We all have many years experience and can assure you of a professional but fun approach to playing for your event. The Bursledon Village Band holds Public Liability Insurance and all the equipment is regularly safety-tested (P.A.T). We provide our own amplification system and can provide a caller if required.
Lisa Purkiss is a popular and experienced local caller who regularly calls with us. Should you have a preference for a caller, we have worked with most of the UK's leading callers. Our repertoire consists mainly of traditional dance tunes, including reels, polkas, jigs, hornpipes and waltzes. Most of the tunes are English, but we also draw from the music of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, America, and Europe.
A barn dance or Ceilidh (kaylee) is not only great fun but it's suitable for anyone to do, even with little or no experience. It's a great way to celebrate a special event because everyone can have a really good time. It crosses all age barriers and encourages people to mix, especially at Wedding Receptions. Even if you're not dancing, you can still have a good time. Barn dances and Ceilidhs are also an easy and enjoyable way to raise funds through ticket sales. They usually start about 8pm and go on for about 3 hours, including breaks, but we can tailor this to suit you and your event. The band and caller will arrive beforehand, in plenty of time to set up their amplification and instruments.
The caller invites people to come onto the dance floor and explains the steps of each dance in easy to understand terms. The dances are walked through to the music and the instructions are called out as the music plays - so you don't have to remember it all. As the evening progresses the caller will assess the dancers and adapt the programme accordingly.
With the Bursledon Village Band providing the music and the caller explaining the dances, even newcomers to barn-dancing have nothing to worry about - after all, the objective is for everyone to enjoy themselves and have fun.