Recent Events
Some events during the past twelve months...
Devoran School
St. Piran's Day, Monday 5th March, saw some members of Hevva at Devoran School to run a series of Cornish dance workshops. These covered four classes, and were an ideal activity for the pupils on Cornwall's Saint's day, and proved to be very popular.
Nos Dons Kernewek
The Cornish Dance Society holds a regular Day of Dance, which this year took place at Perranporth on Saturday 17th February. The day ended with a Nos Dons Kernewek (Cornish dance evening), with several traditional Cornish dance groups contributing, including Hevva who performed a display followed by a short ceili spot.
For a contrast, swing group Swing Out West were invited to perform a guest spot, which was well received and rounded off a very enjoyable evening.
For more information about the Cornish Dance Society please visit www.cornishdance.com
Ladock School
On Monday 5th February we visited Ladock Primary School in mid-Cornwall to introduce the pupils there to traditional cornish dancing. We were rewarded by a very enthusiastic set of youngsters, who obviously enjoyed the dances they were learning. An added fascination for them were the gooks that we took in to show them, which they all were keen to try on!
Anniversary party
This being our 10th year as Hevva, we just had to celebrate with a party, which we held on 16th December. This was a lovely social occasion, made all the more so by the fact that usually when we meet we're either practicing or performing. 2017 was a great year all round for us, and we're looking forward to many more!
Lowender Peran
Our annual trip to Cornwall's Celtic festival, Lowender Peran, was an event that we once again thoroughly enjoyed. The festival took place in Newquay, 2nd - 5th November. The change of venue to Hotel Bristol proved very popular, and this is where the festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year.
Hevva danced in the Celtic Spectacular on the Friday evening, and at various pub venues around Newquay on the Saturday and Sunday.
Photo: Lowender Peran
School workshops
On 27th September we visited St. Mary's C of E School in Truro to give dance workshops to the Reception Class and Years 1 and 2. These proved very successful, with the pupils ending up dancing some Cornish dances extremely well, and also learning some of the history both of the dances and our costume. Particularly popular was the opportunity to try on bits and pieces of the costume! This was a very rewarding morning for us, and we were pleasantly surprised also to hear ourselves being greeted in Cornish - well done St. Mary's!
Celtic Congress Fair
The fair, in the west Cornwall village of Leedstown, was a fundraising event for the Cornish branch of the Celtic Congress. Hevva entertained the visitors with a dance display during the afternoon.
The Celtic Congress Cornwall web site is at www.celticcongresscornwall.co.uk
Newlyn Fish Festival
On 28th August, Late Summer Bank Holiday Monday, we were appearing
in the sunshine at Newlyn Fish Festival in west Cornwall. This
festival, now in its 28th year, is hugely popular with locals and
tourists alike, and offers an enormous range of interest and
entertainment relating to the sea, seafood and fishing, raising
money for the Fishermen's Mission at the same time.
Hevva were dancing on the Busker's Corner stage on Mary Williams
Pier during the afternoon, where large crowds were enjoying the
sunshine and all that the festival had to offer.
The festival web site is at www.newlynfishfestival.org.uk
Festival interceltique Lorient
2017 is Hevva's 10th year in its present incarnation, and what a
year it's proving to be! Following on from our trip to Martinique in
June, we were honoured to be representing Cornwall in early August
at the Festival Interceltique Lorient in Brittany. With 700,000
visitors each year, this is the largest interceltic festival in the
world, and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our busy ten days
there.
We were privileged to have playing with us our good friends Stu and
Jamie, of MacQuarrie and Toms fame, who also put on some great
performances under their own name. In fact so good were the Cornish
groups this year, MacQuarrie and Toms, The Grenaways, The Swaggers
and Rowan Tree - and dare it be said, Hevva? - that the Cornish/Manx
stage was the go-to venue on the quayside at night.
Folk on the Farm
The mid-Cornwall village of St. Stephen holds regular Folk on the Farm events, and on 29th July we were there to perform a ceili in aid of Children's Hospice Southwest, a charity we were pleased to support. The event was held in one of the farm barns, where the owners also laid on a wonderful array of food and drink, including a hog roast and home made cakes and desserts - wonderful! A lovely evening.
You can find out more about Children's Hospice southwest at www.chsw.org.uk.
Martinique
Our longest trip to date took us to the Caribbean, to Ville du
François in Martinique. We were there to perform in the island's
Quadrille Dance and Music Festival, and what an amazing experience
it was! The islanders are wonderful people, and made us so welcome.
Our hosts made sure that we enjoyed ourselves not only at the
festival, but also with a fascinating trip to a rum factory and a
day out by boat for a swim on a reef followed by a delicious beach
barbecue.
We have returned with so many great memories to look back on.
Royal Cornwall Show
The Royal Cornwall Show hosts the Cornwall Festival of Dance, and Hevva were there on the show Saturday, 10th June, to perform during the day, with spots in the morning and afternoon. this has become quite a regular event for us, and something we look forward to each year.
Lanlivery Feast Week
On 12th May we paid a visit to Lanlivery to perform a ceili for the village's Feast Week. The unusual venue was the lovely setting of Lanlivery Parish Church, where we were relieved to discover the pews are moveable! With a very lively set of dancers of all ages, this was a boisterous and fun event that kept our caller on his toes all evening!
Nos Dons Kernewek
The Cornish Dance Society decided to change the format of its annual Day of Dance this year, and instead ran an evening of Cornish dance - Nos Dons Kernewek. This proved to be very popular. The event was held at Porthtowan Village Hall on 5th May, with a ceili provided by musicians and callers from the various Cornish dance groups, and each group performing a short floor spot during the evening.
Pennseythen Gernewek
We were delighted to be asked by Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek once more to perform a bilingual ceili at its annual Cornish Language Weekend. The event took place in Newquay on 8th April, where we played to a full floor of Cornish speakers and learners, and also displayed a few dances. Cornish culture at its best!
The Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek web site is at www.cornish-language.org.
Cwlwm Celtaidd
Our first festival of the year was a return visit to Porthcawl, Wales, over the weekend 10th - 12th March for Cwlwm Celtaidd. This was a full weekend, with school visits, stage performances, a workshop and street dancing, but hugely enjoyable.
The festival web site can be found at www.cwlwmceltaidd.org.
Photo: Eiry Palfrey