IVFDF
IVFDF

The Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival home page. This is the main site for the UK's student folk festival with links to the individual websites for each year's event.

IVFDF 2008 - Sheffield

Next year's IVFDF is going to be held here in Sheffield again!

IVFDF 2003 - Sheffield

Sheffield's recent festival in 2003 was organised by an offshoot of Ceilidhsoc.

Venues
Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind's Hall

The regular venue for many of our Ceilidh's, the "Blind Institute" as it is informally known is a great space for dancing and is easy to get to from West Street.

Red Deer

The Red Deer pub is where Ceilidhsoc have our regular session every Wednesday, as well as being the local pub for the Blind Institute ceilidhs.

Other University Folk Societies
Bristol University Folk Club

FCUB is a relatively new society set up by Rag Morris in Bristol. They hosted ICBINI in 2003 ("I Can't Believe It's Not IVFDF", a small scale version for those who can't wait).

Exeter University Folk Society

For the pig obsesed, or just those trying to workout how you create an Ellie (the description of the secret labs is in there somewhere) Exeter university home pages - lots going on, lots of activities.

Warwick University Ceilidh Society

Warwick Ceilidhsoc are a student ceilidh society full of enthusiasm and bounce! They are out to convert anyone who comes too close to Warwick to the joys of ceilidhs.

Sheffield University Societies
Step Dance Society

The Step Dance society learns and performs Clog, Irish, Appalachian and Rapper dance.

Salsa Society

The Salsa and Merengue Society provide latin dance lessions catering for begginer and intermediate dancers.

Dance Society

The Dance Society run ballet, contemporary and tap dance classes for those who prefer their dancing to be fun but a bit more refined.

Other Events
The JuJu Club

The JuJu club presents global music nights, mainly live and always upbeat and uplifting. Their main venue in Sheffield is the Boardwalk on Snig Hill.

The Phoenix Music Club

The Phoenix Music Club puts on regular folk and roots events in the heart of Sheffield. The events include mainly music and song, but also story-telling, dance and spoken-word performances.

Sheffield Folk Festival

The Sheffield Folk Festival will build on the excellent folk dance and music scene in Sheffield and will showcase some of the best local and national talent around

Les Panards Dansants

Traditional french music and dance sessions just up the M1 in Leeds; regular meetings, special events plus info and links.

Mumpers Ceilidh Club

Ceilidh club in Derby with ceilidhs on the 1st and 3rd Sunday each month. Seems to be another J²ohn Stewart sponsored event :-) Looks to be about an hour away by car.

Contra Dance

A new dance series starting in Sheffield bringing the distinctive American Contra style dance to a new home here in South Yorkshire.

Manchester Ceilidh

Promising new ceilidh series over in Manchester with a mostly younger crowd.

General Folk Related Information
South Riding Folk Network

The local folk arts organisation, with details of events, publications and folk-related links.

Seville House Records

Local organisation that has produced a CD called Forged in Sheffield featuring several bands spawned by Ceilidhsoc.

ABC Homepage

The best place to begin with ABC, Chris Walshaw's musical notation used to note down folk tunes. The site contains a truly huge database of tunes, as well as software links and links to ABC collections.

English Folk Dance and Song Society

One of the granddaddies of folk, EFDSS is based in Cecil Sharp House, Camden, and does all sorts of dance, music and song things.

Folk in South Yorkshire

FISY is the local group of EFDSS affiliates and their site lists lots of dances in the South Yorkshire area.

Martin Kiff's Webfeet

Large site giving details of events, bands, dances and anything else of interest to the world of folk music.

Dance Groups
Five Rivers

Five Rivers Morris is a bunch of relatively young blokes who decided a couple of years ago that they wanted to dance Cotswold morris so formed a new side. Currently recruiting!

Boggart's Breakfast

Boggart's Breakfast are a mixed (men and women) border morris team based here in Sheffield.

Freaks in the Peaks

Freaks in the Peaks are a border morris dancers' cooperative. They are a democratic group made up of both male and female dancers and musicians from all over the Britain. They meet quarterly in one of several villages in the Peak District, and welcome anyone who would like to join them.

Mr Fox

Mr Fox are a mysterous firey dancing phenomenon based in Sheffield and are known to descend upon festivals around the country. Rumour has it that several of their members turn up to our ceilidhs, but exactly who they are is of course a closely guarded secret (ahem).

Pecsaetan

Pecsaetan morris (pronounced 'peck-suh-tan') are a women's Cotswold morris side from Sheffield. Lot's of ex-students (and even the odd current student).

Triskele Sword

Rapper dance in Sheffield. On the lookout for new member or a chance to dance and demonstrate at any events going.

Related Bands
Blackmail Pete

Another ceilidh band spawned from the rich pool of talent at Ceilidhsoc with their own unique approach to playing.

Crucible

A dynamic folk ensemble made up of more Ceilidhsoc regulars, Crucible combine driving instrumental music with richly layered harmony song. Crucible draw from diverse influences, blending traditional music and song with contemporary rhythms and composition.

Derwenna

Derwenna is an exciting new ceilidh band formed from yet more Ceilidhsoc regulars. They play mainly Welsh music, plus an increasing number of their own compositions.

Hekety

Formed in 1997, Hekety are an English Ceilidh band who play a mixture of traditional English, Celtic and European dance music with an increasing amount of self written material. All of them turn up to ceilidhs and sessions as well as playing on stage.

Jabadaw

Jabadaw play folk dance music in a contemporary style. Most of their repertoire comes from the English and French traditions, with a small (but growing) number of self-penned tunes.

Minnie Moosika

Minnie Moosika are another group to spin off from the world of Ceilidhsoc. They play frenetic foot stamping music for dance, from Eastern European and Klezmer traditions. Clarinet, fiddle, double bass, mandola, voice and guitar - tight melodies, sharp arrangements that will whisk you away......

The Outlandish Knights

The Outlandish Knights are an energetic modern ceilidh band with rock influences, based in Sheffield and featuring several members who honed their art in Ceilidhsoc. Playing mostly their own original compositions, they blend tuneful melodies, epic solos and driving rhythms.

Poke

Not actually a folk band, Poke rather defy categorisation. Their insane eclectic mix of original music is energetic, always entertaining and usually just plain strange. Their members can often be seen at ceilidhs, though how they are allowed out in public is sometimes a mystery.

Roger the Badger

Roger the Badger is a blend of fiddle, guitar, mandolin and bass. All the musicians are very experienced at playing for dancing and know every turn and trick in how to get the dancefloor moving. Add in one of the UKs most distinctive and pithy dance callers and you've got a floor shaking dance combination.

Silverwheel

Traditional folk with a rock attitude and glam look; Silverwheel can often be found playing 'stealth folk', modern interpretations of folk tunes in venues and to audiences that would not normally welcome folk music.

Trinculo

Trinculo were formed in 2002 from some more of the Ceilidhsoc regulars (playing fiddle, sax/whistle, guitar and bass) and were joined in 2003 by Nick Cooke on melodeon. They play mainly English stuff including some very nice tunes written by Aisling, Jemma and Nick.

Callers
Jenny Reid

Jenny calls regularly for Ceilidhsoc, and is developing quite a busy career calling for bands around the country.

John Brown

John is one of Ceilidhsoc's regular callers and has started writing a website that will contain resources for other callers.

Music Tuition
Josie Wexler

Josie is a fantastic fiddler who has been playing in Ceilidhsoc circles for many years. She's now available to teach traditional fiddle to those people who want individual tuition.

Copyright © 2005 CeilidhSoc | Last Changed: 14/10/2010