May Heydays at Evesham is the relocated and renamed Eastbourne International Folkdance Festival. Since our first festival at the new venue, The De Montfort School, Evesham, in 2022 we have gone from strength to strength. Our dance programme is extensive and very varied. We also offer singing and music workshops for various levels of proficiency. We believe that we are now the only festival in England with a whole stream of International dance events. All events are on the same site.
Please note that only guide and assistance dogs are allowed within the school buildings.
Our extensive English programme of workshops and dances offers modern and historical dance (including Playford and other styles and eras) with a variety of live bands from England and/or the States. There are English Balls on both Saturday and Sunday evening for which dancers are invited (but not obliged) to wear historical costume or formal dress. Entry is on a first-come-first-served basis (no advance tickets).
Festival-goers also enjoy a great selection of American contras and squares, again with a variety of live bands from England and/or the States. These workshops and dances will be led by callers from the UK and/or the States.
Our International guests will teach dances from different regions of the world, with a special emphasis on the Balkans. French/Breton dancing is a constant. We also do Scandi regularly. Owing to the range of tunes and styles involved in International dancing, workshops are mainly taught with recorded music, but there is always live music for the evening dances.
May Heydays also offers an eclectic mix of other dance styles, traditional and modern. To give you a few examples, we may throw in Maypole dancing and Morris, Jive, Lindy Hop, Cajun or Argentine Tango. In 2024 we had Regency, Indian and Egyptian dancing.
A further string to the festival's bow is our commitment to providing opportunities for Caller Training. Club callers are given the chance to call for a festival after having attended a Callers' Workshop, a Callers' Training Session followed by a Callers' Showcase with live music. Please Contact Mecki if you are interested in taking up this opportunity. The festival will also include a “Callers' Round” where callers can meet up and exchange notes, moderated by an experienced caller.
And last but not least: we have established a dance-writing competition as a permanent feature. Any choreographer can send in a dance as long as they follow the rules. We have great fun trying out and discussing these new dances. Callers and choreographers find this quite enlightening and dancers get to dance brand new dances!
As you can see, there are many photos and links to videos on this site. If you don't want to appear in these, please make yourself known to our photographer at the time.
To keep the festival alive and open to change, it is a good thing not to get stuck in a rut with the same people for too long; we are therefore looking for new volunteers to take on some of the tasks that make the festival run smoothly.
Click here for much more information.