Circle Line

IT'S the latest dance craze to sweep the land. And while for some reason it hasn't really caught on big in Yorkshire yet, it's probably only a matter of time. Circle dance isn't like other forms of dance, however. Because it's not just about dancing and having fun - it attempts to regain a lost sense of community, too.

That, at least, is what devoted circle dancers say. Regulars at the Tang Hall Community Circle Dance classes run by teacher Karen Michaelsen range from young couples in their 20s and 30s to an 80-year-old woman and people with learning disabilities.

All seem to agree they find a sense of belonging in circle dance it can be difficult to find elsewhere in today's fragmented society. Dancers who take part are actively encouraged, in fact, to get to know each other, swapping names and a few details about each-other before the dance begins. It means nobody is left standing on the sidelines.

"There's a feeling of comradeship," says 67-year-old Doreen Benson. "It's a really friendly, warm atmosphere. And people can go on their own - you don't need a partner."

"Nobody is excluded," adds Pat McGill, aged 60. "Because you're dancing in a circle, nobody is left out."

It shouldn't be surprising circle dance has such a strong feeling of community. It is developed, after all, from the rich traditions of Greek, Russian and Balkans community dance. There's a reminder - in the exotic, gipsy music, redolent of Bartok, and in the way in which dancers link hands to dance around a circle - of the way whole villages must once have got together to dance around a fire in celebration of festivals of the seasons.

Many of the dances, enthusiasts say, are accompanied by stories that underline their folk roots.

"There's a story about one dance which is very, very sad," says Lesley Crosbie-Wood, 54. "It dates from when the Greeks were at war with the Turks. They were in a very high, well-defended place but the menfolk were tricked down and captured by the Turks.

"Rather than give themselves up the women and children danced themselves over a cliff."

The cycle of the seasons is important in circle dance, and there seems to be a hint of something else as well. Key in the words 'circle dance' on an Internet search engine, and you find yourself linked to websites with names such as Sacred Circle - Dancing with the Trees. "In celebrating community we remind ourselves, through our feet, that we are part of the Earth; we connect with the Divine," one site says.

Karen Michaelsen stresses the dance is not religious in any way. "People do talk about spiritual aspects, awareness of nature, but it's about creating a mood. It is not about religion," she says.

People come for all sorts of reasons, she adds. "It's a very good, gentle exercise, but it's also a way of having friends, and feeling part of a community."

The Tang Hall Community Circle Dance Group was set up in October 1998 with the help of City of York Council's leisure services department. Now it is self-financing - but with the help of a £350 grant from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and £300 from Yorkshire Arts, it is hoping to reach out to more people.

Karen wants to do more workshops in Tang Hall for different age groups, and will be starting a class in Pickering. And last week she took circle dance into school, giving youngsters at Tang Hall Primary School a taste of what it was all about.

It went down a storm. "I'd like to do more!" said seven-year-old Thomas Barron. "I liked the bit when you all clap your hands - and I liked the music. It is kind of funny."

Gage McGuigan, also seven, was a fan too. "I think the music is quite strange," she said. "But I like that."

Karen's Circle Dance classes are every Tuesday morning from 10am - normally in Tang Hall Community Centre but, while that is closed, in St Clement's Church Hall. There will be no classes over Easter, but they resume on April 24. To find out more, call Karen on 01904 652785.