America Bound

NYFTE’s summer trip to the USA was a huge success! The team performed magnificently in spite of intense heat and high humidity. It was unfortunate that we were caught up in the increased security at Gatwick and experienced long delays, resulting in a missed connection from New York to Boston.  Needless to say everyone was exhausted on arrival but, undaunted, the team performed their first show the following evening to enthusiastic crowds in Boston.  They also performed at the world famous Pinewoods Camp.  A fantastic place built in the forest and on the edge of a lake, the camp were hosting an ‘English’ week and the audience of dancers were gushing in their praise of the performance. To quote one observer, ‘….a really gutsy, rousing performance. I loved it!’. Afterwards the team relaxed and swam and canoed in the lake, a great experience. Our hosts made us very welcome and looked after us with true generosity.

After four days in Boston, we flew to Berea in Kentucky. The temperatures soared and the humidity was 90% but the team showed no sign of flagging. They performed in school gyms, mostly without air conditioning and with poor acoustics – quite a challenge. They were warmly received everywhere. They did workshops with the children and ‘meet the team’ sessions. They also joined in a Morris tour around Berea with the host teams and had barbecues and picnics. Again, our hosts could not have been kinder to us, putting on entertainment each evening in the form of games, dances and parties and the team have made firm friends across the ‘pond’. The final concert was a triumph and we were incredibly proud of them.

In all, the trip was a huge success and many thanks go out to all those people who supported us. NYFTE are great ambassadors for English folk and we can all be justly proud of them. Who says young people are not coming in to the folk scene? If you haven’t seen NYFTE perform, then you must try to catch them at festivals next summer. They are a truly talented group of youngsters.

For a video of one of our performances in Kentucky, click here.

PS. Incredibly, some of the team went straight off to Towersey Festival on our return to England.  We went home to sleep!!