Playing French tunes for balfolk dancing

Some of the tunes written for French balfolk dancing are very catchy – and at only 16 bars long easy to pick up – so it’s not surprising that they’re popular in sessions in the UK. But they’re not always played here in a way that works for French dancing – which can cause confusion since balfolk has no callers and dancers take their cue from the music. This workshop will take you through some tunes which you may know – and introduce some new ones – focussing on the speed, rhythm and phrasing needed for the dance. There will be dancers present to work with. There may be an opportunity to play tunes learned at a bal later in the weekend [with participants from the bal a la voix workshop]. Tunes will be in Gmaj, Dmaj, Gmin, Dmin, dots available.