| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Convenor: | |
| When: | Monthly on Monday afternoons 14:30-16:30 1st Monday of month |
| Venue: | Thatcham Baptist Church |
| Cost: | We make a small charge, currently £3 per session, to cover the cost of hiring the hall, refreshments and Mike the Caller's expenses |
Barn Dancing is a lot of fun! You don't need to come with a partner, most of our members come on their own and we partner up for the dances. We are very lucky to have Mike Courthold as our Caller, see his details below, he is very experienced and is able to find dances for us to do depending on how many people are there. Mike has a brilliant music kit that means he can slow some of the music down for us where appropriate without it sounding weird. You can also sit out, listen to the music and laugh as the rest of us tie ourselves up in knots. It's good exercise and great fun as well as being good for the brain.
This group is jointly run with Newbury u3a.
Dates for next sessions:
| June | July | August | September | October | November | December | January |
| 1st | 6th | 3rd | 7th | 5th | 2nd | 7th | 4th |
Why dancing is the best way to enhance your brain and fitness
Dancing is great fun: it can connect you with others and lift your mood. But research is shedding light on just how much it can benefit your health and wellbeing.
Not only can dancing improve your mental health and memory, as well as reduce pain – it can even be better for your brain and fitness than traditional exercise.
Listen to Dr Michael Mosley's Just One Thing Radio 4 programme to find out more.
Mike, our Caller, is a dancer and caller from Berkshire, who calls at clubs, public dances, ceilidhs and festivals throughout the country.
Mike enjoys calling American square & contra dances, Running Set, English, and English Ceilidh dances, especially smooth-flowing dances with a bit of zest.
Mike is very keen to make folk dancing fun and accessible to everyone, at all levels of expertise and ability, and is known for his clear, concise and good humoured calling. He firmly believes that dances are only as complicated as the caller makes them.
Mike began folk dancing in 1970, and has been calling since 1981. He and wife Rita met at a dance in 1973, and have been regular dancers of numerous dance styles ever since; and are familiar faces at major dances & festivals.
Mike is available to call at private events so if you want a Barn Dance for a party you can contact him through Lynn Stacey at the top of the page.
Ivan Aitken is a dancer and caller from Reading
who has been standing in for Mike as our caller.
He has been dancing and calling for 47 years and is one of England’s popular callers.
Ivan is in demand as a caller for local clubs, Workshops, Festivals, club dances, Halsway Manor, dance weekends throughout the country, and events aboard. Ivan is well known for his wide repertoire of dances from Playford to modern day English style dances, Squares and Contras.
