https://ivfdf2023.com
The Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival is the UK’s longest running folk festival! Run each year by a different university folk society, it returns to Exeter in 2023. The Hall is really delighted to be a part of this amazing festival!
Mark out the 3rd – 5th February in your calendars for a weekend of workshops, ceilidhs, and dancing till you drop. Whatever style you love the best, you’re sure to find something you love here.
Everyone is welcome whether you prefer jam first or cream – IVFDF has a policy of genderless calling (since 2018), and all levels of dancer are invited, from the absolute beginner to the total professional. Although the festival is organised and run by students, tickets are available to anyone who wishes to dance their socks off. Want to learn more? Visit the central IVFDF website [here] to see our online archive, more information about past & future events, and our constitution.
9am-10am
Beginners’ Bal
Isobel Priest (she/her)
Balfolk is roughly a french ceilidh, with an exciting variety of partner dances and group dances. This is a whistlestop tour through the basic dances you will find at the Bal in the evening! Bals are not called so it is useful to practise in advance. Suitable for absolute beginners.
10:15 - 11:15
What is a caller for?
Lisa Heywood (she/her), DANCE:SOCIAL
Callers have many different roles, which vary depending on the audience, event and dance style we’re calling for. Tailoring our calling to the context is an important skill to continuously reflect on and develop, whether you’re a seasoned caller or just starting out. Join Lisa Heywood for a mix of practical activities and discussion exploring calling and context, open to callers of all styles and levels of experience.
11:30-1 Basic Bal variations
Isobel Priest (she/her)
Every bal has a chapelloise and some bourrees. You can add lots of fun variations to these dances, but how do you lead and follow with the limited physical connection? This workshop will go through some interesting things you can do in these dances and give lots of time to actually practising how to make them happen on the social floor. Suitable for anyone who knows the basics of chapelloise/bourree.
1:15 - 2:15 pm Dancing in a time of turmoil
Elizabeth Lawson
A divided country, a terrible relationship with Europe, tension with Scotland, welcome to fifteenth century England! But in the midst of the turmoil, one man carefully copied a series of dance choreographies into his notebook, which survived til the present day. We’ll be doing a selection of dances from it together with a couple from the sixteenth century. If you’ve been to one of my workshops before, I will be including some new dances for you to try.
6pm - 8:30pm
Saturday Night Ceilidh
Jackie Oates and John Spiers
with Rhianwen Davies