English Folk Dance and Song Society
The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss'[3]) is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance.[4][5] EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society.[6] The EFDSS, a member-based organisation, was incorporated[7] in 1935 and became a registered charity[8] in 1963.
Publications[edit]
Since 1936 the EFDSS has published English Dance & Song at least four times a year. This has become the longest-established magazine devoted to folk music, dance and song in the country. English Dance & Song is aimed at stimulating the interest of the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community.
Their regular scholarly publication is Folk Music Journal, published annually in December, which was formerly entitled the Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society until 1965. The work continues the earlier journals of the two societies: Journal of the Folk-Song Society, 1899–1931;[14] Journal of the English Folk Dance Society 191431.
Cecil Sharp House[edit]
The Society is based at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, North London.[15] Originally conceived as a purpose-built headquarters for the English Folk Dance Society, and now Grade II-listed, it was designed in the neo-Georgian style by architect Henry Martineau Fletcher,[16] and opened on 7 June 1930.[15]
The building's most striking feature is Kennedy Hall, a large concert and performance space with a sprung ballroom floor for dancing. The space features acoustic-focused design elements, courtesy of Fletcher's friend and fellow architect Hope Bagenal.[17]
One wall of the hall originally accommodated a raised musicians gallery, but this was destroyed by bomb-damage in the Second World War. When the damage was repaired, in works concluding in 1954, the decision was made to commission a mural by the British abstract pastoral painter Ivon Hitchens. When unveiled, it was the largest single-wall mural in the United Kingdom.[18]
In addition to Kennedy Hall, Cecil Sharp House contains several smaller performance and rehearsal spaces; a café and bar; and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and Archive. Cecil Sharp House is an active and popular venue for concerts, as well as conferences and other private functions. In 2015, the building was voted as one of London's 20 best music venues by readers of Time Out magazine.[19]
The EFDSS Gold Badge Award, created in 1922, is made to those deemed to have made exceptional contributions to folk music, dance, or the wider folk arts and folk community. Many past recipients are prominent figures not only within the folk community, but of wider British culture and society.[25]
