Lemmings Reprieve
is friendly (noisy) and open to all, regardless of previous experience. There
is no need to bring a partner. We dance mostly English Country Dances from the
17th and 18th centuries, traditional folk dances
collected in various parts of the country in more recent times and modern
compositions in the same style. The club is affiliated to the English Folk
Dance and Song Society.
The dances are
taught and “called” by Andrew Shaw, and the music is played by Club musicians,
led by Denise Bearon.
The Lemmings
Reprieve Folk Dance Club took shape round Peter Hicks’ dining table during a
late night coffee session in 1984. The aim was to revitalise the long-running Altrincham Folk Dance Club (itself a lineal descendant of
the catchily named Bowdon Church Country Dancing
Group, formed in 1953), which, like most clubs, danced to recorded music. The
overhaul involved a new name, a new, more accessible venue, a change in the
frequency of meetings and, above all, the introduction of live music. The new
name, Lemming’s Reprieve, was the inspiration of Tim Beasant
and remains a zany but wonderfully apt statement of the club’s ethos.