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Welcome to the ; WHITE HORSE CEILIDH BAND Website
Meet the band
Contact the band
Venues and occasions
Tips on running a dance.
History
Our Feedback

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The Band (left to right)

Bill Sowerby
He's been playing in folk bands since he was a lad, and was a regular member of the original Green Ginger Band and the highly acclaimed Yorkshire Garland Band among others. Bill plays fiddle, mandolin and banjo and can turn his hand to guitar and bass as well.

Jean Wastling (caller and MC)
Jean has been dancing since she was 8 years old and as a teenager attained teaching standard in Ballroom and Old Time Dancing. She was a member of the Green Ginger Garland Dancers for over 20 years and has also been calling for Barn Dances for almost as long.

Tom Gaynard
Tom started playing penny whistle in 1979 and joined the band in 1983. His main interest is Irish music and his early influences were Seamus Ennis and Liam O'Flynn. Tom also plays the Low D whistle.

Chris Wade
A co-founder of the band, Chris runs the successful folk, roots and world music agency Adastra. She is also Artistic Director of the Beverley and East Riding Folk Festival. Chris plays bass  and sometimes guitar.

Pete Fletcher
Pete has  been playing melodeon for some 40 years. He has played for (and danced with) Morris, Clog and Rapper dance teams as well as being a member of three dance bands.

Rosie Fletcher
Rosie has over thirty years experience in folk dancing and playing for dancing. She was a member of the highly acclaimed Green Ginger Clog dancers for many years and has played in various bands. Rosie plays tin whistle and hammered dulcimer.

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Venues and Occasions
Barn dances can be held in just about any venue where there is room to dance. You need a reasonably smooth surface underfoot  but a proper dance floor is not essential. We have played in stately homes, church halls, school halls, university halls, social clubs, windmills, potato stores, barns, marquees and the open air. You don't need a stage though it is better if at least the caller has something to stand up on to see what's happening.
All sorts of occasions can be marked with a barn dance - birthdays, weddings, harvest festivals, or just no special reason at all. Many of the dances we play for are fund raising events and you can make a reasonable amount of money with a bit of careful planning.

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History of the band.
The White Horse Ceilidh Band was formed from the regular musicians of the White Horse Folk Club, Beverley in 1978. Since then they have played for countless Barn Dances and Ceilidhs around their native East Yorkshire and Hull area as well as venues as far apart as Gloucester Arts Centre, Towersey Folk Festival in Oxfordshire, Leeds, Beverley, Holmfirth and Redcar Folk Festivals, 'Festa Avante!' in Portugal and represented their county in Detmold, Germany. The repertoire comprises Irish, English, Scottish and American folk tunes and dances.

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Tips on running a dance.
Running your own dance is not complicated or difficult and a lot of these tips may seem very obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people can get things disastrously wrong.

Planning.
Do some research to find out if there is enough interest among the people who you hope will attend. You need enough people there to cover your costs, and we find a dance will work better if you have at least fifty people present.
Decide on a date for the dance well in advance. You need a few months to organise everything and advertise the dance properly.
Decide when you are going to start and finish. Eight is a good time to start but you might start earlier if you have a lot of children attending. We find that 11.30 is quite late enough to finish and we have seen lots of dances fizzle out as people start to leave before the end if you try to run on too late.

Venue.
Contact your chosen venue and find out if it is available on the date you want.
Ask about any alternative dates.
Do not make a firm booking yet.
You need a venue with a hard floor and enough room for people to get up and dance. School halls and village halls usually work well but hotel function rooms can be difficult as they tend to be carpeted so find out in advance. Barns and other farm buildings can be very successful venues in warm weather. Marquees can be used if they have hard floors laid. Make sure tables and chairs are available, and check out the kitchen facilities if you are intending to do any catering.
The band may be able to help with venues if you are stuck, as we know from experience which venues work.

Get a Band.
Contact a good dance band (White Horse for instance) and find out if they are available to play.
Ask about any alternative dates.
Do not make a firm booking yet.

