Gwerinwyr Diary September 2019 by Sue Venn
Flushed
with success after dancing For Prince Charles on 4th July, our busy
month continued on Sat 13th at an old favourite....Caerleon festival.
Lovely weather drew out the crowds, and we danced twice, once in the garden of
The Bell and then in front of the main stage at the Hanbury Arms. So many people
sitting enjoying the sunshine I should imagine the bar takings were through the
roof!
Monday 15th saw us in Monmouth giving our Welsh culture evening to the ladies of Agincourt WI. They joined in enthusiastically with the participation dances (which makes our job much easier), and we had some very nice comments afterwards.
Saturday 20th took us
to Blaenavon and the ‘Dance on the Mountain’ day of dance. The event has been
growing over several years, but it was the first appearance for GG. Again we had
two spots, one in the Heritage Centre and the second in the marquee in Market
Square. There were plenty of people watching the varied styles of dance which
included local youngsters with street dancing through strictly ballroom,
flamenco, rapper and folk.
We were lucky to have the support of the Lloyd family as our musicians, as we also did on the last weekend of July when we travelled to Dorset to take part in the Bridport Folk Festival. All the dancing takes place in street settings, so thank goodness the weather was lovely (although there was a plan B if it was wet). Lots of people around watching the mainly Morris dance sides, so I think we made a nice contrast, and of course the Lloyd children’s clogging routines always go down a storm with the audiences. The festival is only in its second year of revival after being defunct for several years. We danced both Saturday and Sunday and really enjoyed it. What a lovely town Bridport is, so many old buildings and a nice atmosphere. Also only a mile from West Bay where TV series Broadchurch was filmed.
August was quiet and we have our annual break from practicing then, but started back a week early as we had been invited to dance at the Rogerstone festival on Sunday 1st September. Another beautiful day with lots going on and huge crowds at the Welfare Ground. Sadly not that many watching our performance, and even fewer agreeing to join us in a simple ceilidh dance, so thank you to those who did and thanks also to the organisers for inviting us.
Gwerinwyr Gwent is always seeking new members, and beginners or experienced dancers/musicians are very welcome. Practice night is Thursday 8-10pm at the Graig Community Hall (opposite the Ruperra PH).
For more details visit our website www.gwerinwyrgwent.org.uk, ring 01495 271953, or just come along and give it a try.