Category: Dance News

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Evening Classes in Court Dance 2026

If you’ve ever thought you’d like to try something that’s quite different, why not try dancing from an age when elegance and ease were prized over effort and exaggeration? Court dances provide exercise for mind as well as body, in good company, and accompanied by beautiful music of centuries past. What more could you wish for?

Term 1 classes in Court dance commence on Thursday February 5 in North Sydney. The term will run for 9 weeks until April 2, right before the Easter long weekend.

See https://www.earlydanceconsort.com.au/classes/schedule.htm for full details. Please get in touch if you’d like to join in or have any queries. The first class of each term is free to try, and no previous experience or partner is required. Hope to see you there!

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Summer course – thank you

Thanks to the wonderful people who joined us from near and far for the Summer Course in early January. Despite something of a heatwave, we worked hard and completed a number of lively, elegant and sociable dances from the Baroque repertoire, and enjoyed the great company of our fellow baroque aficionados (it is a special niche). Well done to all!

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Christmas Party CANCELLED

With sincere apologies, we must CANCEL the EDC Christmas Party (Thursday Dec 18) due to COVID-19.
We wish everyone good health and cheer over the festive summer holiday and a peaceful 2026, when we hope to catch up again.
With our very best wishes, and thanks for your interest in sharing our choreographic niche,
Fiona & John.

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Christmas-End-of-Year Party 18 December

An invitation to current, past and prospective students & friends:

The 2025 EDC Christmas Party will be held on
Thursday 18th December, 6.30pm – 9.00pm,
at the usual venue: 181 Blues Point Road, North Sydney.
Please come and join us for a little festive dancing, a look at some of the dances we’ve been learning this year, and to catch up with dear friends
We welcome contributions for the table (simple finger food ready to eat, or something non-alcoholic to drink – cups, plates &c provided).

Hope you and your dance shoes can make it.
Warm wishes for Christmas, New Year, Summer Holidays (should you be so lucky),
and for the New Year ‘26.
Fiona & John

RSVP by email or SMS

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Happy New Year!

Hope you’ve had a lovely Christmas, and are enjoying the Summer holiday.

Suddenly it’s 2025, and our Summer Course is just 1 week away, on January 8. Please let us know if you’d like to come along, as it’s not too late to enrol. https://earlydanceconsort.com.au/EDC_Archives/EDC-2025/Summer-2025.htm

Meanwhile, if you can’t make the course, our evening class schedule is up for the New year, at https://earlydanceconsort.com.au/classes/schedule.htm

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2025 Summer Course in Early Dance

beautiful & … bizarre baroque

Wednesday 8 to Friday 10 January, 2025
in North Sydney

An invitation to our 15th Summer Course in Early Dance.
The Baroque era of the late 17th & early 18th century is our focus again, as we explore both the beautiful and bizarre.
Noble dance technique was common to both ballroom and stage. It could be elegant and charming, flattering the noble dancer with grace and apparent ease. On stage it could also be majestic, dramatic or comic, as the occasion demanded, and as records show.
Why learn baroque dance?
18th-Century dance notation provides a rare window into some favourite choreographies of the era, for the ballroom, and for the theatre. They allow the possibility of embodying the experience of the courtier: the posture, gesture & dance forms forgotten over the centuries. This is invaluable physical insight for musicians, actors, dancers & historians: into musical rhythms and forms, into manners, deportment, gesture, performance & aesthetics.
The Summer Course provides an opportunity to develop an appreciation of this distinctive dance heritage.
Over three days, students will learn movements, steps & sequences in preparation for excerpts & whole dances in different rhythms. Fundamental technique will be introduced for newcomers, while experienced students will refine technique & style, and build repertoire.

No previous dance experience required. No need to bring a partner.
Go to https://earlydanceconsort.com.au/EDC_Archives/EDC-2025/Summer-2025.htm

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Winter Weekend of Baroque Dance

Historic Dance Delights invite you to a…
Winter Weekend of Baroque Dance, 2 -4 August, 2024, Canberra
Workshops presented: by Fiona Garlick & John Barnard of
The Early Dance Consort (Sydney)
Dates: 2 August (Friday evening)  – 4 August (Sunday afternoon)  
Venue: Church Hall, All Saints Anglican Church, 9-15 Cowper Street, Ainslie ACT 2602  
For Details & Schedule: https://www.earlydanceconsort.com.au/news/news.htm
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/host/63129d888b09f6126d4d9470

Questions: contact historicdancedelights@gmail.com
Historic Dance Delights –https://historicdancedelights.org.au/