AVID (Awaken Village Interest in Dance) aims to interest more people in folk dancing – whether by dancing, playing or calling. We run informal dances once a month (on a Tuesday or Wednesday) in different villages in the North Lincolnshire and North Nottinghamshire area. The dances are run on a session basis, and we have a lot of fun!  

The programme for the Autumn 2008 term is:

Sept 10th		New Village Hall		Hatfield Woodhouse
Oct 8th		Village Hall		Gringley on the Hill
Nov 12th		Imperial Hall		Epworth
Dec 10th		Village Hall		Finningley

Dances run from 8pm to 10.45pm. Admission is still £1  (50p for children).

What sort of dancing do we do? Anything people want to do, so long as someone can play the music and call for the dance. Many of the dances are English, but we have also had Scottish, French and Spanish dances.

What about the musicians? We do not book a band – whoever turns up and wants to play form the band. The music is played acoustically and we do not limit the numbers in the band. We cater for all levels of experience and have published two AVID tune books for when there is doubt about which tune to play next!

Who calls? We encourage those new to calling as well as experienced callers, who will often try that new dance out!

It is quite common for individuals to move between dancing, playing and calling. In fact, we encourage musicians to dance since it helps them to understand the pace and feel required for the dance.

What happens on a normal night? A typical evening’s dancing will attract about 30-40 people of whom up to 10 could be musicians. We will probably dance about 12 dances, ranging from perennial favourites such as Roger de Coverley, Boston T-Party and Willow tree to not so well-known ones from original sources. The music is largely taken from the AVID Tune Books, although the level of difficulty of the tunes played depends on who is there. It is quite common to play one tune for the dance; John Kirkpatrick would be proud of us!

How much will it cost ? We aim to keep the costs low. We hire the hall and provide sandwiches at halftime, (bring your own liquid refreshment). For all that we currently charge only £1 so that anyone can afford to come along. With the accent on fun and informality, the club has some memorable nights.

Where to find us? We run dances in the area on the west side of the Trent bounded by Crowle in the north; Beckingham in the south; and Finningley and Bawtry in the west.

If you would like to receive our regular AVID newsletter with all the latest information on AVID "do it yourself ceilidhs" email peter_barnard.squeeze@virgin.net.

The AVID Music Sessions

AVID music sessions will be held on the third Wednesday of each month and a French music session every first Wednesday, both at The Waterfront - West Stockwith .

With a history stretching back for some fifteen years including The Crooked Billet at Owston Ferry and more recently at The Waterfront - West Stockwith the Avid Sessions have become a must with local musicians. There is no charge for admittance, whether as a performer or listener and musicians on all instruments are welcome to join us regardless of experience.

For more information contact 01427 890151 Or 01427 873937