Jo Love

Pennyroyal Garland Dancers was formed in Leicestershire (England) by a group of enthusiastic dancers. We are based in the lovely historic town of Ashby de la Zouch and perform not only in the neighbouring counties, but as far afield as Yorkshire, Devon, Kent and have even travelled as far as Belgium, France and Holland.

At present we have many dancers and musicians, but we always welcome anyone who is interested in joining us.

Our repertoire includes Clog Dancing, with wooden soled clogs adding percussive impact to the rhythms of hornpipes, waltzes and reels.
Clog dancing originated in the North of England over 200 years ago. Clogs were once worn by workers in the cotton mills, where the wet floors were unsuitable for leather soled boots, but these damp conditions were fine for wooden soled clogs.
The mill workers began to imitate the rhythms of the new weaving machinery and clog dancing became very popular outside work too as 'Champion Cloggers'and many well-known Music Hall 'turns' adopted the style.
Pennyroyal performs clog routines based on steps from the North East and North West of England and also from Ireland.
Appalachian dancing from the southern Appalachian mountains of America is a mixture of many traditions from several different countries. English Clog dancing, Irish Step dancing and Scottish Highland dances have been combined with native American and African dance steps to give a unique rhythmic style, accompanied by music which draws on English, Irish and Scottish traditions.
Today's Appalachian dancing is lively and energetic, usually accompanied by banjo, mandolin, guitar and fiddle. This music is so inviting, we decided to add some Appalachian-style dances to Pennyroyal's repertoire.

If you are interested in joining Pennyroyal, either as a dancer or a musician, please email in the first instance ([email protected]) for more information.
Practice Night (September to May) is Wednesday 8.00pm - 9.30pm
We practice at Ashby Social Club, North Street, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.

Whether you are an experienced dancer or an enthusiastic beginner, you are welcome to come and practice with us, with a view to joining. Musicians are welcome, too. Although our dancers (by tradition) are female, our band contains, and welcomes, representatives of both major gender groups.
The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, and if you think you might enjoy playing or dancing with Pennyroyal, then you are welcome to come along and meet us.