Manx Folk Dance Society

A conversation with four members of the Manx Folk Dance Society, about some of the wonderful experiences they have had over the past few decades with the Society which celebrated its 70th birthday in September 2021.

Freda Black, Joan Cowell, Rachel Clarkson and Mo Robinson have memories stretching back 50 years, as far as the 1971, covering all of: Mona Douglas and the Leighton Stowell, meetings with royalty, dancing on tilting boats and speeding trains, singing on Norwegian mountains, running between performances in Port Erin every week, improvising a full concert with only an hour’s notice, the dances they have composed, and much more besides.

Even in conversation around their current task of closing down of the Society, it is clear that at the centre of everything for the MFDS is friendship and the great joy of dancing.

More about the Manx Folk Dance Society is available here: MFDS

Interviews

When you click play on one of the interviews below there will be a slight delay as the audio file is downloaded. Large files or slow internet connections will increase the length of this delay.

• Interview with Freda Black, Rachel Clarkson, Joan Cowell and Mo Robinson