Irish Set Dancing in Canberra

Weekend workshop

The Canberra Irish Set Dance Weekend workshop, now in its sixth year, is an ideal event for learning Irish set dancing for the first time, improving your set dancing, learning new dances or just dancing and socialising in a great atmosphere.


Event details

Dates Friday 8 October to Sunday 10 October 2010
Times Friday 8 October : Times 7:15PM - 11:00PM
Saturday 9 October : Times 8:45AM - 4:00PM / 8:00PM - 11:30PM
Sunday 10 October : Times 12:00PM - 4:30PM / 5.00PM onwards
Venue St Johns Anglican Church Hall, Constitution Avenue, Reid, Canberra, ACT.

Map of venues

The main venue for this weekend is St Johns Anglican Church Hall on Constitution Avenue in Reid (marked with a green arrow). Our group dinner on Sunday evening is held at King O'Malleys Irish Pub in Civic (food and drink symbol). This map also shows some accomodation in Canberra city. A listing and links are at the bottom of this page.

Parking

There is plenty of free, off street parking at St Johns Anglican Church. Parking in Civic on Sunday afternoon/evening is quite straightforward. Ask one of the organisers or a Canberran for directions to the main parking areas in Civic that are closest to King O'Malleys.

Pricing

MFS Non-MFS
All events $52.00 $60.00
Friday welcome ceili only $8.00 $10.00
Saturday classes only $20.00 $22.00
Saturday night ceili only $14.00 $16.00
Sunday classes and ceili only $14.00 $16.00

Price includes refreshments but not lunch or dinner. Ticket prices are kept as low as possible so we regret that there are no concessions. Youth under 18 years are half price. MFS denotes Member of the Monaro Folk Society and you may join the MFS at the workshop if you wish. We do not offer concessions for members of other Folk Clubs or Societies because they do not sponsor this event. We are currently looking into an option for pre-payment but you will also be able to pay when you register for the sessions you would like to attend. Note - we can only accept cash or cheques at the venue.

Flier

Two full colour A5 fliers can be printed off from here.

Provisional Program 

Refreshments (tea, coffee, cordial, light snacks) will be served between sessions. Please bring your own lunch.

Friday 8 October

7.15 – 8.00 pm

Registration

8.00 – 11.00 pm

Welcome ceili with live music by the Corner House Ceili Band

Saturday 9 October

8.45 – 9.30 am

Registration

9.00 - 9.30 am

Introduction to steps for sets with Nora Stewart and Martin Largey

9.30 – 11.00 am

Set dancing class with Margaret and Bill Winnett

11.00 – 11.30 am

Refreshment break

11.30 – 1.00 pm

Set dancing class with Marie Brouder

1.00 – 2.00 pm

Lunch break

2.00 – 2.30 pm

Couples dances with Ina and Graeme Bertrand

2.30 – 4.00 pm

Set dancing class with Margaret and Bill Winnett

8.00 – 11.30 pm

Ceili with live music by the Corner House Ceili Band

Sunday 10 October

12.00 - 12.30 pm

Registration

12.00 – 12.30 pm

Continuing steps for sets with Nora Stewart and Martin Largey

12.30 – 2.00 pm

Set dancing class with Marie Brouder

2.00 - 2.30 pm

Refreshment break

2.30 – 4.30 pm

Farewell ceili featuring dances taught during the workshop

5.00 pm onwards

Dinner – King O’Malley’s Irish Pub, Civic.



Corner House Ceili Band
The Corner House Ceili Band playing at Fleadh Nua in 2007
L to R - Pete Hobson, Sue Hobson, Mark Tandy, Terry McGee (without pianist Peter Logue).

About Canberra and accommodation

For information about travel to, getting around and accommodation in Canberra, see the National Capital Tourism website. They have comprehensive details on everything from all types of accommodation to what's going on in Canberra to where to eat out.

Some Canberra dancers attending this weekend offer billet accommdation for interstate guests. Please be in touch with the organisers via email if you would like to be matched to a billet.

Please note that this year our dance weekend coincides with the last weekend of Floriade, Australia's largest flower festival. Floriade runs from 11 September to 10 October 2009 so you may want to secure accommodation early. You may also wish to include a visit to Floriade with the dance weekend. Floriade is a 10 minute walk from our dance venue and entry is free.

There is a range of accommodation reasonably near the venue. One of the closest is the Waldorf Canberra, but for those of more modest budgets the nearby Canberra Youth Hostel has rooms and dorms. Other hotels and apartments include Olims Hotel, Quest Apartments, Rydges, Novotel, Medina Executive James Court, Comfort Inn Downtown, and the Canberra Rex Hotel. A good budget option in a bushland setting is the Canberra Motor Village but you will need a car or plenty of time for buses.

Please refer to the map above for locations of these hotels and other items of interest.


Finding out more


If you want to find out more about this event, check this website regularly as we will be posting details as they come to hand. Alternatively please contact us on 02 6140 1966 (H) (+61 2 6140 1966 for international callers) or 0422 392 081 (M) (+61 422 392 081 for international callers) or 0413 746 574 (M) (+61 413 746 574 for international callers) or via email kate.armstrong66 at gmail dot com if you need further information about the weekend.

Paul Wayper and Kate Armstrong

We acknowledge the support of the Monaro Folk Society in the staging of this event.


2005 weekend workshop
A class at the 2005 weekend workshop.


The Friday night ceili at the 2009 weekend workshop.


Participants in the 2009 weekend workshop - or at least those
who were still there on Sunday afternoon.