Get a spring in your step at Royal Welsh Festival
Maypole dancers will perform at Spring Festival.
A group of young Maypole dancers will take part for the first time in the dance programme at the Royal Welsh two-day Spring Festival, an appropriate addition since the dance was traditionally known as ‘Maying’, though it was generally performed in June because of the British weather!
Hopefully, however, the sun will shine on the dance groups taking part in this year’s event which will embrace Cornish, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Morris and old English sequence dancing.
Dancing is an ever-popular part of the programme at the Spring Festival. It is designed to appeal to everyone – those who just want to sit and watch or more active visitors who accept the invitation to join in and test their skills at the variety of steps demonstrated by the experts.
Dancing will take place in the showground’s International Pavilion each morning and afternoon of the Spring Festival and the dance groups taking part will get together in the Pavilion on the first night (Saturday May 21) for a Ceilidh when each group will take turns to lead the dances. The Ceilidh will continue for three hours from 7.30pm to 10.30pm and all are invited to join in the fun.
“This is a wonderful way to come alive after a busy day at the Festival and it is also an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones,” said Peter Brock, the Dance Festival Co-ordinator. Among those making a second visit to the Festival will be Cornish dancers, Ros Keltec, and there will also be return visits by the local Scottish Country Dance group, Celtic Links, and the old English sequence dancers from Garth in Mid Wales. Also returning again will be the colourful and energetic Forest of Dean Morris Men and the Wimberry Cloggers.
Newcomers to the Festival this year include the Welsh dance group, Dawnswyr Pen y Fai, an Irish dance group, and the Breffni O’Brien Dancers from Manchester. Tony McLoed, a piper from Brecon, will also be on the programme and, weather permitting, he will lead a parade after lunch on both days of the event.
The Spring Festival takes place over the weekend of May 21 – 22.