Stepping out at Tūranga Bal

The joy of dance, in this case folk dance, came to Mangapapa School on Saturday and the Girl Guides hall on Sunday, for the Folk Dance New Zealand Tūranga Bal. Locals Jane Luiten (right), from Good Folk and Elizabeth Raines joined with tutors Kate Grace (left) and Michael Parmenter at a workshop on Saturday morning.

The Tūranga Bal, Folk Dance New Zealand’s annual event was a great success at the weekend with 46 people taking part including six musicians and six tutors from around the country.

Balfolk dance workshops were taken on Saturday with Michael Parmenter and Kate Grace where participants honed partner-dance skills that are a key component of many social dances.

Musicians who had enjoyed their own wānanga together that day played for the folk ball that evening. The festoon lighting created a cosy haven from the tempest raging outside.

The waiata-a-ringa sessions led by brother-sister act Paraone and Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana focused on a bespoke waiata for Folk Dance New Zealand, which was received and performed with gusto on Sunday.

This good energy was kept buoyed by Elizabeth Raines’ Appalachian clogging workshop, which had the hall tapping to the live music of fiddle, flute and guitar, provoking spontaneous outbursts of hollering. The weekend finished with another fun-filled dance-off on Sunday night led by seasoned dance caller, Fiona Murdoch.

Host Jane Luiten from Good Folk - Dances from Planet Earth said her highlight was the connection achieved through community dance and the fun had by all.

“I am also thrilled by the support from my local team of folk dancers, Good Folk,” Jane says.

“A particular success of the weekend is the relationship that was formed with local musicians, making future folk dance events featuring live music a real possibility.”

One dancer from the local Good Folk group Pascale Delos said the weekend was wonderful.

“We travelled to Western Europe (France), Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Armenia, Greece and the Balkans), the USA (the Appalachian ranges), and back to indigenous Aotearoa with waiata-a-ringa (Maori action song). That one went over three sessions which were widely attended by all. Paraone warmed us up each time with movement-based games and it was great fun,” Pascale said.

Once the steps had been learned in the workshops, dancers could use them in a freer way in each of the evening ball celebrations.