We hope in this section to give a brief (very brief and simplified) overview of the history of Welsh dance and music, giving some references so that if you wish to find out more about what is a complex and  interesting subject you have a starting point.

 

Also we hope to give our “take” on this history, explaining the types of dances we do and why!

Alice E. Williams (1) states “… dancing is a marriage of music and movement.”, to look at one without the other would only reveal half a picture, as changes in one would have influenced changes in the other.

 

For ease of explanation we have chunked history into broad areas for ease of description.

Up to the 17th Century

 

Through the centuries there are numerous references to dancing, both by the nobility and by inference by the peasantry. Most of these references link dancing to “...particular purposes—religious, ritual and social, within the community. They were an integral part of every day life.” (1).  None of these references describe the dances taking place. We can surmise however that they were not like dances from later in history, by the fact that tunes from this period survive and these to our modern ears sound odd. They do not follow the later 8 or 16 bar phrasing that we associate with modern dancing, and so it can safely be argued that the dances that went with them were nothing like the dances of a later period.  

17th to end of 19th Century

 

“During the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Welsh instrumental music had undergone a substantial period of modernisation….. The crwth and bray harp...had survived precariously up to that point under and antiquated system of patronage. But the Welsh gentry were losing interest in the old instruments and their unfashionable music…..  contact with England and particularly London was growing and fashions were changing. By the eighteenth century it had become common for Welshmen from the highest to the lowest ranks to seek work across the border. Some moved to London permanently….others.. Travelled to England seasonally as drovers or to sell home-made wares. They brought back to Wales new trends, new ideas and not least, new popular music.” (Cass Meurig (2)).  At the same time “...sophisticated pattern dances had come from Italy to the courts and Manor houses of Britain.” (1)

It is not to say that the dances and music of this period are not Welsh, far from it, many new tunes were composed and dances choreographed  in Wales and these are not found elsewhere in Britain. Also steps, patterns and musical traits that were around earlier and would have been familiar to the locals, would almost certainly have been incorporated into the new fashions to produce a new local repertoire that have similarities to other dances and tunes found in other parts of Britain but are not the same.

Music from this period have been printed and/or passed down by aural tradition in an unbroken chain to the present day. However the same cannot be said for the dancing which suffered form the religious fervour of the great religious revival which reached its peak at the end of the nineteenth century. 

The Religious Revival Years

 

Huw Williams (3) states “in 1714 we have the publication of a book by Rhys Pryddech, a minister of the gospel in Carmarthenshire. In it he discusses “questions concerning things profitable for the foolhardy age to consider, and think seriously of the reckoning asked by God on account of them and every action.” The questions concern twelve sins….number one on the list is dawnsio cymmyscedig (mixed dancing).”

As the revival took root then dancing diminishes, although it “..died hard in some areas and hearts” (1).

“Clog and step dancing, or jigs and hornpipes as they were also known, is the only form of dancing in Wales which has an unbroken tradition and it continued through the religious revival which wiped out all other traditional dance forms.”(3).

Early Twentieth Century to date

 

The fact that Welsh dancing (other than clog or step dancing) is carried out these days  owes much to a relatively small number of dedicated people who in the first part of this period researched, revived and restored our dances which we now consider traditional. The names of these pioneering folk appear throughout the literature since, and none appears more praiseworthy than Mrs. Lois Blake. The Welsh Folk Dance Society, with Mrs Blake as its president was founded in 1949, has continued their work and can be accessed via the links page.

Clog and step dancing

 

As can be gathered from the above history clog and step dancing has had a slightly different course. Through the records clogging or stepping has been:- a competition for two or more soloists at twmpathau, or for groups such as in the summer fairs on Gower; as a medium for telling stories about real and imaginary events; and as a medium to “show off” and express yourself.

Clog and step dancing continued through the religious revival years although not publicly on display as had been the custom, but in homesteads, Inns and taverns. A few of these dances were written down from either first hand experience or from first hand accounts form the older generation during the early twentieth century.

Thus what we have is an unbroken tradition of steps and patterns and some actual dances passed down from one generation to the next either through word of mouth and instruction or through the written record. Thus sides and individuals use the traditional patterns and steps to devise their own routines or dances, making it a living developing tradition.

Since the mid part of the twentieth century there has been a move by the ever increasing number of  Welsh dance sides away from folk dances to competition or Eisteddfod dances.

Competitions in olden days tended to be informal occasions often in association with a Twmpath or other gathering. The competitors would dance to a jig or hornpipe trying to outdo any other competitors with the variety and skill of his stepping. However with the increasing interest in all Welsh dancing and to help with adjudication at formal competitions then rules were introduced. Thus competition dances now became at least three minutes long, with a variety of tunes in different timings e.g. a jig followed by a waltz followed by a hornpipe. With many of the dance sides spending time and effort to choreograph these dances/routines they would dance them out at other occasions as well as at competitions.

For many years until the mid 1990’s it had become rare to see any other form of clog or step dancing other than three minute competition dances. However the major competitions introduced supposedly “impromptu” dance competitions, away from the main stage but encouraging dancers to dance again to one type of tune. (often two or three jigs!) and so some of the dance sides started to reintroduce these type of “folk” dancing.

For Dwy Droed Chwith this happened to coincide with an increasing interest in the older instruments of Wales and the subsequent lottery grant and so a conscious decision was made to introduce more dances that followed this “folk” mould. As well as dances that are just jigs or hornpipes, the side has also introduced dances with a “chorus” with all dancers doing the chorus and some doing the main dancing. The Gower reel would fall into this  category of  a chorus dance, and although the side does not know of any other recorded chorus dance it seems logical that there would have been other similar dances.

 

Thus Welsh clog/step dancing today is as popular if not more popular than ever, offering a variety of dance types for every taste!. 

References

 

1. Alice E. Williams, “WELSH FOLK DANCING HANDBOOK”, publishers THE WELSH FOLK DANCE ASSOCIATION.

2. Cass Meurig, “ALAWON JOHN THOMAS, A FIDDLER’S TUNE BOOK FROM EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WALES”, Publishers THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES. 2004

3. Huw Williams,  “WELSH CLOG/STEP DANCING, a collection of traditional steps and music” Publisher unknown.

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