BARNSLEY LONGSWORD WORKSHOP
As part of the return of Barnsley Folk Festival, take part in an immersive folk experience, with the foremost exponents of traditional Yorkshire longsword dance, Barnsley Longsword. In this workshop, you’ll be taught the Kirkby Malzeard Sword Dance, with traditional metal swords.
When folk historian Cecil Sharpe collected this and other traditional dances together in Sword Dances of Northern England Volume I (1911), he said ‘its roots stretch far into an unhistoried past.’ The swords and movements are thought to symbolise ‘magic’, with stamping to waken the earth and to produce healthy crops, and even suggestions of ritual sacrifice.
This workshop is free, but booking in advance is recommended.
There will be 12 spaces for 11 – 18 year olds, and 12 spaces for anybody aged 18+.
