Andrew
Shaw
Andrew
was dragged kicking and screaming to his first country dance as a teenager back
in the 60s, but has got over that and is now one of the most sought after and respected
English Country Dance leaders at home and abroad, highly regarded for his
detailed knowledge, high standards and precise, good-humoured instruction.
At home he has run
the Lemmings Reprieve dance club for 40 years and his annual Kyndred Spirits course,
dating back (under different names) to 2001, attracts an international group of
country dancers. Although he can sometimes be found teaching modern dances in
the same style, 17th and 18th century ECD is his passion,
formed under the influence of his friend and mentor Tom Cook. He researches,
reconstructs, then teaches these dances, not as museum pieces, but in a way
that will appeal to the dancers of today.
He is
uncompromising in his belief in the value of dancing well: that doing so can
raise the dancer to another level, that dancing, like singing, is one of life’s
redeeming pleasures, that lemmings may indeed be reprieved.
He has published
six collections of dance reconstructions to date, the most recent entitled The
Irish Howle – its accompanying CD recorded in
In-between times,
he also edited The Dances of Brian Wedgbury, in memory of this fine
dance composer and near-neighbour, who died in 2002.
For
a list of his forthcoming engagements, click here
For
price and availability of his publications, click here
For
lists of the dances taught at his annual weekends, click the following links:
For the Furthur Improvement of Dancing
(2008-2015)
Kyndred Spirits (2016-2020, 2022-2025)