Gittisham Folk Dance Club - the original website!
Folk Dancing in Devon at Gittisham Village Hall (and elsewhere)

Updated October 2024.

Gittisham Village Hall, Gittisham EX14 3AF (Near Honiton, East Devon)
The previous layout and colours of this website are here.
Why two websites for one small folk dance club? - here's why!

This is the ORIGINAL webpage giving information on Gittisham Folk Dance Club.

For ten years this page was the club's only web presence: it remains a small part of the folk dance section of my website.

It is kept broadly up to date with details of future dances and other events.

Misgivings about Gittisham's dance weekend in Paignton in June 2017 are here and here.
It was the last time this unsuitable hotel was used!

Despite not being a 'natural born dancer' I have become quite proficient. My dance diary for 2016 shows how much fun and exercise can be had week to week for a few hundred pounds a year.

Highlights of my dance year in 2016 are here - see if they encourage you to take up the hobby!

Since taking up dancing over 10 years ago I estimate I have danced about 30,000 times and with hundreds of different women.

Dances in March 2020 onwards were cancelled for a period owing to the coronavirus pandemic. They resumed in November 2021.

Gittisham is probably one of the less safe village halls in the Covid era. It is small, situated in a low lying area and there is often little or no wind to assist ventilation.

There is usually live music with a variety of well known local bands.

As with all folk dance clubs, you don't need to bring a partner.
 

   
A Saturday dance was held on 21 May 2022, at Broadclyst. The poster is below.

It was a great success, one of the best-attended events of the immediate post-lockdown era.

A similar dance was held on 20 May 2023. Owing to a smaller attendance, the club didn't make any profit.

A similar event was held on 20 April 2024 - again well attended.

The club hopes to hold one or two similar Saturday dances each year.




 

The original Gittisham Display Dance is now available online - try it at your club, send me comments, or try to improve it!
It is really more suited to American Square dance groups who are used to teacup and beermug chains.

Many useful folk dance links are here.

Gittisham Folk Dance Club in the news - articles in STS magazine September 2015 are reproduced here.

There are times when your feet may leave the ground (both at the same time) or you may feel that the world is rotating a little faster than usual. But don't worry, these things don't happen to newcomers. In past years we had an open fire in cold weather, but we got smoked out once too often. These photos are many years old - but they do show 'the good old days'!

You can check the date and time of most folk events in Devon.

Basic folk dance moves are explained here.

Once you are reasonably competent you may wish to attend the regular Willand Thursday or Saturday dances. Willand has the best dance hall in the area.

There are also occasional folk dances in Exeter, including contra dance and Exeter ceilidhs.

There is also a small local club at Sidford, near Sidmouth.

Dance instruction for newcomers (groups of 8 ideally) is now available locally at venues and at times to suit you!  Click here for details.