Stepdancing
What is stepdancing?
Stepdancing is a vernacular form of tap dancing, where individual dancers improvise a sequence of steps, most frequently to a hornpipe tune. The sound of the steps is probably the most important aspect, and the dance, although energetic is not particularly dramatic. Dancers are usually self-taught, and dance in informal settings mostly in pubs and other social gatherings where there is a suitable atmosphere and music. If more than one dancer is present, they will often dance in turn. These days, stepdancers often carry a wooden board with them, as so many floors are carpeted. Some dancers add blakeys to their shoes to enhance the sound, others prefer a pair of leather-soled shoes.
Brian Whatling Percy West Richard, Ben & Fiona Davies Doreen O'Connor Amy & Jess Chilvers
& Lenny Whiting
Where can you see stepdancing?
In East Anglia, stepdancing survives outside the rarefied air of the folk festival and club, and is still danced freestyle in pubs and village halls wherever there's some music. Virtually any Old Hat Concert Party event will include stepdancers, and many Rig-a-Jig-Jig events in Norfolk also include stepping. Our Traditional Music Day attracts more stepdancers every year, and we run several events during the day where you can watch stepdancing, talk to the dancers and have a go yourself, although there is no formal teaching on the day. For the last few years, we have also run a Stepdance Day in the summer, which is a magnet for dancers from all over the region, and includes informal dancing and competitions. See below for details of this year's event, and past ones.
Outside East Anglia, you are most likely to find stepdancing in Devon - the Dartmoor Pixies are a good contact point, featuring Jason Rice in their line-up, and the Dartmoor Folk Festival includes workshops and a competition. Aside from that, most north country clogging is found in folk circles, and there are plenty of opportunities to learn Lancashire and north east clogging styles: find your local folk development agency via the Folk Arts England website, and they should be able to put you in contact with a teacher.
This year's EATMT Stepdance Day took place on Sunday 5th July 2009 in Worlingworth, near Framlingham in Suffolk.
This was the fourth Stepdance Day we have organised, having
taken over the reins from the Delarre family who founded and ran the Steve Monk
Memorial Stepdance Championship at Moreton in Essex for the first few years.
Their original idea was not only to keep alive the memory of Steve
Monk, a great entertainer who introduced many people in Essex to traditional
music and dancing, but also to encourage anyone to have a go and take part in
stepdancing. This aspect has really taken off in recent years, as may be seen by
the fact there is now a stepdance day in Blaxhall as
well, and people in Norfolk have also taken it up again keenly. Last year we
expanded our event to include a second competition to encourage a higher
standard of traditional-style dancing, as a tribute to Font Whatling, a
legendary stepdancer who lived in Worlingworth, the village where our
Stepdance Day has been held for the last couple of years. There are various
other awards for newcomers and youngsters, thanks to patrons Gloria & Trevor
Buckley and other supporters, but the real joy is in the fantastic atmosphere
and the chance to see and meet up with other dancers.
The event took place at the Worlingworth Swan, thanks to the continuing support from both landlady Maxine, who supplied a marquee, and from Percy & Doreen West who provided enough boards for everyone to have a go in a workshop.
The informal event kicked off about 1pm with a short tutorial session hosted by Simon Ritchie, followed by a music and stepping session. There then followed the two competitions, the Steve Monk Memorial Competition (allcomers) and the Font Whatling Trophy (hard-soled shoes only).
Competition Results 2009
Winner of the Steve Monk Memorial Stepdance Competition 2009 was Lenny Whiting. Runner-up was Leo Baker, (previously best newcomer) and best newcomer was Sue Mitchell. A new prize of best under-16 was awarded to Catrin Pena.
Winner of the Font Whatling Traditional Stepdance Trophy was Cyril Barber, aged 86, who astounded the entire audience by bounding up on stage unaided and won everybody over with his energetic and precise dancing. Runners up were Simon Ritchie and Doreen West.
Photos: Brian Whatling (left), son of Font, presents Cyril Barber (right) with the trophy and framed photo; Charlotte Lally dancing in the Steve Monk championship in front of judges Simon Ritchie, Marilyn Monk and Percy West.
More photographs of the event may be viewed online, thanks to EATMT member and photographer John Halliday (who took the photos above), who has kindly provided an opportunity for you to see more of his photos from EATMT events, and to make links with other enthusiasts on the social networking site Facebook. You don't have to belong to Facebook to see the photographs, just click here to see the photos: Stepdance Day 2009
General information about Stepdance Day 2009
Steve Monk Memorial Competition
Open to allcomers - even if you've only had a go for the first time in the preceding workshop, you're encouraged to enter this competition. Dancers have a free choice of music and musician for this competition - there are always several really experienced stepdance musicians around!
Font Whatling Trophy
Started in 2008 by EATMT in memory of the Worlingworth Swan's resident musician and stepper (1919-1998) who was also for a number of years a member of the Old Hat Concert Party and became well known at folk festivals around the country. The aim of this competition is to keep the older style of dancing with hard-soled shoes going and encourage a higher standard. Entrants are not permitted to wear clogs or tap shoes, and have to dance to two specific tunes: Pigeon on the Gate (hornpipe) and Oh, Joe, the Boat is Going Over (polka) played by the same musician for all dancers.
Dancers are welcome to enter both competitions.
Judges include previous winners of the competitions and there are several prizes including some specifically for children and newcomers.
The postcode for the pub is IP13 7HR. Telephone 01728 628267. For more details, a map and event the OS grid reference (TM224 682), have a look on the Suffolk CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) website.
Link to Previous Stepdance Days
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