Emily Bidgood (US)

Emily Bidgood will bring to Chippenham a bit of her experience dancing and playing music in the Appalachian mountains, where square dance is a folk tradition that is being kept very much alive. Although square dancing and the Virginia Reel was a part of elementary school gym class, she did not really learn about Appalachian folk dances until she was a young adult and joined the Apple Chill Cloggers, a touring community dance ensemble. For the past 10 years she has been a student of square dance calling as part of the "Dare to Be Square" intergenerational neo-folk revival. Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, and Ireland are all countries she has gotten to organize and call square dances, and now she gets to add the United Kingdom to the list. She is based in Johnson City, TN, which has an active dance and music community partly in thanks to East Tennessee State University and its bachelors program in bluegrass and roots music, which attracts students from around the world. Website: ebdance.carrd.co.

Emily Bidgood (US)'s website