Balfolk
Balfolk is a tradition of music and dance from across Europe. We particularly enjoy dancing and playing for dances from central and northern France, and Sweden, but we love the diversity of balfolk dances.
You can catch us regularly playing and dancing at Cam-french, and we've played bals in Cambridge, for community events Les Batons in Kent and BalFolk Bristol, and festivals such as Skint.
We also really enjoy sharing balfolk music and dancing by teaching workshops. We can offer workshops for musicians and/or dancers, those transferring skills from other folk traditions or complete beginners.
If you enjoy our music but are looking for a bigger band, check out our other band Portmanteau, where we are joined by multi-instrumentalist Robin Fairey. If you're looking for something a bit different, Portmanteau can also play a completely electronic set.
Want to book us for your bal? Get in touch to discuss your needs.
Events
Upcoming public events
- Bal on 7th February 2024 at Pied à Terre in Norwich as part of new band Portmanteau.
Past public events
- Bal, and workshops on introduction playing for bal and dancing balfolk at Skint, 3rd-5th November 2023
- Workshop on July 2nd 2023 as part of the Stegastomp event from Contrasaurus - balfolk music and dance for people who usually dance contra. Facebook event here, and the tunes and dances we played.
- Bal on 16th April 2023 at Les Batons dance series in Kent, with guest musician Robin Fairey.
- Bal on 18th June 2022 at BalFolk Bristol. Facebook event here.
- Workshop on 20th Feb 2021, introduction to playing music for Bal at IVFDF. Tunebook available here