English Folk Dance and Song Society

"The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) is one of the leading folk development organisations in the UK with a history dating back to 1898."


 * President: Shirley Collins

Related Criticism

 * Georgina Boyes, The imagined village: culture, ideology and the English Folk Revival (Manchester University Press, 1993). Boyes writes:


 * "Much of the English Folk Dance Society's growth in activity in the 1920s derived from its restructuring on a county basis after the First World War. Devised by Sharp as a means of establishing the Revival in the countryside, the county organisation was funded by the Carnegie Trust, one of whose objects was making 'country life happy, bright and cheerful'. Within this structure, it was 'comparatively recent organisations' - Women's Institutes, Scout and Guide groups which were 'especially effective' in 'the re-introduction of folk-dances in village life'. The initiatives involved ranged from straightforward introductory classes and preparation for local competitions to large-scale projects such as arranging the 1921 festival in the grounds of the Earl of Bathurst's country house in 'feudal' Gloucestershire. Even before the development of the county structure, village folk dance groups were already being put forward as a solution to 'the problem of the labourer's amusement'." (p.109)

Contact
URL: http://www.efdss.org

Related Sourcewatch

 * David Fleming (Organic)