SetsMad
The website for Basingstoke Irish Set Dancers

Calendar

A quick overview of our upcoming events.

  • The Swallow's Tail Ceili band

    Spring Equinox Weekend

    22 - 24 March 2019
    Rotherwick Village Hall


    3 ceilis with the Swallow's Tail ceili band, workshops with Mairead Casey and Jo & Simon Harmer and more.


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  • Prague 2017

    Sona Sól Set Dancing Weekend in Prague with Kevin & Carol Monaghan and the Swallow's Tail Ceili Band

    26 - 28 April 2019
    Prague, Czech Republic


    Building on past successes, the Prague Sona Sól Set Dancing Weekend is back! The band will be the Swallow's Tail Ceili Band who are coming to play in Prague for the very first time. Workshops will be lead again by Kevin & Carol Monaghan. Check their website for more information and registration: weekend.sonasol.com


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  • Setsmad 12

    SetsMad 13 with Padraig & Roisin Mc Eneany and Rise the Dust

    27 - 29 September 2019
    Cliddesden Millennium Village Hall

    The weekend where we plan to dance around 30 different sets over the 3 days and nights. It's great fun, challenging and usually has a pretty special atmosphere.


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  • We're
    mad
    about sets!

Our events

You can find information about our forthcoming events, where and when we dance and how to contact us.

The Swallow's Tail Ceili Band

Spring Equinox Weekend with The Swallow's Tail Ceili Band

22 - 24 March 2019


Back by popular demand. A weekend of dancing with The Swallow’s Tail Ceili Band, playing for ceilis on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Workshops with Mairead Casey and Simon & Jo Harmer.

Rotherwick Village Hall, our cold weather venue, comfortingly situated between the two village pubs in the picturesque village of Rotherwick. We still use the usual hotels; the venue is about 7 miles from Basingstoke.

Lunch tips

We can recommend 2 nearby pubs, we advise you to book well in advance because both places get very busy.

  • The Falcon, Rotherwick - website
  • The Coach & Horses, Rotherwick - website

Accommodation

Click to see Booking.com for nearby hotels.

Address

Rotherwick Village Hall, 88 The Street, Rotherwick, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9BG (website, map and directions)

Register by email
SetsMad weekend

SetsMad 13 weekend with Padraig and Roisin Mc Eneany and Rise the Dust

27 - 29 September 2019


What is there to say? Padraig & Roisin are back with Rise The Dust, we'll have fine weather, good laugh and lots of lovely sets.

This is the 13th instalment of what has proven to be a very innovative and popular ‘workshop’ weekend. As usual, we’ll have dancers from around the UK and many parts of Europe. Please register early as space is limited.

Padraig & Roisin will once again blend their encyclopaedic knowledge of dance with their inimitable relaxed and friendly teaching style, always with careful attention to the heritage and finer details of the dances.

Address

Cliddesden Millennium Village Hall, Church Lane, Cliddesden, RG25 2JQ (website, map and directions)

Register by email
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About us and weekly classes

Our Weekends - something different.

SetsMad Basingstoke

setsmad@gmail.com

Weekly Classes

Every Thursday from 9.00 - 11.00 pm
Basingstoke Irish Centre, Council Road, Basingstoke, RG21 3DH (get directions)

Beginners and experienced dancers welcome, no need to bring a partner. We have a group of now experienced dancers who will be delighted to help you find your dancing feet.


About us

We run weekend events with teachers and bands from Ireland. We call them Revival weekends. Our approach is to dance a wide variety of sets. Many experienced dancers complain of dancing the same sets at ceilis and weekends in Ireland and elsewhere. We believe there are many beautiful, charming and sometimes challenging sets that are not in the top dozen in terms of popularity that should be danced more often. We love the classic sets, and they have a cherished place at our events, but only once in a weekend; they complement the rare gems that we love to polish and display.

Our annual event is held on the 4th weekend of September.

At previous weekends we have danced over 60 different sets from all around Ireland, and have welcomed visitors from all over the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Czech Republic (or Czechia if you like...), Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the USA and Japan.

The Wessex Set

Created in 2016 by the Basingstoke Set Dancers

The Wessex Set

About our set

We have a Youtube channel where we have videos old and new of set dancing. The newest one we have is of our newly created Wessex Set, choreographed by Carol and Kevin Monaghan, Sue and Jim Crick, Brian and Mary Saunders and Dick and Jacky Gurney.

We launched this set at our St Patrick's weekend in 2016, and it was also danced at the weekend of set dancing in the beautiful city of Prague in April 2016. It has been shared with other dance teachers and been well-received by those who have danced it. Please feel free to peruse all our collected videos, and offer some feedback.


Video and notes

Four figures: 152b reels, 152b reels, 192b jigs and 160b fling

Please send us an email if you are interested in notes for this set, Youtube playlist is here or view the video by clicking on the play button below.



Contact Us

If you wish to get in touch, please, contact us using the form below.