Links to other related sites
This list is by no means comprehensive and I will add to it from to time. If you have any favorites (or corrections) that you think should be on here, do please email me.
Some of these pages contain links to hundreds of other sites, so I wish you happy (and productive) surfing!
Go directly to
Great Britain, Ireland & Europe
EFDSS: The English Folk Dance and Song Society home page.
http://www.efdss.org/Webfeet: English Ceilidh, Folk, Morris, Cajun, French Traditional dance information
http://www.webfeet.org/Set & Turn Single: "The independant magazine for folk dancers" - A terrific resource for any dancer in England. Diary & calendar covers ECD, ECeilidh and Contra events mainly in the South. The web site has links to sites in other areas. The paper magazine (not the web site) has interesting articles and a lively interchange of letters.
http://www.setandturnsingle.org.uk/The Round: A keen Cambridge University based group dancing all kinds of traditional dance.
http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/round/index.htmBob Archer's dance page: Bob is a popular British contra dance caller who recently defected to Seattle, WA.
http://www.bobarcher.org/dance/Colin Hume's advice to Americans dancing in England
http://www.colinhume.com/american.htmThe London Barndance - monthly series of contra dances at Cecil Sharp House in London. Includes many useful and interesting links.
http://www.barndance.org/Set Dancing News: A monthly magazine produced by Bill Lynch - a keen Irish set dancer originally from the USA, now settled in Co Clare, Ireland after many years in England. The magazine and web site cover everything to do with Irish set dancing all over the world. It is particularly useful for its set dance class and ceili listings worldwide. A subscription will ensure that you get the magazine regularly wherever you are in the world.
http://www.setdancingnews.net/French traditional music and dance organisation:
http://trad.org/
Festivals in the UK, Ireland & Europe
fRoots Europe & Britain Festivals Index
http://www.frootsmag.com/content/festivals/The Hobgoblin Festival Guide
http://www.hobgoblin.com/hobnob/fest.htmBromyard Folk Festival: Late September weekend
http://www.bromyard-folk-festival.org.uk/Chippenham Folk Festival: End of May bank holiday weekend
http://www.chippfolk.co.uk/Towersey Village Folk Festival - End of August bank holiday weekend
http://www.towerseyfestival.com/
Sidmouth Folk Week - First week in August
Used to be Sidmouth International Folk Festival until the organisers (Mrs. Casey's Music) pulled out after its 40th anniversary in 2004. It is now being run be volunteers and seems to be doing well again. Here sre some links:
http://www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk - the main festival
http://sidmouthfringe.co.uk - an extra set of musical performances, the Sidmouth Fringe.
http://www.seered.co.uk/top_of_folk_festival.htm - The FULL story, takes some wading through.
Halsway Manor: A stately home in Southern England devoted to traditional music and dance weekends.
http://www.halswaymanor.org.uk/Musical Traditions: The magazine for traditional music throughout the world.
http://www.mustrad.org.uk/The Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, Ireland. The first week in July. The largest set dance festival in the world. You can dance the sets from 10 in the morning until 1 the next morning. And the pubs are overflowing with wonderful musicians. There are also classes every morning in any traditional instrument you can think of. Finding time to sleep is the only problem!
http://www.scoilsamhraidhwillieclancy.com/South Sligo Summer School, Tubbercurry. A week of set dancing and instrument classes in Co. Sligo, Ireland. 2nd week in July - following Willie Clancy's in Miltown Malbay. Much less frenetic than Miltown, many people come on to Tubbercurry for a rest.
http://www.sssschool.org/Saint-Chartier Gathering: 4-day Traditional music festival in central France. There is dancing in the evenings but mostly it is a musicians' gathering. This has undergone a tremendous upheaval and is now under the name of Le Son Continu:
http://www.lesoncontinu.net/en/Le Grand Bal de l'Europe: a fantastic and varied week of dancing in Gennetines, France. (It usually follows on from St.Chartier - in mid-July.)
http://gennetines.org/
CDSS: The Country Dance and Song Society
http://www.cdss.org/Gary Shapiro's "What Is Contra Dance?" page. It's full of great definitions of contra dance and has many useful links - a teriffic resource.
http://www.sbcds.org/contradance/whatis/Charlie Seelig's Contra Dance links for the USA, Canada and the World
http://www.contradancelinks.com/Dance Gypsy: Contra dance magazine with dance calendar for the USA and Canada
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/Cary Ravitz's Contra Dance & related links site
http://ravitz.us/Michigan Dance Calendar
http://www.aactmad.org/cal/frontpage.htmlVancouver contra dance schedule: Dance schedule of the Greater Vancouver area plus a host of links.
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/vcountry/
Festivals & Dance Camps in North America
NEFFA: New England Folk Festival Association - the largest folk festival in North America held the last weekend in April.
http://www.neffa.org/Northwest Folklife: Home of the Folklife Festival - a huge (nearly) free folk festival held in Seattle, WA the last weekend in May.
http://www.nwfolklife.org/Berea College: ChristmasCountry Dance School
http://www.berea.edu/ccds/Brasstown: John C. Campbell Folk School - residential courses on a wide variety of traditional skills including folk music and dance.
http://www.folkschool.org/Milwaukee IrishFest: Humungous Irish festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Unbelievable number of stages (huge, medium and small) with non-stop celtic music and dance displays from midday until nearly midnight. The Irish set dancing alternates with Irish ceili dancing in one tent. The sets aren't called but the dancers are very friendly and will help you all they can. Go sides and you'll have a lot of fun!
http://www.irishfest.com/