A return to dancing in person
English Dance and Song Winter 2021
This article appears in English Dance and Song, the magazine of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The world’s oldest magazine for folk music and dance, EDS was first published in 1936 and is essential reading for anyone with a passion for folk arts.
In September, the Folk Education Network ran an online peer support event for the social folk dance sector about restarting in-person dance activities following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. The event was not designed to be a definitive ‘how to’; rather, it was intended to share and discuss knowledge, information and varied approaches to running dance activities as safely as possible.
Musician and folk activist Cath Watkins reports.
Opening the event was Laura Connolly, Dance Development Manager at the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS). She reported that as there is a lack of clear-cut government guidance, and as every event is different, no single approach is appropriate for everyone. EFDSS has published risk assessment guidance, and offered micro-grants to help dance organisers try out new approaches, though applications have now closed for these awards.
Jane Curry and Andrew Findlay gave the opening presentation, talking about The London Barn Dance Company’s monthly contra dances at Cecil Sharp House. Before the pandemic, their dances attracted 100-130 dancers, with a wide range of ages. From May 2020, they ran Zoom dances using pre-recorded music, attracting up to 160 dancers from all over the country and overseas. They have now started back at Cecil Sharp House, benefiting from its improved air handling. These are hybrid events, in-person and on Zoom simultaneously, so that people who are unable to travel can still take part. They decided to offer a live dance with Zoom feed, rather than a Zoom dance with live dancers, knowing that online dancers have learned to adapt dances themselves over the last 15 months.
They prepared a detailed risk assessment and easily digestible advice for dancers attending in-person events – trying to do the right thing for everyone, but not imposing more restrictions than necessary. At the first event, around 45 people attended in person and another 45 on Zoom. They invited everyone to wear a coloured badge: red if they wanted to stick with one partner, yellow if they preferred to keep at arm’s length, and green if they were happy to dance in any way. Many younger people who had not attended the Zoom dances came back to the first dance in person and some dancers chose to wear masks.
For the Zoom broadcast, they took an audio feed from the band’s mixer desk. They used two cameras, one focused on the band and one on the dancers, with a section of the floor for people who did not want to be on camera. It took about 90 minutes to set up. The online team included tech support, a Zoom host and a steward. All participants were asked to donate using a PayPal tip jar. They plan to carry on with hybrid dances to the end of the year, then reassess the situation.
Following Jane and Andrew’s interesting presentation, John Sweeney, folk dance caller and organiser of Kent Ceilidhs and Contrafusion, said that before restarting Tuesday dances, the first thing he did was check that his preparations matched the venue’s Covid protocol. He asked dancers to pre-register to gather contact details. Numbers started low but have been growing; a survey for SHOCC Ceilidhs in Hampshire suggested that only 50 per cent of people are prepared to dance in person at the moment.
John’s Covid protocol for ceilidhs includes the expectation that everyone is double-vaccinated and takes a lateral flow test, but they are not checking this on the door. John added that he has asked some people not to come after they told him that they had not been vaccinated. At the dances, people are not required to wear a mask but there is increased ventilation and people are asked to sanitise their hands. Some event organisers, for example the Friday night Ceilidh Club at Cecil Sharp House, have chosen to ask all participants to show the NHS Passport – but this can only be considered if all participants are expected to own a smartphone.
There was then an opportunity for discussion. Topics included modification of dances, which many have been doing – for example, swings have started with a single hand, then progress to both hands before ballroom hold side by side. Some dances restarted with no partner changes, but they are now starting to be reintroduced. Decisions about masks are complicated: the World Health Organisation says that for your own respiratory health you should not wear masks during physical activity. Meanwhile, government guidance is that masks do not need to be worn for physical activity such as sport and dance.
The next presentation was from Dr Wendy Timmons, Vice Convenor of the Traditional Dance Forum Scotland (TDFS) and Programme Director of MSc Dance Science and Education at The University of Edinburgh. She noted that effects of lockdown include musculoskeletal pain and mental health problems – and that dancing can help with both. The TDFS awarded five small grants of £200 to help organisations get back to dancing; see more at tdfs.org. One of the grants was awarded to Catherine Coutts, who spoke about her autism-friendly ceilidh project.
As a catalyst to get people dancing again, TDFS also commissioned a live performance event to mark the opening of an exhibition at their headquarters.
Finally, we were divided into breakout groups to discuss our own approaches to returning to dance in person. The wide variety of opinions within groups showed just how complicated an area this is – and proved that ‘one size fits all’ is simply impossible. Each group will inevitably come up with a different set of protocols, tailored to their participants’ individual circumstances.
Watch the recording of the event
More information on this topic can be found on our Covid Advice page.
The English Folk Dance and Song Society’s Folk Education Network is the free networking group for folk arts educators across England.
