2010 Dance Information
Latest Update
The Colonial Ball is on!!!!!!!!!
Yes, that’s right. it’s on again.
With great help from all the Colonial Dance enthusiests around the country, we have found a solution to this years Colonial Ball.
So, on Saturday night the Ball will be held at the Yarralumlah Woolshed in Curtin. A bus will be leaving from the Festival site at 7PM, and returning at 12:15AM. We will also run a car pool to cater for those who don’t fit on the bus.
And next year, the Ball will be back on site, so don’t panic.
Venue News
The National Folk Festival prides itself on having the biggest and best festival dance program in Australia.We plan to repeat that this year, but there will be some changes because of circumstances beyond our control. Do not adjust your computer screen.
The main change is that the Coorong will no longer be used as a dance venue. (I know some of you will say “Hooray”, because of the traditionally poor acoustics and barn-like atmosphere)
As most people are aware, the festival does not own the site, but rents it for two weeks each year. The dance floor in the Coorong is now in such a state of disrepair that it is too dangerous to use. The festival cannot take the risk of putting dancers on a floor we know to be dangerous.
So a solution was needed. The festival does not have the funds to purchase a new dance floor at this stage, and there are no dance floors available to hire that would stand up to the intensive use that is required at the National. Dance floors that are available are designed for use at weddings, etc, not a solid session of Clare Battering, or Appalachian Clogging or an attack by roving bands of feral Morris Dancers. These floors fall apart in no time and they can only be repaired by staff from the hiring company, who just aren’t available for love nor money over the Easter weekend.
The Festival staff looked at other off-site alternatives in which to hold the traditional festival balls, and this was narrowed down to using the Albert Hall at the end of Commonwealth avenue bridge. However, trust our luck, this venue is undergoing alterations and is unavailable this Easter.
So, the decision for this year is as follows, remembering that we are looking at longer term solutions
The dance floor in the Mallee will be extended to accommodate the evening dances.
The Oasis is being enlarged to be the same size as the Piazza. This will have a stage and PA for bands.
The Piazza will stay as it is.
And the Colonial Ball will be held at the Yarralumlah Woolshed in Curtin.
