Llangadfan Dances

The Llangadfan Dances (Welsh: Dawnsfeydd Llangadfan) are a collection of traditional Welsh dances originating from the Llangadfan area of north Wales.

History

Origins

William Jones of Llangadfan

The eighteenth century saw much change to Welsh society and Welsh culture. As such, Welsh radicals such as William Jones actively attempted to revive and record the dance traditions of their own areas. Jones assiduously interviewed the elderly folk around the community of Llangadfan and was also a notable antiquary and authority on manuscripts. Among Jones' collaborators in this work was his own father, William Sion Dafydd who recalled the dances he had learned in his own youth during the sixteenth century. Through this work, Jones rediscovered numerous dances together with the ancient airs, melodies and stanzas that accompanied them. ^{[1] [2]}

20th Century revival

The Dances were the subject of academic analysis in the early twentieth century, being republished in works by Hugh Mellor and W.S. Gwynn Williams. In 1936, W.S. Gwynn Williams published another work with Lois Balke. "The Llangadfan Dances" proved highly influential during the revival of interest in Welsh dance during the mid-twentieth century, and it is by this name that the corpus of William Jones' work has come to be known. ^[3] A second edition of "The Llangadfan Dances" was published in 1954, which expanded on the original work and corrected a number of errors. ^[4]

Difficulty

The Llangadfan dances have had a reputation as more physical or difficult to perform since they were first recorded. William Jones even recorded his concerns in his initial writings, stating that the dances that had been enjoyed by older generations of Welsh farmers and peasantry were "too fatiguing for the bodies and minds of the present generation, and requiring much skill and activity in the performance", adding that the "sharp twists and turns rendering them fiendishly difficult to perform well". ^[5]

References

1. "A Rank Republican and a Leveller, William Jones Llangadfan". The Welsh History Review. 17 (1–4): 378–380. June 1994. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
2. Blake, Lois (1954). The Llangadfan Dances (2nd ed.). Wrexham and Cardiff. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
3. Palfrey, Eiry. "BLAKE, LOIS (1890 - 1974), historian and promoter of Welsh folk dancing". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
4. Pilling, Julian (1982). "The Dances of William Jones" (PDF). Historical Dance. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
5. Jenkins, Geraint H. (1994–1995). "A rank Republican (and) a leveller: William Jones". Welsh History Review: Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru. p. 380. Retrieved 22 April 2011.