Folk Association of South Hants

 

FASH workshops and events

We hold workshops on Sundays from 10.30am to 3.30pm at Durley Memorial Hall SO32 2AD and Soberton Village Hall SO32 3PF. See the bottom of this page for maps of the two venues.

Bring Your Own Lunch or you could try the pub up the road (although possibly not at Durley where there is no pub within walking distance of the hall). Tea, coffee and biscuits (£1 for the whole day) will be available and you can bring your own mug if you wish.

FASH members £9, non-members £12 and it costs just £10 to become a FASH member.

We usually run eight workshops between September and April, comprising six of various kinds of folk dance with live music and excellent callers, one West Gallery music with the Madding Crowd and one 'Do Something Different Day'. Past 'different' sessions have included handbells, bones/spoons, miming, story telling, singing together, shanties and more! In 2022 we had an informal get-together instead of the "DSDD", with lots of dance and some music, which we later called the 'FASH Winter Gathering'. This proved so popular that we have repeated it; this year it is on the 14th December.

If you fancy repeating any of these activities or can suggest new ones, please do contact us.

A copy of our 'FASH Workshops and Covid19' Supplement is here and we would ask you to read it before attending a workshop to see what precautions we will be taking at the venues, and what we ask our attendees to do to protect everyone involved.

Details of the workshops we have planned for 2025/2026 are below. Please also see our Facebook page for updates and news of FASH workshops. A flyer listing this season's workshops is available here.

We have set up an on-line calendar for those who might like to use it. You will need a Google account (if you have an @gmail email address, you already have an account, but if not you can register for a new account). Sign in to your Google account then go to your google calendar. On the left you should see something that says 'My calendars' and below that 'Other calendars' and a '+' sign. Click on the '+' and then 'subscribe to calendar', then where it says 'Add calendar' enter the account info for the FASH calendar which is fashfolk78@gmail.com

If you are a newcomer to folk dancing you might find it easier to try a ceilidh or a dance club first to learn the basics, but everyone is welcome - with a partner or on their own. We are a friendly crowd and will make sure you always have someone to dance with. These are workshops, as against "a dance night", by which we mean that the dances will be taught and there may be a focus on improving some particular aspect, or on different styles, or perhaps dancing in different positions. The emphasis on these Sundays is always on enjoyment.

 

19th Oct 2025

Durley Memorial Hall

Mike Courthold: music from Pogles Copse
"Superb Tunes and Timeless Dances".
 a.m. Dances from the Gary Roodman collection, some easy, some not so easy, but all with superb tunes.
p.m. A mixed bag of dances that have stood the test of time because they were so well crafted, fit the music, and are loved by the dancers.

16th Nov 2025

Soberton Village Hall

Liam Binley: music from Linda Game and Thomas Bending
"To Me the Tune is Everything"
a.m. We shall explore the dances with tunes I particlarly enjoy. We shall dance to waltzes, reels and jigs, in triple time and maybe even the odd slipjig thrown in for good measure.
p.m. We shall work through someof my own dances. I always start with the tune, so I hope you will feel that the dances fit the fit their tunes well. Brace yourselves, there might be a strathspey!

14th Dec 2025

Durley Memorial Hall

The FASH Winter Gathering! Not a workshop! Mainly dancing but with a few extras - a mix of callers, musicians and styles Only £6. A flyer is avaiable here.

11th Jan 2026

Soberton Village Hall

Brian Stanton: music from Pete & Sue Hall
"All the C's."
a.m. "Colin's concoctions" - ah, but which Colin?
p.m. "Callens' Corkers" (some of Phiippe's finest).

15th Feb 2026

Durley Memorial Hall

Barrie Bullimore: music from Claire Coxwell, Judith & Rick Beton
"Love and Affection"
am – dances appropriate to Valentines Day
pm – dances written for women, not necessarily romantic.

8th Mar 2026

Soberton Village Hall

The Madding Crowd - West Gallery Music
A popular annual workshop - come to sing or play your instrument or swap around and do both!
Contact Daphne on info@fash.org.uk or phone 07779818638 to book and reserve a copy of the music. Download a flyer here

22rd Mar 2026

Durley Memorial Hall

John Turner: music from Pete and Sue Hall
"Roodman's Gems" Gary Roodman has been composing English Country Dances since 1982. A retired college professor, he first discovered English and American dancing in 1976 on a visit to Pinewoods Camp, Massachussets. He has recently published his 14th book of 'Calculated Figures'. We shall discover some of his gems from the more than 150 dances he has now published.

26th Apr 2026

Soberton Village Hall

Thomas Bending: music from Pete and Sue Hall
"Dances from the Thompson Collection". Peter Thompson and his family published many collections of dances in the latter half of the 18th century, and many dances that people think of as "Playford" are actually from Thompson collections. We'll look at a varied selection.

17th May 2026

 

The FASH AGM
To be held via the Zoom application. Meeting will start at 4.00 (time to be confirmed); details for logging in and an information pack (officers' reports, accounts etc.) will be circulated nearer the time.

Our AGM for 2024/25 was held on 18th May 2025. The minutes are available here.

For those of you who plan a long way ahead............

Read more


           

A few images from our 2023 'Winter Gathering' in December, and a very short video, courtesy Dave McGlade and Dick Gurney.

 

 
Southern Stepping workshop led by Simon and Jo Harmer with JigFoot at Twyford. March 2014

 

 
West Gallery workshop led by Mike Bailey of Madding Crowd. February 2014

 

And some of the comments we have received about our workshops........

Mentally challenging but their dances were very interesting
Very clear instructions so it was easy to dance
Good dancing which seemed to be enjoyed by everyone
They are such skilled musicians and make it so easy to fit the steps into their music. Brilliant quality
Great music made you want to get up and dance

 


View Soberton Village Hall in a larger map

For directions to the Soberton Hall click here.

If you use what3words for navigation, Soberton Village Hall is located at ///advising.backhand.trumpet



View Durley Memorial Hall in a larger map

For directions to the Durley Hall click here.

If you use what3words for navigation, Soberton Village Hall is located at ///diggers.mediate.additives

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