Molly Dancing
The most experienced teachers of molly dance in the country we offer workshops ranging from a half day session to longer projects of a term or more in length. Workshops are usually performance based, with most Year 5/6 children producing a high quality performance of 2 or 3 dances after 3 or 4 half-day sessions. We usually leave the school with resources to conduct follow up work and many of the schools we have worked with are still dancing. Please follow the link to see video of some children we have taught.
Broom Dancing
Broom dancing (or broomstick dancing) was carried out by rural communities throughout East Anglia. It was danced at times of celebration, often at harvest time, and was sometimes competitive! We typically choose a handful of children to learn the broom dance as part of a wider performance.
Please follow the link to see video of some children we have taught.
Molly Dance
English Heritage & Traditions
Molly dancing is the dance that was performed by farm-workers in East Anglia on a day called Plough Monday. It is the local traditional dance of East Anglia. Please see our websites www.mollydancing.com & www.ploughmonday.co.uk for more history and information.
“....with the influx of many children from beyond the Fens, it helps give them an insight into what is traditionally a land based rural area, explaining in snap shots of our history and traditions how the area was, and has come to be....”
Parent, Year 6 Child
Local Stories and Traditions
We tell a wide range of East Anglian Stories and can leave teachers with a bibliography of local stories and literature that may be followed up within the curriculum. A selection of these may be found on our Resources pages. We are nationally recognised for our knowledge and research into Plough Monday traditions.
As part of larger projects we typically dramatise 1 or 2 local stories as chosen by the teachers and pupils.
We often teach and perform molly dance and country dance linked to these stories.
Traditional English Music
All our workshops feature live music, often on a range of instruments. We use both traditional and contemporary tunes. As well as teaching melodeon in schools on a long term basis we offer short taster sessions as part of our workshops using our stock of mini-melodeons where pupils may have a quick try at playing an instrument.
English Heritage & Customs Workshops
We run workshops covering East Anglian customs from half day sessions to long term projects. These workshops can be tailored to requirements, including aspects of the following traditions: