October 2021

FolkActive are delighted to announce that we’re continuing to reconnect live with some of our regular groups, and this month our in-person FolkActive Dances are back! The Online FolkActive Dances will also continue, however, so wherever you live there’s a chance to dance with us each month.

Live Southampton Folk Orchestra sessions are already successfully underway, and the FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) is meeting monthly in Southampton.

Funding from Sport England and Southampton Community Chest is enabling us to extend our online provision to include producing video material for our dementia friendly sessions. The latest video is inspired by traditions from the New Forest, and the series is called Moving in the Moment at home.

Stay safe and keep dancing, making music and being active!

At FolkActive we’re passionate about sharing active, skilful and joyful engagement in the folk arts with everyone.

We’re a social enterprise based in southern Hampshire. We use traditional music, songs and dances as fabulously flexible tools for achieving our aims of:

  • improving health and wellbeing,
  • bringing communities together, and
  • educating young and old, to connect and engage with their folk heritage in lively and relevant ways.
Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Dance is a proven and powerful way to improve wellbeing. Mix physical exercise, live folk music and friendly people together and you have the perfect recipe for having fun while making new friends and learning new moves! We adapt for the less mobile...
Community

Community

Making and responding to music with others is a great way of connecting and building community. We are involved with informal social music and dance sessions as well as running more structured groups such as the Southampton Folk Orchestra, aiming to play...
Education

Education

Schools ask for a fascinating range of workshops based on the folk traditions of where we live, including broom dancing, maypole, morris and country dancing. We always use live music adding depth to the experience and we encourage creativity – we love t...