France:
Germany:
Books 1 and 2:
This summer the Society for International Folk Dancing organised its first summer school of folk dancing. In previous years various members had taken part as teachers in courses organised by other bodies but this was the first time that it had run its own course. On Sunday August 5th forty-five folk dancers from various parts of Great Britain and five from France arrived at the University College of Swansea for a week's stay in one of the new Halls of Residence overlooking the sea and in the evening they were joined by another twenty dancers living in the locality. A wide range of classes was held with members of the Society teaching Swedish, Balkan, German, Austrian, Polish and Estonian dances, to name a few and Pierre Goron our guest instructor from France teaching a selection of French dances. Two series of classes were run in parallel - one for beginners and the other for those who already had some experience of dancing. Classes were held generally in the morning and early evening only, so that members of the course could enjoy the beaches along the Gower coast during the afternoons. That was the plan, but unfortunately it rained so hard during the week that most people stayed indoors. The one fine afternoon, however was the occasion on which we had arranged a coach trip to Rhossili, about l1 miles away. The sun shone brilliantly and it was so clear that the church on Lundy Island could be seen with the naked eye. The late evenings were devoted to dances and film shows of folk dances. Was the course a success? It takes more than rain to dampen the ardour of enthusiastic folk dancers and everyone appeared to make the best of it. Hard work all round meant that a large repertoire of dances was taught during the week.
The Society gained about fifteen new members. Thanks to the teachers who gave their services and paid for their own accommodation a small profit was made. The most encouraging fact, howewer, is that most of the participants want to come back again next year.
So make a note that there will be another course at Swansea next summer from August 4th to August llth. It looks as though it will fill up rapidly, so when you get a booking form with a future issue of Fandango, fill it in without delay.
22.11.62