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Overview
We wear wooden clogs, as many would have in that day, and that also informs our dancing style. We make use of their tapping (banging) sound in our dancing. Our footwear can limit us to dancing on hard standing surfaces.
We have been in existence since 1979 but were known as Annies Fantasies from then and till 2018. Annie is our founding member who had dreams of fantastical dancing hence the name’s prominence. The information age (google searches) led to our name change.
We are a mixed sex side (about two thirds female) and a welcoming, fun and inclusive group We have a distinctive stripey kit based on the Dennis the Menace … black and red. We always enjoy our dancing & usually give 110% !
We usually have at least one join in dance , to get the audience involved & dancing .
We perform mostly English traditional music played on … Accordian / Melodian , Drum, Violin, Tin whistle , Guitar, Harmonica, Ukulele , even sometimes a stray Triangle . All acoustic, no amplification, so far.
We practice Sunday morning at 11am in Colchester Roman Circus or outside Firstsite Arts Centre.
We usually average about 20 Dance Outs (performances) a year that can vary a lot from Folk Festivals, specific Morris Days of Dance, teaching schools, local open gardens, solstice’s, wassails, corporate events, carnivals and we support local community and charity events. Depending on the event we might ask for a contribution to our expenses (insurance, practice hall hire, etc. It won’t be spent on beer).
We don’t use hankies but have short ropes on (cotton) bobbins or colour bell festooned sticks to augment our dances. We have a couple of join-in dances we can teach on the spot and with Cotton Reels we try to get volunteers (usually children) to help race our hobby horse Dobina through the set (dance formation).
What to Expect
Key elements of the dancing tradition and our specific side are:
- Actions mimicking mill work.
- The rhythms of the factory looms to dance to.
- Synchronised stamping & stepping.
- General group co-ordination (hopefully).
- Fun (even when doing long corners).
- Red, bell-festooned, clogs.
- Our hobby horses Dobina, Anniesaurus (the trainee) and AnnieLamma (understudy). We usually look for a young assistants to help control them during Cotton Reels.
- Lots of red and black clothing, preferably stripey.
- Music, mostly traditional tunes, led by melodeon and drum but could also have violin, penny whistle, guitar, ukulele, banjolele, tamborine, and more.
AnnieMation at Greyfriars 2018
Video of us dancing at Sheringham 2024:
Dance Outs & Practice
We dance out throughout the year but mostly over the spring and summer. We attend a range of events local to East Anglia and the South East. As might be expected we dance at traditional folk and dance festivals like Halesworth Day of Dance , Leigh-on-Sea Folk Festival, Broadstairs Folk Week and Sheringham Potty Festival.
We also support community and charity events, plus the occasional corporate event . We have a dance or two for audience participation. Firstsite’s Nice ‘n’ Spice festival, Colchester High Street Panto Horse Race, Bures Flower Festival, Colchester Art Centre’s Warm And Toasty Club concert and Acorn Villages Christmas Fair were some of our favourites.
We practice 11:00am Sunday morning at Colchester Roman Circus or outside First site when weather is better. We tend not to practice if we’ve dances out that same weekend.
Interested? Join, Book or Watch Us
Join
If interested in joining us as a dancer or musician? You could normally just turn up to Sunday practice but might be worth contacting us to make sure will be there. We’ll be happy to chat.
http://anniemationclog.co.uk/join-us/
Book
If you’d like us to come to your event, please contact Alan or Paul via:
email anniemationclog@gmail.com
Watch
Want to see us Dance? Follow the Dance out page and Facebook…
http://anniemationclog.co.uk/dance-out-calender/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieMationClogColchester
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcUPGRmxI2RTlVmqjtiHs7g/videos
This is brought to you by a dyslexic so there may be some fun gramma and spelling. Enjoy your visit to our site and through our pages get to know a bit more about us and our music and dancing – it’s great fun.
