Whitchurch WI enjoyed a celebratory buffet at the January meeting. Our usual buffet at the December meeting was postponed until the new year because the hall was unavailable. The hall was still not available in January, as the new roof was not yet completed, but we were able to enjoy our meeting in the cafe area. A splendid feast was offered through the generous contributions of the members.
Before enjoying the buffet, we were entertained by Pat Adams, who introduced us to Circle Dancing. She enthusiastically declared that it was fun, good exercise, and had 'gorgeous music'. Pat explained that circle dancing is an ancient tradition practised in many parts of the world, including Britain. Most of the dances practised these days come from Eastern Europe. Most villages would have four or five dances that they practised regularly with the whole community coming together to dance -- from infants to the elderly.
For her demonstaration for our WI group, Pat introduced several simple walking dances. Most of the dances included arm movements relating to the theme of the dance, and she encouraged those who remained seated to join in with these upper body movements. She taught seven dances: the first from Armenia; the second from Ukraine; the third dance was a seed sowing dance from North America; the fourth was a tweed-makers dance from the Hebrides; the fifth a Scottish sea shanty; the sixth a Turkish stamping dance, and the last one a selkie dance from the Scottish islands.
The dancing was most enjoyable, and, followed by the buffet, it was a perfect meeting.
Should anyone wish to join in with more circle dancing, Pat has several regular groups and she can be contacted at adamsp37@aol.com for details. She can also be found on Facebook: Circle Dance in Cardiff. The groups are: Insole Court , Thursdays, 11:00 to 12:00; in Fairwater on Fridays; U3A group meets at the Tabernacle in Cardiff, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 11:00 to 12:00; and quarterly gatherings in Bedwas.
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