Gosport & Fareham Interfolk
General International Folk Dancing
An Associated group of the Society for International Folk Dancing (SIFD).
Time : 10:00 - 11:00am Mondays (term time - phone for dates)
Place: St. Francis Church Hall, Clayhall Road, Alverstoke, Gosport, Hants
Contact: Tessa & David 02392 526489
The Gosport & Fareham Interfolk club provides an invigorating start to the week with an hour of dancing on Monday
morning. It is a happy and sociable group who enjoy a wide variety of dances with moderate energy levels. We are
always learning a new dance or revising an old one so beginners are always welcome. The group practise a mixture of
international folk dances from sets to lines and circles (and canoes!).
Everyone in the group is challenged to 'adopt' a dance from the current repertoire, to learn
it thoroughly, study the steps, listen to the music and hopefully feel able to teach/lead it
if necessary. Traditional dances are passed on as seen, felt and perceived by a younger
generation; there is no need for years of arduous physical and/or technical training to
lead a folk dance.
In July 2007 four fearless, fun-loving members of the group entered a local
talent show and danced Le petit Montferrine a quatre and Vira das Cavacas.
Candles and flowers at the Christmas Party
Repertoire
Over the years quite a number of folk dances have been done but only a small number are current at any one time.
The following list is of those folk dances you are likely to encounter at the moment if you visit our club.
Dances which are done in sets include:
Meillionon (Wales), De Vleegard (Holland), De Kolom (Belgium), Trommevals (Denmark), Vira das Cavacas (Portugal)
Le petit Montferrine a quatre (Switzerland),La Montagnarde (France)
Holborn March (England), Childgrove (England), Fyrmanna Schottishe (Sweden)
Couple Dances which are done in a circle include:
Oiga ja Vasemba
(Estonia), La Storta da Cruce (Switzerland), Notchka (Russia), Arrosciado (Italy), Erva Cidera (Portugal)
Dances which are done in lines and circles include:
Kakpri Balkje (Russia), Hora Hassidit (Israel), Halai (Greece)
Aptaliko (Greece), Sepastia Bar (Armenia), Ambee Dageets (Armenia), Skudrinka (Macedonia), TaiTai (Greece),
Hora lui Dobrika (Romania)
Dances which should be done in a canoe include:
Lago Sopu Sopu (Molluca)
How To Get There
St. Francis Church Hall, Gosport
From the Gosport Ferry catch the number 30 bus which stops outside the hall.
By road:
1) From the centre of Gosport follow the signs to the Haslar Hospital (crossing the Haslar Bridge),
pass the hospital and at the t-junction, turn right into Clayhall Road.
2) From Fareham, follow signs to Stokes Bay, the road will turn left at the sea and lead into Clayhall Road.
The people who make it happen
David and Tessa Bloodworth and Janet Douglas
Tessa combines the duties of Treasurer and Secretary delegating the position of Chairman to David. They are proficient dancers who organise the group and carry out all the tasks needed to ensure its smooth running. Janet is the current teacher having taken over after Maggie's retirement.
Maggie Head
The History of the Club
The Gosport and Fareham International Dance group was founded by Maggie Head over thirty years ago as two keep-fit
classes. She originally trained as a Keep Fit instructor, discovered International Folk
dance and realised that there was a good link between the two. She increasingly used international folk dances as part
of her classes until eventually the dancing took over! Maggie is a recognised SIFD teacher and an extremely good
advertisement for the health-giving properties of dance. Although she has retired (at over 80) she still has an
interest in the group she brought into existence.
