We are a music and dance society at Exeter University passionate about folk! The folk tradition is inclusive and we're no different.
We are a student group at the University of Exeter who are passionate about Folk music and dance. Regardless of musical experience, if you’ve got that can do attitude (and maybe an obscure folk instrument) we want you!! We welcome musicians, singers, dancers, artists, and other creatives, and aim to cultivate folk traditions from the UK and around the world. The society originated as the Folk Danc
15/12/2023
Hello everyone! Tomorrow is our Christmas Ceilidh!!! 🎉
We'll be in the Lemon Grove's main room, starting a joyous night of dancing at 7pm! Please bring as many friends as you can, as ceilidhs are always best with a lot of people 😊 Non-students are also welcome!
Hope to see lots of you there!
The Fixr event is here (though tickets are not required): https://fixr.co/event/christmas-ceilidh-tickets-804048374
Hello everyone! Due to severe weather warnings, our band practice tonight (2nd of Nov) has been cancelled! Apologies for the short notice. We'll be back on Tuesday with our Folk Dance Session :)
09/10/2023
October Schedule (Part 1)
Our dance sessions will no longer be in Cornwall House until further notice. We are currently arranging an alternative space—check back for updates!
09/10/2023
October Schedule (Part 2)
We arrange transportation to the Kennford Ceilidh when we can, so if you would like to reserve a car/taxi seat please get in touch! You can message us here or email us on [email protected] to be added to our WhatsApp group :)
16/09/2023
Folk soc is back for another year! Here are our upcoming events for Welcome Week (18th-22nd of Sep).
Monday 18th: Picnic & Jam Session – 12-2PM at the lawn above East Park (if the weather is bad, we'll be in Lemon Grove's front room).
Wednesday 20th: Ceilidh dancing taster – 2-4PM in Lemon Grove front room.
Friday 22nd: Welcome Week Ceilidh! 7-10PM in The Terrace.
Hope to see you at our events. You can find out more in-depth information about the events here https://fixr.co/organiser/70473760
Hello fabulous folkies! Thank you to all who came along & got involved in IVFDF 2023! It was such a brilliant weekend, I hope you all really enjoyed yourselves! The festival really wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of our lovely past committee members, so a huge thank you to them for helping to organise this year's IVFDF, and to all our wonderful stewards who helped run the the festival!
Important announcement:
Due to Exeter Folk Society's committee being somewhat sleep deprived and more than a little exhausted by helping to run IVFDF, we unfortunately won't be holding any events this week, so that we all have time to recover! But we will be back with more folky fun next week, probably starting with a pub session on Tuesday (TBC, further updates coming soon!) 😊
03/02/2023
Hello lovely Folkies! Just a reminder that IVFDF 2023 (the Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival) starts today! Join us at buildings along Exeter's historic quayside for dances and workshops galore!
Tickets cover the whole weekend and can be bought on our website - £15 unwaged, £30 waged & £60 for supporters. The schedules for the afternoon/evening dances on Fri, Sat & Sun, and the morning workshops on Sat & Sun are also all available on our website: https://ivfdf2023.com/
Can't wait to see you all later to kick of a weekend of dancing our socks off!
!!!!! IMPORTANT INFORMATION !!!!
Tonight's Ceilidh Dance has been MOVED - from The Terrace DH2 to Forum Seminar Room 7
Timings remain the same, just a different room! Hope to see you there! 😄
10/12/2022
Hello lovely folkies! We’re coming to the end of a brilliant first term which saw the return of our ever-popular pub sessions, a boom in new people trying out Rapper sword dancing and the rebirth of Pigasus – Folk Soc’s ceilidh band! To celebrate, we’re holding a free, end-of-term Ceilidh!!! Join us in the Terrace at 7:30pm on Thursday, 15th December, for an evening of rollicking reels and jubillant jigs! All dances are taught by our caller, so beginners are very welcome!
While this is a free event, it would be really helpful to know how many people are coming beforehand – so please buy tickets, available through our Guild page: https://events.exeterguild.com/society/folk-society
What is a ceilidh?
A ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") is a traditional group dance, also known as a barn dance. There is a caller who teaches the dances first, then reminds the dancers what they're supposed to be doing once the band has started playing. It is usually danced in multiple groups of six or eight, but there are also dances in pairs and chains.
A ceilidh involves lots of changing partners and holding hands so we suggest you bring hand sanitiser and wash your hands frequently. We also suggest you wear comfortable shoes and bring water to drink because it can get quite hot (no matter what temperature it may be outside in the middle of December)!
23/11/2022
Hello lovely folk people! Our Ceilidh Band practice, usually held every Thursday, is to be postponed this week as many of our members will be attending the concert by folk band Talisk! The concert will be held at the Exeter Phoenix on Thursday 24th at 7:30pm. Tickets are available here: https://www.talisk.co.uk/gigs/
Apologies for the short notice! Band practice will be returning next Thursday, when we'll be learning more dance tunes for the end-of-term ceilidh! x
In case anyone has not received our email newsletter, this is a reminder that our rapper sword dance practice is running today (Wednesday 5th) at Cornwall House from 4:30-6pm. We look forward to seeing you there!