Name: BAL - London Balfolk - The Castle: ALDGATE LONDON
Start: 2025-11-02T17:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-11-02T21:00:00+00:00
Location: The Castle

BAL - London Balfolk - The Castle: ALDGATE LONDON

Join Helen and Lewis for a chilled evening of balfolk dancing, hosted by London Balfolk! Including beginner-friendly dance workshop led by Isaac: http://www.isaacmontagu.co.uk/
Doors at 5.00pm
5.00pm The evening will start with a dance workshop, suitable for beginners. We will cover the scotttish, mazurka, bourree and perhaps some other dances too. Advanced dancers also more than welcome!
5.30pm-7.30pm The bal (dance) will start! Expect all manner of European balfolk dances such as scottish, mazurka, bourree, waltz, slangpolska, cercle circassienne, accompanied by live music from Helen Gentile and Lewis Wood.
7.30pm Break for food. We invite you to bring a plate of food to share.
From 8.00pm Session! Anything-goes folk music session. We invite you to bring your instruments to join in with a jam to round off the evening.
About the band:
Helen Gentile & Lewis Wood (Threepenny Bit and Granny’s Attic respectively), perform an evocative set of tunes from the balfolk canon on clarinet and fiddle. The duo combines the talent of two musicians who are firmly embedded into the folk music community in England.
Their material comprises traditional, contemporary and original European folk dance music, with loose, ever-evolving arrangements creating space for improvisation and showcasing the interplay between the instruments.
In 2024, Gentile and Wood released their first studio album, Violet Sky, produced by Tarren’s Alex Garden. Described by Songlines as ‘folk dance at its finest’, it was also nominated for Album of the Year by Bright Young Folk. Whether playing for dance or in concert, the duo are sure to leave dancers and listeners spellbound.
“Absolutely superb” - James Fagan
“The clarinet and fiddle interweave seamlessly and the playing is faultless” - Songlines
“Totally enchanting” - FATEA
About London Balfolk:
London Balfolk was started in 2015 by a group of friends who love folk dance and want to bring it to the people of London! We are building on the work of the (now closed) SOAS French Folk Dance society, organising and promoting high quality, inclusive dance events. More info here: https://londonbalfolk.org.uk/
Links:
Album video: