Ryburn Longsword Dancers
Practice sessions every Wednesday from 7.00pm upstairs at the Hollins Mill in Sowerby Bridge, HX6 2QG. New dancers welcome, please email ryburnlongsword@gmail.com for more information.
See us dancing in this video taken at the Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival in September 2024 (thanks to YouTube user bogardesbar).
RYBURN LONGSWORD Dancers are based in Ripponden, near Halifax, and have
specialised in traditional Yorkshire Longsword dance since 1994. We practise
on Wednesday evenings from 7.00 to 9 pm in the upstairs room at the Hollins Mill, 12 Hollins Mill Lane, Sowerby Bridge HX6 2QG.
Come and Join Us
We are always looking for new dancers to help us continue the tradition, so if you are interested in learning to dance Longsword with us, please email ryburnlongsword@gmail.com or just come along to a practice to meet us and see what it's all about.
Longsword dancing is a bit of a cardiovascular workout requiring a general
level of fitness, flexibility and co-ordination, so if you can run for a bus
we want to hear from you! We welcome people of all ages and
abilities but please be aware that our practice room is up a flight of stairs.
Come and See Us Dancing
During each year you can see us dancing in and around Ripponden and Halifax, at local festivals and community events such as the Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing and Todmorden Folk Festival. For full details see our programme page.Our Next Outing
Thursday, 1 May 2025, 05.25 am
Dance the May in at sunrise
Scammonden Bridge HX4 0EB
Check the programme page for additions, updates and events further ahead.
What is Longsword Dance?
Longsword dance is a Yorkshire-based form of traditional dance performed by five, six or eight dancers together in a circle, making a sequence of movements in which the dancers go over or under one of the swords. The dances are fast-moving and showy; normally they end with the production and display of a 'lock' where swords are intertwined in one of a variety of shapes.
Ryburn Longsword has been dancing Yorkshire Longsword since 1994. Some of our dances are traditional and come from villages across Yorkshire, while others have been created by members of the group.
