London Barndance History

London Barndance Company was founded in 1982 by Bernard Chalk, Tom Holloway, Jac Solomons, and Anne Willcocks to encourage the enjoyment of traditional music and dancing in all its forms.

Jane Curry and Andrew Findlay took over the organisation of events in November 1983, and with occasional help from a small group of supporters have been running things ever since.

With Bernard and Blue Mountain Band as the most frequent lineup in the early years, a `mid-Atlantic' style soon developed and most evenings include a mixture of squares, contras and patter calls with one or two traditional English dances thrown in.

Many other well-known bands and callers have performed for us over the years. Particularly memorable ones include Arden Folk, Four-Leaf Clover, Kelly's Eye, Alterations, Hoedown and Mosaic on the music side, with John Chapman, Mark Elvins, Joe Hodgson, and Ken Bonner all making regular appearances as callers. From time to time we are able to welcome guest performers from the States, and in 2001 we were fortunate to have both Kathy Anderson and The Screen Door Band making appearances (on different days!) Henry Morgenstein also made his first LBC appearance in 2001, bringing some authentic contra calling to London.

Since 2001, there has been an increasing emphasis on Contras and the programme now features several events each year that are entirely in this style.

Our complete programme history shows the line-up of bands and callers we have used over the years.