Grenoside Sword Dancers

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Traipse Press Release 2

Dance teams line up

Dancing is all the rage! That’s not on the evidence of "Strictly come dancing" but of what is happening to Grenoside Sword Dancers' tour of Wentworth and Thorpe Hesley area. The tour, to be held on Saturday 9th Jan 2010 celebrates Cecil Sharp’s collecting the Grenoside sword dance (which had already existed for some hundreds of years) and thereby sealing its place in the canon of traditional dance.

It sets out, loosely, to replicate the arduous traipses round the area which the sword dancers made, visiting farms and country houses and receiving food and drink, and money if they were lucky.

The area is well chosen as the side was virtually refounded after the devastation of World War I, by scouts from Wentworth, while Thundercliffe Grange in Thorpe Hesley which the Dancers are using as their base for the day was one of the regular stops for the team.

Originally the tour involved Grenoside and their North Eastern twin team, the rapper side Newcastle Kingsmen. However the programme has expanded with Wath Morris Men joining in with their border Morris and the local junior schools also planning to participate.

Thorpe Hesley Junior School are learning a Sword dance to perform at Scholes and Thorpe, while Wentworth C. of E. Junior and Infant school who have a strong tradition of country dancing, will perform at Wentworth and Harley.

Venues for the performances are Wentworth (in front of George and Dragon), approx 10.45 Harley( behind Horseshoe) approx 11.30, Scholes (behind Bay Horse), approx 1.15 and Thorpe Hesley, Trinity Centre, approx 2.10, before returning to Thundercliffe Grange.

The day is supported by Wentworth brewery who are brewing a special beer, and it is also hoped that other community activities will take place at some of the stands.

In the evening, at a celebration for the participants Grenoside and Kingsmen will unveil a new dance production to celebrate the Centenary and those teams who Cecil Sharp collected.


Further information from Joe Dunn jsphdunn@yahoo.com or Jeremy Blundell (0114 2453660 or jblndll@aol.com).

Photographs of the schools rehearsing should be arranged with the schools, other photographs can be drawn from Grenoside sword team’s web site.



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