Contrary Faeries arise from Sheffield to delight, entrance, and enthrall! Sol Loreto-Miller (they/she) on piano and Joshua Rowe (they/them) on fiddle will whisk you away to a world where you can dance forever and forget your troubles, your home, and the life you lived before.

Charlie Turner has been dancing and teaching for as long as she can remember, but a move to San Francisco transformed her contra dancing and started her calling. Now based in Cambridge, UK, she brings the best of the West Coast to contra crowds, with clear, friendly teaching and satisfying dance selections. She emphasises connection, fun, flow and inclusivity in dance.

FiddlersWreck Ceilidh Band are a York based band that have been playing lively music for dancing to for 18 years. Marie Wood (accordion), Nicky Kerslake (fiddle) and Michael Jary (concertina) play a mixture of English, Northumbrian, Scottish and Irish music to fit to Michael’s broad selection of dances suitable for ceilidh novices and more experienced dancers alike.

Traditional Balfolk dance tunes with a touch of modernity. Portmanteau’s blend of acoustic instruments and subtle synthesizers creates a captivating musical experience that honors tradition while embracing the future.

Dance the night away. Anyone can call, anyone can play, anything can be danced.

Enjoy an afternoon of dancing from the 17th and 18th century, based around the dances published by John Playford, danced as they should be danced - fun, with lots of energy and to wonderful music.

Matt and Ali are familiar faces on the social dance scene. They are both multi instrumentalists combining accordion, piano, fiddle and mandolin to create music full of inventiveness and energy guaranteed to get people up and dancing. Expect highs and lows with driving rhythms, beautiful textures and the odd funky bass line.

Lauren Catlin is a caller and dancer based in Nottingham with experience in calling for all ages and abilities. A trainee history teacher in her non-folk life, she enjoys tunes and music from the past and how they have been interpreted and adapted for new audiences. She is a regular caller at Nottingham Folk Dance Group, and has also called at Loughborough Folk Dance Club, the Round’s Playford Ball, and a variety of online events.

A ceilidh with a difference, between the normal ceilidh dances there will be lots of display spots where you can come and show off the display dance your university society has put together. From amazingly sublime dances to sublimely silly dances (think Lord of the Rings themed Postie’s Jig or Scottish meets Monty Python).

The Shamrock Experience is a three piece folk fusion ceilidh band that blends folk reels and jigs with a combination of styles that drives rhythm at the heart of their sound. Formed in 2006, The Shamrock Experience has played for many events around the UK including The Llangollen International Music Festival, BBC Countryfile, and Channel 5 Celebs On The Farm. The band explores folk melodies combined with improvisation, effects and styles to captivate audiences with instructed dances adapted to suit from beginners onwards. The band has also recently run ceilidhs for the York University Folk Society.

Dance programme

Break

Extras

We are Weaver and Wood, a duo specialising in folk improvisation inspired by both current and historical traditions. We formed through our desire to celebrate the energy and vibrancy that improvisation can bring to live performance. Our music ranges from contemporary folk arrangements of traditional tunes, improvisation on Medieval chants, and exploring the improvisatory possibilities of our own compositions.

Lucy and Stephen are experienced callers and teachers of Scottish Country Dancing and Ceilidhs based in Edinburgh, having called and taught on the East coast of Scotland for university groups and others. They have performed Scottish Country and Highland dances across Europe as participants of folk festivals. They are frequent attendees of IVFDF as both dancers and workshop leaders and are looking forward to their first time calling an evening dance at the festival!

We couldn’t host IVFDF in York without an appearance from Blackbeard’s Tea Party - they were formed in the city in 2009 and have gone on to become one of the most in-demand ceilidh bands in the country. They’ve played memorable ceilidhs at Cambridge Folk Festival, Towersey Festival, Sidmouth Folk Week and many others. Their arrangements of folk tunes have a rock edge, heavy riffs, playful arrangements and driving dance rhythms.

Over the years, caller Gordon Potts has been their frequent partner in crime. One of the most experienced ceilidh callers around, Potts is a true party starter with the perfect repertoire of dances to match Blackbeard’s Tea Party’s energy.

Emily Bowden (fiddle) and Simon Dumpleton (chromatic accordion) have been touring together on the Balfolk scene for the last 8 years, both as a duo and, with the Belgian guitarist Simon Laffineur, as Emily & The Simons. Emily’s fiddle playing is sublime and the melodies soar over driving foot-tapping rhythms and chords from Simon’s accordion. Much of their music is adapted from the trio’s set; tender, soulful mazurkas, joyful, exuberant bourrées and everything in between. The duo formation also allows them to include additional material not heard at the trio gigs.

The inimitable Benjamin Rowe and Vic Smith, masters of the traditional and the intangible, provide a unique and highly danceable musical experience.

From fire and darkness rise the mighty Bearded Dragons. Blending traditional and electronic styles, they are pioneers of Techno Contra, Techno Playford, and Electro Folk in general, at the very cutting edge of folk dance music. They are fiddle playing behemoth Benjamin Rowe (also found rampaging in Contrasaurus), and bellows, keys and synths monster Vic Smith (known also in Double Dichotomy, Fat Harry, and Ceilidh Experiment). Using both traditional instruments and sounds, with live hardware synthesisers, Bearded Dragons weave a musical experience that is entirely unique.

Sam Tetley Smith is a Sheffield-based contra caller and general folk-dance nerd. Expect dances with lots of opportunity to get lost in the music without too much chance of getting lost in the room.

Dance the night away. Anyone can call, anyone can play, anything can be danced.

Just Keep Dancing! Allow a cavalcade of IVFDF’s finest contra dance callers to guide you through a constant stream of contra dance – no walkthroughs and no interruptions! If you want a break or to ask somebody else to dance, just stop dancing at the end of the set and join back in when you’re ready. Suitable for dancers comfortable with common contra figures.

A chance to swing dance the lunchtime away. Put into practice all the skills you’ve learnt in the Blues and Charleston workshops.

Celebrate the end of another fantastic IVFDF by calling, playing and/or dancing at our survivors’ ceilidh!

There will be a sign up sheet for calling at the front desk and Harry Pollard + Matt Norman will be leading the IVFDF Scratch Band (Scratch band rehearsals are on Saturday and Sunday mornings).

Sadly cancelled due to illness.

To kick off the festival we are delighted to announce our pre-dancing special show, ‘The Walls Have Eyes (but so do we)’: a folk puppetry show.

Inspired by true stories of the Portuguese fascists dictatorship, ‘the walls have eyes’ is a family visual puppetry show about self expression, innocence, bravery and what it takes to create change. Set against a backdrop of surveillance and censorship, watch a young girl as she discovers the true scope of the dangers that surround her and finds freedom within community. Written and performed by Jo Feijó, accompanied by the live folk of Frankie Insley, this show is an empowering watch for the whole family, reminding us of the importance of caring for one another through hard times and how only true inter dependance can allow for meaningful transformation.

Age recommendation: 8+

This will kick of the festival at 7pm in St Lawrence Church Community Hall, YO10 3WP.

This will be stewarded but not ticketed so you can go straight there before collecting your wristband from campus.