Workshops

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Open to everyone

Workshops at Swanage Folk Festival are open to everyone, whether you’ve been involved in folk music and dance for years or are simply curious to try something new.

Relaxed atmosphere

Many sessions are designed with beginners in mind, creating a friendly and relaxed atmosphere where people can join in at their own pace without feeling out of place.

Learn new skills

They mainly focus on learning new skills, but also about joining in, having fun and experiencing folk traditions first hand.

One of the joys of the workshops is the welcoming atmosphere. It’s common to see complete beginners dancing alongside experienced performers, musicians sharing tunes together and visitors discovering something they never expected to enjoy. Whether you take part in one session or several, workshops are a great way to experience the community spirit at the heart of Swanage Folk Festival.

If you have a weekend ticket, they’re free, otherwise the cost of a workshop is £4 cash on the door. Sorry, but we can only take cash on entry to the worshop. Arrive in plenty of time, get your tickets and enjoy learning.

Saturday's workshops

Workshop	Description	When / Where
Transformative Ukulele	Elevate your music! Learn to add variety to your playing: explore fingerpicking, fluid strumming, chord melody, and solo duets to captivate listeners. More about this workshop Ukulele Improver/Intermediate Workshop Ready to take your ukulele playing to the next level? Join us for an engaging workshop designed to boost your skills and confidence 🎼 What You Need Instrument: Bring your own ukulele. Tuning: Standard g-C-E-A tuning. 👥 Is this for you? This session is perfect for improver and intermediate players. You should already know your basic chords (like C, F, G, and Am) and be ready to learn new techniques, strumming patterns, or chord transitions. The session will lbe for 1 hour Note: This session is not suitable for absolute beginners. 🎟️ Register Now It does not commit you but please register your interest by sending a text to 07926	Catholic Church Hall Sat 10:00
English Folk Dance	You will enjoy some traditional and some more recent English Folk dances. All levels of experience, even none, welcome. More about this workshop This will be an opportunity to dance some of the English Folk Dances which you might dance at a typical Folk Dance Club meeting, such as Wareham Folk Dance Club (Stoborough Village Hall each Monday at 7:30 pm) or Langton Matravers FDC (LM Village Hall each Tuesday at 7:30 pm). All dances are walked through and called to the music. Wear informal clothes and comfortable shoes. This activity is suitable for all ages and abilities of those who can walk around the room. It provides gentle physical activity and mental stimulation in a friendly, social context combined with a sense of achievement.	Catholic Church Hall Sat 11:15
Belly dance	We will be practicing and putting together some traditional Egyptian belly dance moves to music. It will be a lot of fun	Catholic Church Hall Sat 12:30
ITM Alexander Technique	Alexander Technique is often part of the professional training of musicians and performers More about this workshop Kate will share a short presentation, followed by a practical demonstration of how ITM Alexander Technique can help to bring more freedom and ease of movement to the performance of all your everyday activities.	Catholic Church Hall Sat 13:45
Bollywood	It’s an hour of fun dancing and learning some basic steps of Bollywood dancing. More about this workshop Bollywood dance is the vibrant, commercial dance style featured prominently in India’s Hindi-language film industry, based in Mumbai. It is a colourful global phenomenon known for its high energy, theatrical storytelling, and infectious rhythm.	Catholic Church Hall Sat 16:20

Sunday's workshops

Workshop	Description	Photo (click to enlarge)	When / Where
French dance workshop and Bal	Workshop to show how to dance French dancesbourrées, schottisches, waltzes, mazurkas, and more! More about this workshop We will also look at some simple Breton dances. As well as teaching the basics, we will also look at style and variation in the dances – how to make a French dance look & feel French. We then have the rest of the session up to 5pm for a very special French Bal with Confluence Folk Duo – Gill Redmond on ‘cello & Alasdair Paton on Accordion. Since playing their first Euro dance at Chippenham festival in 2018, Confluence have played at multiple festivals in the south of England including Sidmouth, Swanage and Bridport. They have played concert sets at folk and cabaret clubs in Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. They have also been playing for bal-folk dancing around the south of England at Brighton, Bristol, Reading, London, Exeter. We run the regular EuroBal Wessex dances at Ibsley VH in the New Forest – join our mailing list at https://mailchi.mp/aef08cb0fdf5/eurobalwessex		Catholic Church Hall Sun 15:00