English Folk Dance and Song Society

Organisation that promotes the folk arts of England

The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society. The EFDSS, a member based organisation, was incorporated in 1935 and became a registered charity in 1963.

The Folk Song Society, founded in London in 1898, focused on collecting and publishing folk songs, primarily of Britain and Ireland although there was no formal limitation. Participants included: Lucy Broadwood, George Butterworth, George Gardiner, Anne Gilchrist, Percy Grainger, Henry Hammond, Ella Leather, Kate Lee, Susan Lushington, May Elliot Hobbs, Cecil Sharp, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Mary Augusta Wakefield. The English Folk Dance Society was founded in 1911 by Cecil Sharp. Maud Karpeles was a leading participant. Its purpose was to preserve and promote English folk dances in their traditional forms, including Morris and sword dances, traditional social dances, and interpretations of the dances published by John Playford. The first secretary of the society was Lady Mary Hepburn Stuart Forbes Trefusis; Trefusis Hall in the EFDSS HQ, Cecil Sharp House, is named after her. One of the greatest contributions that the EFDSS made to the folk movement, both dance and song, was the folk festival, starting with the Stratford upon Avon Festival in the 1940s and continuing with festivals in Whitby, Sidmouth, Holmfirth, Chippenham and elsewhere.

Since 1936 the EFDSS has published English Dance & Song at least four times a year. This has become the longest established magazine devoted to folk music, dance and song in the country. English Dance & Song is aimed at stimulating the interest of the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community. Their regular scholarly publication is Folk Music Journal, published annually in December, which was formerly entitled the Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society until 1965. The work continues the earlier journals of the two societies: Journal of the Folk Song Society, 1899–1931; Journal of the English Folk Dance Society 191431.

The Society is based at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, North London. Originally conceived as a purpose built headquarters for the English Folk Dance Society, and now Grade II listed, it was designed in the neo Georgian style by architect Henry Martineau Fletcher, and opened on 7 June 1930. One wall of the hall originally accommodated a raised musicians gallery, but this was destroyed by bomb damage in the Second World War. When the damage was repaired, in works concluding in 1954, the decision was made to commission a mural by the British abstract pastoral painter Ivon Hitchens. When unveiled, it was the largest single wall mural in the United Kingdom. In addition to Kennedy Hall, Cecil Sharp House contains several smaller performance and rehearsal spaces; a café and bar; and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and Archive. Cecil Sharp House is an active and popular venue for concerts, as well as conferences and other private functions. In 2015, the building was voted as one of London's 20 best music venues by readers of Time Out magazine.

In 1998, with the folk movement strongly supported by a number of other organisations and the seeds planted by EFDSS thriving, the EFDSS altered its strategy to focus on education and archiving, with its primary goal the development of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library as the country's national archive and resource centre for folk music, dance and song. In 2009, the society became a regularly funded organisation (now called a National Portfolio Organisation) of Arts Council England. In 2011 the society entered into a joint commission with Shrewsbury Folk Festival to create the Cecil Sharp Project, a multi artist residential commission to create new works based on the life and collecting of Cecil Sharp. The project took place in March 2011, the artists involved being: Steve Knightley, Andy Cutting, Leonard Podolak, Jim Moray, Jackie Oates, Caroline Herring, Kathryn Roberts and Patsy Reid. In 2013, EFDSS launched The Full English, an ongoing archive project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Folklore Society, the National Folk Music Fund and the English Miscellany Folk Dance Group. This free and searchable resource of 44,000 records and over 58,000 digitised images is the world's biggest digital archive of traditional music and dance tunes. As well as folk music, the EFDSS is home to a number of performance artists, providing a regular performance platform for acts including the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, the Massive Violins and the Swingle Singers. In September 2021, EFDSS opened consultation to consider changing its name, as it was felt by some that it did not represent the aims and outlook of the society. A proposed name was 'Folk Arts England', a name formerly used between 2005 and 2014 by the Association of Festival Organisers. Of 65 members surveyed in November 2021, 74% approved this name, against other proposals such as 'Folk Arts Society'. As of as of 2022, consultation continues.