Gwyl Plant Gwent

Gwerinwyr Gwent started this festival of Welsh folk dance for children in 1981, with eight schools taking part, now many schools take part each year. The festival is non-competitive and open to any youth group, not just to schools. The first festivals were held in Gwent Square, Cwmbran. As the number of children grew the festival became two festivals, with one group of children dancing during the morning and another group of children dancing in the afternoon. Our numbers kept on growing, and we added two festivals in Ebbw Vale town centre. We outgrew Ebbw Vale so we moved to a larger venue in Abertillery. We grew even bigger so added Abergavenny and then Newport to our venues.

Cwmbran

Newport

If you are passing by when they are dancing, do stop to watch the colourful spectacle made by the children as they dance in their traditional Welsh costumes, as the children enjoy doing the dances they have learnt during the past year.

Each summer the Gwyl Plant Gwent committee decide upon the twelve dances for the next summer's festivals. They then produce the instructions for these dances, both in English and in Welsh. The teachers are provided with a CD of suitable music for practising the dances, together with DVDs where the dances are walked through to the exact words in our instructions and then danced to the music.

If you would like to know more about the courses, festivals, or the teaching aids
(which may be bought by anyone who feels they would find them useful),
please contact the secretary of Gwyl Plant Gwent -
Mrs Dawn Webster Greenacres, Broadstreet Common, Nash, Newport  NP18 2AZ