with Sian Frick ~Dance leader and Beltaine ~Folk Band 
The history of Welsh folk dancing is a sad one. With the advent of the Non-conformist sects in the 18th and 19th centuries, the chapels saw the Welsh folk arts and customs as sinful and not in keeping with chapel teaching. They did their utmost to stamp out all sorts of "sinful" folk entertainment except, of course, hymn singing and music in the chapels.  Some saw the damage that was being done to the culture and managed to record the dances on paper. Like most music of that period, there was a lot of exchange and borrowing between Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and Europe and a number of Welsh dances went into British/English collections, and tended to retain the original Welsh names in translation to English.  In the 1940s, Lois Blake and Gwyn Williams led the way in reviving the Welsh dancing tradition and in 1949 the Welsh Folk Dance Society was formed, with the aim of promoting and resurrecting the old dances.  Today, there are over twenty adult teams and hundreds of teams in schools and clubs across Wales.  This program is for all ages and you will take part in a real Welsh Twmpath, or barn dance. If you can walk, you can do these dances! We are fortunate to have a live band this year, the Portland band Beltaine. The dances will be called by Siân Frick, a well-known and  experienced instructor, and possibly other dancers. Portland has a vibrant folk dance community and we hope to interest the local dance community in learning the dances of Wales.  Come, enjoy a good time! Sponsored by the Vancouver Cymdeithas Welsh Society.

Tonight, John was interviewed by Donna Virgilio with 12radio.com for a special Beltaine Day show that will air on Tuesday, April 27th at 7 PM PDT.  Please visit http://www.12radio.com to hear the interview.