VACATION COURSE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23123, 23 August 1938, Page 3

VACATION COURSE

FOLK DANCE SOCIETY SESSION AT AUCKLAND DOMINION-WIDE MOVEMENT A week's vacation course, organised by tho Auckland branch of the New Zealand Folk Dance Society, was started yesterday morning at the Y.W.C.A. Fifty enthusiastic members of both sexes, from parts of New Zealand as far south as Balclutha,- have enrolled for the coin-so, which consists of morning and evening classes in folk dancing, with three evening lessons in folk singing. Country dances, Morris dances and sword dances will be studied, some of which have never been done in New Zealand before. The English Folk Dance and Song Society was founded 27 years ago by Cecil Sharp, who made a study of the dances and discovered the traditional music, which he later published in a simple form. It was not until last January that the New Zealand society was founded, and in March the Auckland branch was formed from a class that bad been in existence for some years. Miss E. P. Edwards is the president, Miss A. Kennedy the vice-presi-dent, and Airs. E. C. Nicoll the secretary. "It is considered by many people that folk dancing is purely a recreation for children, but as a matter of it is very valuable exercise for adults, said Mrs. Nicoll. "Folk dances have been performed by grown-up people since before the days of Mei lie England and in many parts of England various country dance reels still survive."