Press release from the EFDSS just released:

Arts Council Funding Heralds New Era for
the English Folk Dance & Song Society

The English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS) is delighted to announce that it has become one of Arts Council England's Regularly Funded Organisations and will receive £400,000 of funding over two years. The funding will enable EFDSS to become a national development agency for folk music and set up a number of exciting new initiatives that will benefit the folk sector.
EFDSS was founded in 1932 following the amalgamation of the Folk Song Society (founded 1898) and The English Folk Dance Society (founded in 1911) and is based at Cecil Sharp House in Camden.
It has been a centre of excellence for the study, practice and dissemination of traditional English song, dance and music as well as being home to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library; the most important collection of traditional song, dance and music material in the country.
EFDSS is also a membership organisation with around 4,000 members and affiliated clubs.

EFDSS Chief Executive, Katy Spicer, welcomed the news, saying:
"The announcement of this funding is exciting news for EFDSS and the folk arts in general. We are very much on the crest of a folk revival and this money will allow us to be proactive in how we support English folk arts. We will shortly be announcing a range of schemes to support artists through showcases and partnerships, as well as developing our existing education strategy.
"We will also be working towards creating the definitive online resource for both our members and the general public, creating a new website that will make even more of our library and archive collections available."

Susanna Eastburn, Director of Music Strategy, Arts Council England said:
"We are delighted to be investing in EFDSS over the next two years to support its ambitions to be a national development organisation. This is a very exciting time for folk music with a generation of world class artists influencing a new set of young performers who are challenging perceptions and attracting wide audiences and media interest.
"Our investment will build on the EFDSS's iconic status to create a national programme of artist and audience development, industry networking, training and increased opportunities for children and young people."

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