| Welsh dance | |
|---|---|
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| Medium | Dance |
| Originating culture | Welsh |
| Originating era | 17th century [1] |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Wales |
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The Welsh dance (Welsh : Dawns Gymreig), also known as the Welsh folk dance (Welsh : Dawnsio gwerin), is a traditional dance in Wales, performed to Welsh traditional music and while usually wearing a traditional Welsh costume.
John Playford collected records of dances and music during the 17th century with Welsh associations and as such were considered a part of the Welsh tradition. [2]
Williams Jones corresponded with the Gwyneddigion Society, and with other contemporary men of letters, and began collecting and recording local folk songs and country dances for Edward Jones (Bardd y Brenin), the King's Bard. Jones spent much time conversing with the elderly members of the community as well as researching manuscripts and printed collections which provided Edward Jones with valuable material for his printed volumes. He describes many of the dances as having "sharp twists and turns rendering them fiendishly difficult to perform well", and stated that they were probably "too fatiguing for the bodies and minds of the present generation, and requiring much skill and activity in the performance". [3]
Catherine Margretta Thomas was born in 1880 [4] : 31 in the village of Nantgarw. Her parents were Daniel and Hannah Davies. [5] As a child she enjoyed watching the local dances [6] as they were performed in an open space below Twyn Chapel in Caerphilly [4] : 32 and at Nantgarw and Y Groes Wen. [6] Due to the hostility of the local churches to folk dancing, Catherine Margretta Thomas' own mother was not keen on her daughter going to see these dances, but Catherine was able to convince her father to take her along to witness the displays. The rise of Nonconformism in Wales meant that by the time Catherine Margretta Thomas was in her teens folk dancing had practically been eradicated in Nantgarw. [6]
Dancing had died hard if inconsistently [6] by 1911 when Catherine Margretta Thomas' daughter, Ceinwen Thomas (later Dr. Ceinwen Thomas [7] ), was born. But the influence of Nonconformism waned and by the time Ceinwen Thomas was attending school she was discussing the tradition of dancing in Nantgarw with her mother. [6] After Ceinwen Thomas had left college she met Walter Dowding of the Welsh National Folk Dance Society. She told him about her mother's recollections of folk dancing in Nantgarw. He put her in touch with Doris Freeman. Together Catherine Margretta Thomas, Ceinwen Thomas and Doris Freeman worked to notate the dance steps from the traditional dances that Catherine Margretta Thomas could remember. [6] These notes were then passed on to the Welsh National Folk Dance Society by Ceinwen Thomas. [8]
The Nantgarw dance tradition is a style of Welsh folk dancing from the South and Valleys regions of Wales, specifically associated with the small village of Nantgarw. The style encompasses both handkerchief and stick dances. The dances call for eight dancers in four pairs. [9] The style was first put into dance notation by Dr. Ceinwen Thomas (1911-2008) who wrote down what her mother, Catherine Margretta Thomas, could remember of the dances that had been danced locally when she was young. [10] The Nantgarw dances take their name from the village of Nantgarw in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf where they are said to have first been performed. [4] : 32
Following the religious revival's devastating effect on dancing in Wales, there was an increased desire for national expression via the means of dance. Lois Blake collected remnants of the Welsh dance tradition in her publication "Welsh Folk Dance", published 1948. [11]
Welsh dancing is an integral part of both the local and national eisteddfod tradition in Wales. Welsh dancing has become an integral part of the eisteddfodau and dancing tradition. [12] Notable dancing groups include Nantgarw Dancers hailing from the Pontypridd area and Talog dancers from Carmarthen. Both groups have enjoyed significant success in National Eisteddfod competitions. Nantgarw dancers have also had significant success in international competitions such as the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales, Lorient Folk Festival in France and Mallorca World Folk Festival in Spain. [13] [14]
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins and/or shoes. A band or single musician, also costumed, will accompany them. Sticks, swords, handkerchiefs, and a variety of other implements may be wielded by the dancers.
In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term eisteddfod, which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: eistedd, meaning 'sit', and fod, meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.
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Nansi Richards Jones was a Welsh harpist, sometimes known as the "Queen of the Harp" or by her bardic name "Telynores Maldwyn".
