Gittisham Folk Dance Club: including teaching of folk dance steps and figures.

Details of the Honiton venue for first-Wednesdays dances.

Gittisham FDC used to run workshops/dances at a different venue on the first Wednesdays of each month, when our usual hall was unavailable.

These sessions have been discontinued. They were very popular early on with 25 to 35 people attending. By mid 2017 numbers had reduced to 14 to 18 - some people simply disliked the hall and its appalling heating system, others disliked the diet of 'baby dances' that were encouraged by 'the committee' who saw their role as facilitating 'inclusion'. This approach has proven disastrous elsewhere also, and will be further discussed in another section of this website.

The last few months up to June 2017 saw the club incur heavy losses in utilising the Mackarness hall. Commencing in September 2017 the committee has decided to try 'traditional' club nights in this hall - using well known 'professional' dance callers not club callers. The aim here seems to have been either to recruit a large number of new members (unlikely, yet possible) or to run down club finances even faster! Also, affording opportunities for club callers to hone their skills seems no longer to be an aim - which is a pity as we were getting quite proficient!

An evening at Mackarness costs around £41 for the hall, £30 for the caller and £35 to £45 for the band, plus a few £ for refreshments. In round figures - about £110 to £115 compared with around £100 at the less expensive Gittisham hall.

Details of dates etc will be posted on the main Gittisham webpage when these are known.

The rest of this webpage is being maintained here for the moment as an historical record of club caller evenings up to June 2017.

There used to be opportunities for newcomers (and others!) to be taught dance steps and techniques on a 1:1 basis or in small groups - and included in the entrance price, so if you'd ever wanted to learn to dance - this was your chance! These sessions were aimed to start at 7.15pm or shortly thereafter. Recently a new format has been tried - starting dances at 8pm for everyone but explaining moves during each dance. For the moment therefore assume the evening starts at 8pm!

These evenings feature a range of callers, each of whom teach and call a few dances during each evening. These range from simple well-known folk dances, through gentle and flowing Playford styles, to fast ceilidh dances - and may include on some evenings parts of the Gittisham Display dance. Not all dance styles will suit everyone - you will just have to be adaptable! The evenings are for dancers to learn - and enjoy themselves - and also for callers to perfect their techniques.

The usual attendance is 20 to 30 dancers, including a few newcomers. The hall could accommodate more - so why not come along?

Start and finish times and entrance fees at our Honiton venue follow those at the main Gittisham venue. Sometimes teaching at Honiton may commence earlier but this will be announced at preceding Gittisham dances and also on this website - for example if a small group wish me to teach them waltz or polka.

One of the first moves any dancer should learn is how to swing properly. Many people who have been dancing for 10 years have yet to appreciate this - so don't worry if you are a slow learner. I usually teach people in less than 10 minutes.

The club always aims to have live music - although it may not be a full band and teaching sessions may use recorded music.

Enquiries - email = stevewozniak42(AT)hotmail.com  and obviously you replace (AT) by @.

The 'first -Wednesday' venue was at Mackarness Hall in the centre of Honiton. It is situated behind St Paul's Church off the High Street. There are several large car parks in the town centre - also on-street parking is permitted in some areas after 6pm. Note that Silver St is both narrow and one-way, with a very tight left turn off the High St. Some areas of the High St are 'loading only'. You can park in these after 6pm - but check the local sign to make sure!