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English Folk Dance and Song Society

Coordinates: 51°32′17″N 0°08′57″W / 51.5381°N 0.1493°W / 51.5381; -0.1493
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English Folk Dance and Song Society
AbbreviationEFDSS
Formation1932; 92 years ago (1932)
TypeNonprofit organisation
PurposeResearch, study and promotion of English folk music and folk dance
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Region served
England
Chief Executive and Artistic Director
Katy Spicer[1]
Budget
£1.5 million[2]
Websitewww.efdss.org

The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss'[3]) is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance.[4][5] EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society.[6] The EFDSS, a member-based organisation, was incorporated[7] in 1935 and became a registered charity[8] in 1963.

History

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Cecil Sharp, a member of the Folk-Song Society and founder of the English Folk Dance Society; the two societies merged in 1932 to form the English Folk Dance and Song Society

The Folk-Song Society, founded in London in 1898,[9] focused on collecting and publishing folk songs, primarily of Britain and Ireland although there was no formal limitation. Participants included: Lucy Broadwood, George Butterworth, George Gardiner,[10] Anne Gilchrist, Percy Grainger, Henry Hammond, Ella Leather,[11] Kate Lee, Susan Lushington, May Elliot Hobbs,[12] Cecil Sharp, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Mary Augusta Wakefield.

The English Folk Dance Society was founded in 1911 by Cecil Sharp. Maud Karpeles was a leading participant. Its purpose was to preserve and promote English folk dances in their traditional forms, including Morris and sword dances, traditional social dances, and interpretations of the dances published by John Playford. The first secretary of the society was Lady Mary Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis; Trefusis Hall in the EFDSS HQ, Cecil Sharp House, is named after her.[13]

One of the greatest contributions that the EFDSS made to the folk movement, both dance and song, was the folk festival, starting with the Stratford-upon-Avon Festival in the 1940s and continuing with festivals in Whitby, Sidmouth, Holmfirth, Chippenham and elsewhere.

Publications

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Since 1936 the EFDSS has published English Dance & Song at least four times a year. This has become the longest-established magazine devoted to folk music, dance and song in the country. English Dance & Song is aimed at stimulating the interest of the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community.

Their regular scholarly publication is Folk Music Journal, published annually in December, which was formerly entitled the Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society until 1965. The work continues the earlier journals of the two societies: Journal of the Folk-Song Society, 1899–1931;[14] Journal of the English Folk Dance Society, 1914–31.

Cecil Sharp House

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The Society is based at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, North London.[15] Originally conceived as a purpose-built headquarters for the English Folk Dance Society, and now Grade II-listed, it was designed in the neo-Georgian style by architect Henry Martineau Fletcher,[16] and opened on 7 June 1930.[15]

The building's most striking feature is Kennedy Hall, a large concert and performance space with a sprung ballroom floor for dancing. The space features acoustic-focused design elements, courtesy of Fletcher's friend and fellow architect Hope Bagenal.[17]

The building was damaged by bombing in 1940 the Second World War. The basement and library were mostly undamaged, but the entrance, stairs, and main hall were all damaged. After the war, the architect John Eastwick-Field was commissioned to restore the building, which was reopened in 1951. The raised musicians gallery in the main hall, destroyed by the bombing, was not reinstated; in its place the British abstract pastoral painter Ivon Hitchens was commissioned to paint a mural, which shows English folk dances and traditions.[15] When unveiled in 1954, it was the largest single-wall mural in the United Kingdom.[18]

In addition to Kennedy Hall, Cecil Sharp House contains several smaller performance and rehearsal spaces; a café and bar; and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and Archive. Cecil Sharp House is an active and popular venue for concerts, as well as conferences and other private functions. In 2015, the building was voted as one of London's 20 best music venues by readers of Time Out magazine.[19]

Recent developments

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Cecil Sharp House in Regent's Park Road, London, is home to the English Folk Dance and Song Society

In 1998, with the folk movement strongly supported by a number of other organisations and the seeds planted by EFDSS thriving, the EFDSS altered its strategy to focus on education and archiving, with its primary goal the development of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library as the country's national archive and resource centre for folk music, dance and song.