Clog dancing is a form of step dance characterised by the wearing of inflexible, wooden soled clogs. Clog dancing developed into differing intricate forms both in Wales and also in the North of England. Welsh clog dancing mainly originates from various slate mines where workers would compete against each other during work breaks. Northern English traditional clog dancing originates from Lancashire, Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumberland and the Lake District.
Welsh Americans are an American ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales, United Kingdom. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U.S. population. This compares with a population of 3 million in Wales. However, 3.8% of Americans appear to bear a Welsh surname.
David James Davies (1893–1956), known as D. J. Davies, was a Welsh economist, industrialist, essayist, author, political activist, pilot, and an internationalist. Davies was a world traveller before returning home to Wales.
The Urdd National Eisteddfod is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest youth festival, it is usually held during the last week of May, coinciding with schools' half term holiday. Locations alternate between north and south Wales. The Eisteddfod consists of competitive singing, recitation, art, composition, dance and instrumental events for contestants aged between 7 and 24 years. Regional qualifying heats are held in advance around Wales.
William Jones was a Welsh antiquary, poet, scholar and radical. Jones was an ardent supporter of both the American and French Revolutions – his strong support of the Patriot and Jacobin causes earned him the nicknames "the rural Voltaire", the "Welsh Voltaire", and accusations of being, "a rank Republican and a Leveller". Despite his vocal support for foreign revolutions, however, Jones never advocated a violent Welsh republican uprising against the House of Hanover and instead encouraged the Welsh people to emigrate en masse to "The Promised Land"; in the newly founded United States of America. Like many subsequent Welsh nationalists, however, Jones also held very strong anti-English sentiments. He often expressed an intense hostility to the completely Anglicised Welsh nobility, their policies of rackrenting, and their employment of land agents whom he considered, "destitute of the principles of justice [and] moral honesty". Similarly to Saunders Lewis, Jones was equally enraged by the increasing language loss among lower class Welsh people, which led to one contemporary to describe Jones as "the hottest arsed" Welshman he had ever met.
Thomas Hughes Jones was a Welsh poet and writer from Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) in West Wales. He wrote several collections of stories and contributed to various journals, including Welsh Outlook, throughout his career. In 1940 he won the Literature Medal for his story, "Sgweier Hafila", at the National Eisteddfod. His pen name was generally abbreviated to "T. Hughes Jones".
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Ceinwen Rowlands was a Welsh concert soprano and recording artist.
Gorsedd Cymru, or simply the Gorsedd or the Orsedd, is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and promote their fields in addition to maintaining relationships with other Celtic nations and Y Wladfa in Patagonia. The Gorsedd is most prominent at the National Eisteddfod of Wales where it is responsible for the main ceremonies held.
Frances Môn Jones was a Welsh harpist and teacher who won three harp competitions and one solo soprano contest at the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1937 to 1949. She began playing the organ at age 14 before playing the harp. Jones helped W. S. Gwynn Williams to establish the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and played the harp at events. She attended the Royal Northern College of Music from 1955 to 1960 and subsequently retired from performing to teach in schools around the area of her residence.
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Rhiannon Ifans, FLSW is a Welsh academic specialising in English, Medieval and Welsh literature. She was an Anthony Dyson Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, in University of Wales Trinity St. David. She twice won a Tir na-n-Og prize for her work and won the literary medal competition at the Welsh Eisteddfod, for her 2019 debut novel, Ingrid, which was chosen for the Welsh Literature Exchange Bookshelf. In 2020, Ifans was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.
The Welsh stepdance or Welsh clog dance is a traditional Welsh form of dance involving clog shoes and percussive movement of the feet and athletic movements. It is typically done to Welsh traditional music and wearing traditional Welsh costume, but not always.
Catherine Margretta Thomas was a Welsh folk dancer and is known for recording the Welsh dance of the Nantagrw tradition.
The Nantgarw dance tradition is a Welsh dancing tradition that originates from the Nantagarw area in south Wales.
The Welsh Folk Dance Society is an organisation which supports, maintains and extends Welsh traditional dancing. It is also a registered charity.
