How long have the Knots of May been dancing?
The Knots of May was formed in the autumn of 1974 by a group of women who met in Brighton folk clubs. Sheila Magill obtained notations of some half-a-dozen dances from Tubby Reynolds of Bath City Morris, and the first couple of practices were held in the cramped but friendly circumstances of her basement flat in Brighton. Once we’d decided we were getting somewhere (up the wa11s?), we booked the upstairs room at the Springfield Hotel (then used for a Friday folk club) to practice in. The ceiling of the bar below has never been the same since! With the invaluable help of three of the partners of founder members, and a couple of day practices with Betty and Tubby Reynolds, and the incomparable Roy Dommett, we puzzled our way through the notations, and on 14th February 1975 gave our first public performance at the St. Valentine’s Day ceilidh at the Springfield. Those who were there feel their senses reel yet at the terror of the memory! Our reception amazed us by its warmth, vigour, and g
