Hundreds of people have come from around the country to take part in the Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF), run by students and held in Sheffield this year.
The festival is a weekend-long student folk festival which is run by a different university each year, and is open to everyone from absolute beginners to seasoned dancers. This year is the 75th annual event, with the first being held in 1951 in Leeds.
Stefan Träuble, an attendee of the festival said: “I am looking forward to the live music, the people, the friends, and the feeling of the atmosphere, and the dancing of course. And I’m looking forward to the diversity as well, the workshops and the evening bals as well.”
Stefan has been coming to the festival since 2019, after being introduced to it by his partner, and flew in from Germany a day prior to attend the weekend’s events.
The three main styles of dancing at this festival are Ceilidhs, Contras and Bals.
Ceilidhs are traditional British social folk dances, originating from Ireland and Scotland. Contras are their American counterpart, with an emphasis on flowing movements and continuous momentum. Bals refer to traditional dances from North-Western Europe which are usually improvised.
Performances and dances took place across Sheffield University’s campus, ranging from ceilidhs in Firth Hall, to bals and contras in Uni Central.
Erin Mansfield, one of the callers at the Ceilidh said: “My favourite part of dancing in a ceilidh is just getting to act like an idiot with my friends and just bounce around and have a really really nice time with them.
“With performing, my favourite thing is when the whole room is just in sync, and the whole room just feels it. I don’t really care if anyone’s doing it right, that doesn’t bother me, it’s just when everyone’s just in the zone and you can just feel the energy in the room, it’s amazing.”
The weekend saw over 700 of participants coming together to unite in the form of folk dancing, and was supported by groups such as The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and The Society for International Folk Dancing.