In 2009, the society became a regularly funded organisation (now called a National Portfolio Organisation) of Arts Council England.[20]

In 2011 the society entered into a joint commission with Shrewsbury Folk Festival to create the Cecil Sharp Project, a multi-artist residential commission to create new works based on the life and collecting of Cecil Sharp. The project took place in March 2011, the artists involved being: Steve Knightley, Andy Cutting, Leonard Podolak, Jim Moray, Jackie Oates, Caroline Herring, Kathryn Roberts and Patsy Reid.[21]

In 2013, EFDSS launched The Full English, an ongoing archive project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Folklore Society, the National Folk Music Fund and the English Miscellany Folk Dance Group. This free and searchable resource of 44,000 records and over 58,000 digitised images is the world's biggest digital archive of traditional music and dance tunes.[22]

As well as folk music, the EFDSS is home to a number of performance artists, providing a regular performance platform for acts including the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, the Massive Violins and the Swingle Singers.

In September 2021, EFDSS opened consultation to consider changing its name, as it was felt by some that it did not represent the aims and outlook of the society.[23] A proposed name was 'Folk Arts England', a name formerly used between 2005 and 2014 by the Association of Festival Organisers. Of 65 members surveyed in November 2021, 74% approved this name, against other proposals such as 'Folk Arts Society'.[24] As of April 2022, consultation continues.

EFDSS Gold Badge Awards

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The EFDSS Gold Badge Award, created in 1922, is made to those deemed to have made exceptional contributions to folk music, dance, or the wider folk arts and folk community. Many past recipients are prominent figures not only within the folk community, but of wider British culture and society.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Staff". EFDSS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Report of the Year 2016-2017" (PDF). EFDSS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  3. ^ Challenges of Designing the Roud Folk Song Index, Library of Congress, YouTube, 9:00
  4. ^ Vaughan Williams, Ralph (September 1958). "The English Folk Dance and Song Society". Ethnomusicology. 2 (3): 108–112. doi:10.2307/924653. JSTOR 924653.
  5. ^ Pratt, S. R. S. (December 1965). "The English Folk Dance and Song Society". Journal of the Folklore Institute. 2 (3): 294–299. doi:10.2307/3814148. JSTOR 3814148.
  6. ^ Karpeles, Maud and Frogley, Alain (2007–2011). 'English Folk Dance and Song Society'. In: Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 24 October 2011. (subscription required).
  7. ^ Limited Company no 297142
  8. ^ Charity no 305999
  9. ^ Keel, Frederick (1948). 'The folk song society' (1898–1948). Journal of the English Folk Dance & Song Society, Vol 5, No 3, December. Retrieved 23 October 2011 (subscription required).
  10. ^ "G. B. Gardiner, folk song collector". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Ella Mary Leather". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  12. ^ K., D. N. (1956). "May Elliott Hobbs, Died December 1956". Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. 8 (1): 58. ISSN 0071-0563. JSTOR 4521532.
  13. ^ Seddon, Laura (15 April 2016). British Women Composers and Instrumental Chamber Music in the Early Twentieth Century. Routledge. p. 171. ISBN 9781317171348. Retrieved 24 April 2019 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Dean-Smith, Margaret (1951). 'The Preservation of English Folk Song in the Journal of the Folk Song Society'. Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, vol 6, no 3 (December), pp 69–76. Retrieved 24 October 2011 (subscription required).
  15. ^ a b c "History of the house". 19 August 2019.
  16. ^ "CECIL SHARP HOUSE".
  17. ^ "Cecil Sharp House, Camden, London".
  18. ^ "Ivon Hitchens' 'Mural'".
  19. ^ "The Best Music Venues in London: Cecil Sharp House". 7 July 2015.
  20. ^ "Our History". 19 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Cecil Sharp Project". English Folk Dance and Song Society. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  22. ^ Chilton, Martin (21 June 2013). "'Staggering' digital folk music archive launched". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  23. ^ "A consultation about our name". English Folk Dance and Song Society. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  24. ^ "What's in a Name?". English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Gold Badge Awards". 19 August 2019.
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51°32′17″N 0°08′57″W / 51.5381°N 0.1493°W / 51.5381; -0.1493

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