick off the evening with a little workshop – some style tips for Gavotte de l’Aven, followed by our Eurosession with live music and dancing.
Key information: Time: 8:00 – 11:00 pm 30 minute workshop followed by Eurosession Venue: Shakespeares Pub. S3 8UB
After the lovely-ness of experiencing beautiful music, dancing and chatting in Shakey’s last month, we’re returning back to Shakespeare’s for November, and this time we’ll begin with a mini workshop. The Gavotte de l’Aven is a gentle non-partner swapping dance, and even those who know it well may learn a few new tips.
The dreamy atmosphere of a Gavotte de l’Aven
Taking precautions Please ensure you have tested negative for a lateral flow test within 24 hours of the session (or are testing regularly), and respect other people’s preferences and personal space. We will open windows and the fire-escape, to maximise air flow in the room. The use of hand sanitizer and wearing of facemasks is still a courtesy when dancing or in confined spaces. Finally, if there are concerns about numbers in the room, we’ll encourage socialising in the courtyard. (Last month we were twenty or so people, a nice mix of dancers and musicians, old timers and new faces.)
Music and dancing: We prioritise tunes for dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe [avoiding English and Irish, because those are well represented in other sessions!]. Dancers are welcome to make dance requests, and experienced dancers are available to help newcomers to feel at home.
Eurosession is a caring space for all. Friends and teddy-bears welcome. However please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in recent contact others who were ill.
Looking to the future For those who don’t feel able to join us in person, we aim for at least one online session/workshop before the end of the year. We’re also now planning for gigs in a larger venue.
We’re going in! For our October Eurosession, join us for live music and dancing in Shakespeares’ upstairs room.
Shakespeares upstairs room
After a year and a half at home, or meeting in parks or the digital wilderness, we’re taking the session home to Shakespeares’ upstairs room. We look forwards to welcoming a few more long lost souls back to the session, hearing the room resonate with music, and testing out Shakeys’ structurally improved dancefloor with some much loved dancing.
Taking precautions Please ensure you have tested negative for a lateral flow test within 24 hours of the session (or are testing regularly), and respect other people’s preferences and personal space. We will open windows and the fire-escape, to maximise air flow in the room. The use of hand sanitizer and wearing of facemasks is still a courtesy when dancing or in confined spaces. Finally, if there are concerns about numbers in the room, we’ll encourage socialising in the courtyard.
Music and dancing: We prioritise tunes for dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe [avoiding English and Irish, because those are well represented in other sessions!]. Dancers are welcome to make dance requests, and experienced dancers are available to help newcomers to feel at home.
Donations: If you enjoy our sessions, a donation can help us give fair payment to the expert musicians and dance teachers we bring to workshops and gigs, and we’ll accept cash in the session.
Eurosession is a caring space for all. Friends and teddy-bears welcome. However please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in recent contact others who were ill.
Looking to the future For those who don’t feel able to join us in person, we aim for at least one online session/workshop before the end of the year. We’re also now planning for gigs in a larger venue.
For our September Eurosession, join us for a live session in Shakespeares’ covered courtyard space.
Musicians at Shakeys’
We can enjoy re-visiting familiar faces and tantalising tunes, and contribute some drinks funds to the pub, our wonderfully resilient and supportive venue.
Venue information The large covered area in the courtyard will be reserved for us, so we’ll go ahead even if it rains. People can also sit at tables nearby.
Shakespeare’s courtyard with session space just visible on the left.
Musicians: We prioritise tunes for dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe. [avoiding English and Irish, because those are well represented in other sessions!]
Dancers: Shakespeares has requested that we don’t dance outside on the cobbles, as the likelihood of trips and falls is just too high.
Eurosession is an inclusive and caring space for all. Friends and teddy-bears welcome. However please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in recent contact others who were ill.
Courtesy Masks are helpful for use inside the pub. Please also respect other people’s personal space as we all have different ongoing risks and concerns.
Looking to the future If guidance permits we plan to return to Shakespeares more fully in the autumn, although we’ll also continue to host online sessions and workshops for those in our community who can’t join us in the pub.
To kick off our August Eurosession, come and sing danceable songs from Scandinavia!
We are delighted to welcome Louise Wanselius, a wonderful singer and song teacher from Sweden on Thursday July 12 (see below). After the workshop we’ll continue on with our Eurosession to play tunes, enjoy dancing and see some friendly faces, or breakout for a chat.
Session access and donations: To obtain the Zoom details, please pay/donate via our donations page. We ask for a £2 minimum payment, but if you enjoy our sessions and can donate £5 or £10, that helps us to give fair payment to our musicians and dance teachers.
More tips: You’ll have the option to join and leave Zoom breakout rooms to move between the session, workshop, and the bar. See our quick guide if you get stuck.
If you plan to share a tune: It may sound better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this this in your Zoom settings.