Catering.
If you are buying in catering services find out if they are available. You don't need to provide food but it is usual to have a break for supper during the night. This does not need to be elaborate and something like pie and peas can be bought in at a reasonable price. It's usual to have a bar as well but if you don't provide one make sure people know (including the Band) so they can bring their own. 
Do not make any firm bookings yet.

If everything is available on the date you want then you can make firm bookings.
If everything doesn't fit together you might consider alternative dates.
It's a good idea to put things in writing to avoid any confusion and the band will probably ask you to sign a contract.

Now the point that lots of people get wrong.
*Advertise the dance*
Obvious isn't it? but you'd be surprised how many people get this wrong. Advertising varies for different occasions but you might put up posters, send round flyers or contact people directly. Advertising needs to be more extensive if you are admitting the general public, but even if the dance is restricted to members of a particular club/association/workplace/church, people need to be told (and sometimes persuaded)

Raffle
A raffle can be a good way of increasing your takings. People can often be persuaded to donate prizes.
Don't forget to buy some raffle tickets.

On the night.
Make sure someone is at the venue early to let the band in. They will need at least half an hour to set up their equipment. You also might have to arrange catering and bar facilities, and may need to rearrange tables and chairs so there is room to dance. Don't forget that there will be clearing up to do at the end of the evening and the band will need time to pack up.
Unless you have worked out a timetable for the night, liase with the caller about the timing of supper breaks etc. Most callers are happy to act as master of ceremonies for the evening and to make announcements on your behalf.

Other Entertainment
Some organisers combine a barn dance with a disco or other entertainment. A singer or other entertainer can make a useful break in the middle of the evening, but a disco is best arranged to run after the barn dance. It just doesn't work to swap from country dancing to disco and back.

Timing
Unless you have a special reason a good starting time is 7.30 or 8.00. Don't make it too early, especialy on Fridays, or people will not be there at the start.
We have found over the years that people will start drifting off at about 11.30 and have finished many a dance with only a few people remaining which sort of spoils the occasion.

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Some feedback from our satisfied customers.

Dear Tom and the Gang,
Thank you for making our night so special - You were fantastic!
There wasn't a person who didn't dance - well done - and you even carried on through the break!
Everyone is singing your praises - I don't think it will be long before we are seeing you again!
Juliet.

Dear Tom,
Thank you for playing so well for us last Saturday. Norman and I thoroughly enjoyed your music as did all our guests.
Thanks again.
Nancy and Norman

White Horse Ceilidh Band,
Thank you so much for the fantastic entertainment at our wedding on Saturday.
Everyone commented on how good you were. From playing at the Church, during the dinner and the evening dance -
all were great.
Thank you for such a professional and varied day.
Shaun and Catherine.

Hello again Tom,
We have arrived back in Cyprus, and we just wanted to thank you all again for such a fantastic day you gave us on my Mums birthday.Everything was perfect, and everyone is still talking about it!. The band are fabulous, and the clog dancing made the whole day extra special for us all. Anyway, we just wanted to let you know, and hopefully we will hear you again in the future.
Many, many thanks
Kind regards

To all the Band who helped to make the occasion very special.
Lotty and Michael S.

Please thank all the Band for making the Burn's supper such a success. I believe we raised over £1000 towards patient care.
Saint Catherine's Hospice

Dear Band,
Thank you all so much for the fantastic party. We all had a wonderful time due to yourselves. Maybe being 40's not so bad after all!
Emma and David

Hi Tom
Just wanted to say a big thank you on behalf of Liz, Lizzie, Mark and myself. The band were really good and helped to make the whole evening a joyful occasion, it was just what we had in mind.
Thanks.
Tara

Hi Tom

I would like to  thank you and your band  so much for a great evening on 6th February.  Everyone thouroughly enjoyed the evening as you must have realised by all the dancers on the floor.  Looking forward to the next one.

Regards

Liz Mann

Hi Tom,

 Sorry that I didn’t get much time to speak with you on Saturday night. Everyone had a great time and I’ve had lots of positive comments about how much they enjoyed the band and music.

Many thanks.

Tracey Ingram

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