Ceilidh with a French Twist: Topette!! Summer Bal & Dance Workshop
Dance to the “joyously jugular-grabbing” music of Anglo-French Folk Band Topette!! this Summer
Introductory dance workshop with Jo Freya free for ball ticket holders
Friday, 30 June 2023, Introductory dance workshop at 6:45 pm, bal starts at 7:30 pm (doors 6:30 pm)
St Nicolas Parish Church, Bury Street, Guildford GU2 4AW
Tickets https://www.folkinspiration.org/ (concessions for under 25s)
Topette!!, the band that filled folk festival dance tents across the UK and Europe in 2019, will be playing for a bal (a European-style ceilidh) in Guildford this Summer as part of their long-awaited UK tour. The event will be held in the magnificent and spacious St Nicolas Church, where there will be ample room for dancers as well as a seated audience.
What to expect: Lyrical, energising and, at times, hypnotic music that celebrates the band’s Anglo-French roots. The style of dancing is known across Europe as balfolk. It’s a fun, easy-to-learn form of folk dance, similar to what you would find at a ceilidh or barn dance. Jo Freya’s workshop is ideal for those new to balfolk or those who would like a refresher.
Video of Topette!! playing a track from their latest album ‘Bourdon’ was recorded last Summer in Worplesdon Memorial Hall https://youtu.be/hgygYNcyGms
TOPETTE!!
The Anglo-French acoustic dance band Topette!! Is a collaboration between five highly-regarded individuals, they’re the kind of perfect idea that, if they didn’t already exist, someone would have to invent. Julien Cartonnet is a powerhouse on both bagpipes and banjo. Fiddler James Delarre’s innate melodic and harmonic sensibilities make him the perfect match for accordion virtuoso Andy Cutting. Tania Buisse’s propulsive bdhrán playing and Barn Stradling’s singularly distinctive bass grooves complete a sound that is irresistible to ears and feet alike.
JO FREYA
Jo is best known as a singer, saxophonist and clarinettist for some of the most groundbreaking acts on the British folk scene, including Blowzabella and the Old Swan Band. She is an experienced leader of music and dance workshops and has just been appointed as the next artistic director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble.