What is Rapper dancing??

‘Rapper’ dancing is a type of traditional sword dance which originates from the North East of England. It seems to have started in the coal mining villages of Northumberland and Country Durham, and some people think that the ‘rappers’ were not really swords, but strips of metal that miners used to clean off pit-ponies at the end of a shift.

The dance is performed by a crew of five dancers (male or female) and each person holds their own rapper in their right hand and the rapper of the person to their left in their left hand. If things go well, they don’t let go of either rapper all through the dance!

If you want a quick look at what Rapper dancing entails, try going to this link Northgate Rapper dance "Ghost" at Bromyard Folk Festival 2024 . this is a Rapper side from the North East performing at Bromyard Folk Festival.

Our side (the ‘Retro Rappers’) are very much like this but quite a lot slower and with more mistakes.

If you think you’d like to give Rapper dancing a try, we’d love to meet you. We practice on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 10.00 to 12.00.

Please contact me using the email contact on this page if you’d like to know more or would like to join us in our pursuit of North Eastern traditional dancing!

Best wishes and happy Rapper-dancing!

Barry Walmsley