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Huw Williams has been performing Welsh step-dancing since the age of fifteen. Since then he has become a major force in the field of folk music and dance and his book on clogging is in its third printing. He won several titles at the Welsh National Championships and is in great demand with both radio and television in the U.K. His style of performance is unique, blending traditional steps with contemporary ideas, and as one expert said, ...is the best by far of anything that has ever been seen."
The workshop will contain the following
We will begin by showing the delegates each instrument in
turn and giving it its Welsh name. We will explain its historical
use using simple Welsh words and phrases. A short item will be
played.
Pibcorn (Horn Pipe) Made from cattle horn and played by shepherds in Wales. They sometimes accompanied themselves dancing over sheep skins. Tune: Machynlleth
Ffidl (Fiddle) We show how the fiddle was played in Wales, displaying the different sounds it makes both in volume and rhythm. Children are encouraged to clap and keep time with the music. Tune: Pant Corlan yr Wyn
Y Delyn (The Harp) The harp in Wales was used both as a dance instrument and for playing airs or tunes. During the 19th. century at the court of Lady Llanofer, in Llanofer, Gwent, a harpist was employed who played at all special occasions. Also all the servants were dressed in traditional costume and would dance the Llanofer Reel to entertain guests. Tune: Ril Llanofer/Taith ar y Ferri
Pib (Pipe or Whistle) We will play a slow air and show the children high and low pitch tones, displaying vibrato and slides. Tune: Alawon Fy Ngwlad.
Music and Dance
Dawns y Glocsen (The Clog Dance) We will show the delegates a traditional
Welsh clog dance with wooden clogs. The children will learn some traditional
Welsh stepping.
Dawnsio Gwerin (Folk Dancing) We will teach the delegates a traditional Welsh folk dance giving each instruction in Welsh and then in English.
Previous PageHuw Williams
Huw
Williams has been performing Welsh step-dancing since the age
of fifteen. Since then he has become a major force in the field
of folk music and dance and his book on clogging is in its third
printing. He won several titles at the Welsh National Championships
and is in great demand with both radio and television in the
U.K. His style of performance is unique, blending traditional
steps with contemporary ideas, and as one expert said, ...is
the best by far of anything that has ever been seen."
Welsh step dancing (or Clogging, the term that is more popular
in Wales) is the only type of Welsh dance, which has continued,
in an unbroken tradition. During the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries the puritanical revivals in Wales almost wiped out many
forms of folk culture, and especially traditional dance. However
the popularity of clogging's combination of infectious rhythms
with dynamic style kept this traditional alive and it continues
to thrive and evolve.
The main difference between Welsh clogging and other Celtic and
American styles of solo percussive dance, is that Welsh dancers
wear wooden clogs, and not merely hard shoes. The sole and heel
of a Welsh clog are carved from one piece of wood, to form a shaped "platform" under
the whole foot, onto which the leather upper is fixed, giving it
the appearance of a normal shoe. However the sole does not bend,
creating different movements for the feet, and different possibilities
for percussive additions to the music.
Like American clogging, the Welsh include a variety of energetic "feats" or "tricks",
and each clogger is eager to show off his own dexterity and inventiveness.
Welsh clogging commonly includes steps such as a Coassack-style
kicking squat (called the "Toby"), or high jumping, jumping
over a besom broom, or even trying to snuff out a lighted candle
with his feet during the dance.
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Visit Huw's web site: www.crasdant.com