About the workshop:
Singing for dancing workshop with Louise Wanselius
Louise is a wonderful singer, songwriter and fiddler with more than 20 years of experience from concerts, workshops and music projects in Sweden and Europe. She plays traditional music and also loves to compose new melodies.
In this workshop Louise will share danceable songs from Dalarna and Västergötland where her folk music roots originate. From past experience we expect Louise will bring her joyful energy to the workshop, inspiring us to feel good about ourselves, whilst learning how to bring a lilting energy to the dancers.
The song texts will be available on-screen and available after the workshop, and recordings are also sent out afterwards. For some of the songs, notation will also be available after the workshop.
Tips for enjoying the evening
The rest of the evening should provide similar experiences as previous sessions – marvellous musicians, delicious dancing, and a bit of chatting. Here are tips for maximum enjoyment:
Zoom tips for Everyone: Please mute your audio when you are not speaking / leading the music, and use the Chat feature for background communication. To switch views between seeing one individual (Speaker View) and all participants (Gallery View), consult How-Do-I-Change-The-Video-Layout. Head to the bar for a longer chat alongside the workshop or session; for help see our quick guide, or Zoom’s longer guide to Self-selecting a Breakout Room
Musicians: Please play tunes for dancing, prioritising dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe. [Preferably avoid English and Irish, because we have plenty of those in other local sessions!] In the Zoom sessions, only one person (or device) can broadcast at any one time; use the chat to help create a a rolling running order of dance tune offers. It generally sounds better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this in your settings. When you’ve been chosen to lead, let the dancers know what dance type you’ll be playing if you can. Then select Original Soundwhen you’re ready to play, and turn it off again for normal voice transmission.
Dancers: Get your dance shoes on; if you have a danceable space, book it for the evening, You can attempt to dance the right genre of dance at the right time (albeit half a beat behind!), or dance whatever takes your fancy. More important is to dance as though no-one is watching, or as though you can cheer up everyone else who is watching! It’s also fine to turn your video off if you feel freer dancing in private.
Eurosession is an inclusive and caring space for all. Invite your co-space-sharing mates / family / teddy-bear along if appropriate 😉
For our July workshop we celebrate summer warmth with a trip to Britany
We are delighted to welcome Brigitte and Katell Kloareg, marvellous singers and teachers of song on Thursday July 8 (see below). After the workshop we’ll continue on with our Eurosession to play tunes, enjoy dancing and see some friendly faces, or breakout for a chat.
Session access and donations: To to obtain the Zoom details, please pay/donate via our donations page. We ask for a £2 minimum payment, but if you enjoy our sessions and can donate £5 or £10, that helps us to give fair payment to our musicians and dance teachers.
More tips: You’ll have the option to join and leave Zoom breakout rooms to move between the session, workshop, and the bar. See our quick guide if you get stuck.
If you plan to share a tune: It may sound better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this this in your Zoom settings.
About the workshop:
Singing for dancing with Brigitte and Katell Kloareg
About the workshop: Singing for dancing with Brigitte and Katell Kloareg
In the workshop Brigitte and Katell will pass on the secrets of some vibrant singing traditions that magically bring together a crowd of exhilarated dancers, and powers them through the night on waves of rhythmic story-singing. Although we can’t come together to dance right now, we offer this workshop so we can prepare whilst we wait.
Brigitte and Katell will teach a mix of dance songs in Breton and French. In the west of Brittany where Breton is spoken, the singing for dancing tradition is called kan-ha diskan and is particular in that the two (or more) singers overlap their sung phrases. The songs usually tell stories, even if the Breton langage is sometimes mistaken for mouth music ! There is also some mouth music – usually in small amounts. French is also part of the western singing tradition. The east of Brittany has a dancing tradition in French (also in Gallo – another minority language). It is called chant à répondre and traditionally, there is no overlapping. The singers just follow one another : the lead singer sings, then the other repeats the phrase.
Brigitte and Katell will teach the kan-ha-diskan ‘call and response’ technique which is a central feature in singing for dancing in the Breton language. They will teach a couple of simple kan-ha-diskan song (an an dro/kas a-barzh & a tamm-kreiz – which is used for a rest dance in the gavotte suite. ) Participants will have the opportunity to shadow the lead singer and ‘catch’ the singing baton without dropping a beat. Brigitte and Katell will demonstrate some gavottes. Gavottes come in simple tunes (ton simpl), double tunes (ton doubl) and treble tunes (ton tripl)… more on that in the workshop…
Join us for a chance to bring your attention to the present micro-moment, and channel the impetus of the chant to power a chain of [imaginary] energised dancers.
Other songs for the workshop include rondes à trois pas, a maritime circle dance, also found in Normandy and in Vendée and on the western islands. These can be in Breton or in French or in both languages (macaronic) as well as an hanter dro and a pachpi which can be sung for dancers just on its own or can be tagged on at the end of the gavotte suite. Quite challenging but can be sung at various levels, easy, hard and harder (in Breton with overlapping voices)
No previous experience is required. No denying that some French will help – as will some Breton !
