One of the inspirations which led to SomerStep being formed was discovering that there had been step-dance competitions on the Mendips at some point in the past. Such competitions have survived on Dartmoor, largely due to the efforts of one man, the late Bob Cann, but little is known of their Somerset equivalent.

What is known is that agility dances around handkerchiefs or tobacco pipes were performed at Priddy. SomerStep have supported the Priddy Folk festival in recent years to revive that tradition.

We were also pleased to discover that are some hornpipes and jigs unique to Mendips area such as the Shepton Mallet hornpipe and Coleford Jig.

For more details or for any other enquiries about dancing in the Mendips, please contact us via email: mendip@somerstep.org