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The Society of Folk Dance Historians (SFDH) Helen Wingrave
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BACKGROUND
Information: Helen Wingrave, author of books and articles about international dance.
...while The Grosvenor School [of Modern Art] had no formal curriculum, it did teach a foundation in art history, with Flight lecturing on the art of linocutting, Cyril Power teaching architecture, Sybil Andrews serving as the school secretary, and Helen Wingrave (Macnab’s wife) giving a dance course. By 1940 though, the Grosvenor School had closed and merged with the Heatherley School of Fine Art, which is still in operation today.
Founded in 1952, by Irene Grandison Clarke and Joan Lawson, the National Dance Branch [of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance], as it was then called, focused on an in-depth study of folk dance. In 1953 Helen Wingrave joined the Committee and she too made a great contribution to the development of the branch. Unlike Joan Lawson, whose particular interest lay in pure folk dance, Helen Wingrave was keen on using the steps of folk dance to choreograph solos, duets, trios and groups for theatrical settings such as dance performances and competitions. She had a great gift for choreographing dances in this way, many of which are still in the syllabus today. In the early 1960s, Robert Harrold became a committee member and examiner. He worked very closely with Helen Wingrave and made an important and lasting contribution to the development of the branch through his teaching, writing and choreographing of many dances both for the syllabus and competitions.
In 1972, Helen Wingrave conducted the first overseas examinations, which were held in New Zealand. There was great enthusiasm for the work, and it subsequently spread to other countries such as Canada, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Mexico, and South Africa. The experiences overseas were not limited to dancing, Helen Wingrave wittily recalled while examining in South Africa the weather was very hot and the teacher had kindly opened the doors at the bottom of her studio. To Miss Wingrave’s amusement, two cows entered the exam room to listen to the music and stood watching the dancers performing! Miss Wingrave calmly stood up, gently shooed the cows out and continued with the exam.
Publications by Helen Wingrave in the Folk Dance Archive of the Society of Folk Dance Historians:
- Wingrave, Helen and Harrold, Robert, 1984, Aspects of Folk Dance in Europe.
- Wingrave, Helen and Hawkins, John, Balkan Market.
- Wingrave, Helen and Faust, Sylvia, n.d., Barevny Satek.
- Wingrave, Helen and Harrold, Robert, 1978, Dances, music and costumes of Bulgaria.
- Wingrave, Helen and Harrold, Robert, 1981, Five Islands: Grand Canary, Corfu, Majorca, Madeira, Sicily.
- Wingrave, Helen and Jackson, Joyce, n.d., Five Peasant Dances.
- Wingrave, Helen and Harrold, Robert, n.d., Folk Dances and Costumes of Switzerland.
- Wingrave, Helen and Loxton, Elizabeth, Merry Peasants.
- Wingrave, Helen and Holder, Raymond, n.d., National Rhythms.
- Wingrave, Helen and Harrold, Robert, 1972, Spanish Dancing.
Other publications by Helen Wingrave that we do not have (yet):
- Wingrave, Helen and Holder, Raymond. Dance from Jugoslavia.
- Wingrave, Helen. "A dance from Northern Italy; la Civetta – the flirt" in Dancing Times, London, February 1959, p. 243, 245.
- Wingrave, Helen (arr.), music by Holder, Raymond, Dance from Jugoslavia, London: H. Wingrave, n.d.
- Wingrave, Helen (dances), music by Holder, Raymond.National Rhythms, London: H. Wingrave, n.d.
- Wingrave, Helen and Harrold, Robert, Spanish Dancing, Parapress Ltd; 2r.e. edition, 128 pages, 2001.
Several score other publications appear at:
- https://search.worldcat.org/#advancedsearch
Excerpted on Feb 18, 2026 from:
- https://www.istd.org/dance/dance-genres/national/history-of-national-dance/
- https://www.istd.org/discover/news/pioneers-of-the-national-dance-faculty/
- https://www.invaluable.com/blog/the-grosvenor-school-of-modern-art/
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