If you can identify a local real-life song-partner with whom you can practice the call and response without internet delays that could be helpful, but it’s not essential for enjoying the workshop.
Katell Kloareg and her mother Brigitte have sung together for 25 years around the Celtic countries. They share a large repertoire of Breton, French, English, Welsh, and Irish music… Their combined performances and CDs present a wide range of heartful and powerful vocal techniques.
Tips for enjoying the evening
The rest of the evening should provide similar experiences as previous sessions – marvellous musicians, delicious dancing, and a bit of chatting. Here are tips for maximum enjoyment:
Zoom tips for Everyone: Please mute your audio when you are not speaking / leading the music, and use the Chat feature for background communication. To switch views between seeing one individual (Speaker View) and all participants (Gallery View), consult How-Do-I-Change-The-Video-Layout. Head to the bar for a longer chat alongside the workshop or session; for help see our quick guide, or Zoom’s longer guide to Self-selecting a Breakout Room
Musicians: Please play tunes for dancing, prioritising dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe. [Preferably avoid English and Irish, because we have plenty of those in other local sessions!] In the Zoom sessions, only one person (or device) can broadcast at any one time; use the chat to help create a a rolling running order of dance tune offers. It generally sounds better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this in your settings. When you’ve been chosen to lead, let the dancers know what dance type you’ll be playing if you can. Then select Original Soundwhen you’re ready to play, and turn it off again for normal voice transmission.
Dancers: Get your dance shoes on; if you have a danceable space, book it for the evening, You can attempt to dance the right genre of dance at the right time (albeit half a beat behind!), or dance whatever takes your fancy. More important is to dance as though no-one is watching, or as though you can cheer up everyone else who is watching! It’s also fine to turn your video off if you feel freer dancing in private.
Eurosession is an inclusive and caring space for all. Invite your co-space-sharing mates / family / teddy-bear along if appropriate 😉
We’re planning a small but lovely outdoor get together for Eurosession folk!
Let’s take advantage of current clement conditions to enjoy some magical music and familiar faces in the park.
Time: 7:30pm on Friday 25 June Location: Sheffield’s Cholera Monument
Instruments welcome. Any dancing will be solo and distanced or in existing bubbles. We’ll take a minute’s silence to think of all lives impacted by Coronavirus.
We expect to be less than 30 people and will split the group if more arrive. Hope the weather holds steady! Keep an eye on the Facebook event in case we make updates on the day.
Join us in June for a celebration of digital connections and the return of the sun!
cc0 by https://pixnio.com/author/novosadjanka021
On Thursday 13 June, we are abandoning the workshop, and plunging recklessly into a straight-up summer celebration. Whether or not the pandemic is over, sunshine has returned to the UK, and as we draw close to midsummer’s eve, let’s celebrate the amazing community of online musicians and dancers that have helped to keep us going over the many long past months.
Session access and donations: To to obtain the Zoom details, please pay/donate via our donations page. We ask for a £2 minimum payment, but if you enjoy our sessions and can donate £5 or £10, that helps us to give fair payment to our musicians and dance teachers.
More tips: You’ll have the option to join and leave Zoom breakout rooms to move between the session, workshop, and the bar. See our quick guide if you get stuck.
If you plan to share a tune: It may sound better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this this in your Zoom settings.
Tips for enjoying the evening
The rest of the evening should provide similar experiences as previous sessions – marvellous musicians, delicious dancing, and a bit of chatting. Here are tips for maximum enjoyment:
Zoom tips for Everyone: Please mute your audio when you are not speaking / leading the music, and use the Chat feature for background communication. To switch views between seeing one individual (Speaker View) and all participants (Gallery View), consult How-Do-I-Change-The-Video-Layout. Head to the bar for a longer chatalongside the workshop or session; for help see our quick guide, or Zoom’s longer guide to Self-selecting a Breakout Room
Musicians: Please play tunes for dancing, prioritising dances from the balfolk scene and other traditional genres from across Europe. [Preferably avoid English and Irish, because we have plenty of those in other local sessions!] In the Zoom sessions, only one person (or device) can broadcast at any one time; use the chat to help create a a rolling running order of dance tune offers. It generally sounds better if you turn on the Original Sound feature when playing – please check out the Zoom Help about how to enable this in your settings. When you’ve been chosen to lead, let the dancers know what dance type you’ll be playing if you can. Then select Original Soundwhen you’re ready to play, and turn it off again for normal voice transmission.
Dancers: Get your dance shoes on; if you have a danceable space, book it for the evening, You can attempt to dance the right genre of dance at the right time (albeit half a beat behind!), or dance whatever takes your fancy. More important is to dance as though no-one is watching, or as though you can cheer up everyone else who is watching! It’s also fine to turn your video off if you feel freer dancing in private.
Eurosession is an inclusive and caring space for all. Invite your co-space-sharing mates / family / teddy-bear along if appropriate 😉
