A potted history of how we got to where we are now...
Pretty Grim past and present
Pretty Grim rose, phoenix like, from the ashes of two previous sides - Black Shuck and Flying Tatters. Although even founder members of the side are a bit hazy about exactly when the side formed we have traced it back to November 1999 when we used to practice in Ipswich. When deciding on a name one of the dancers said "...well the dancing's pretty grim..." and nobody else could come up with anything that described us better so it stuck. As the dancing improved, we affectionately thought it more fitting to let everybody know that it still describes us as a side... "the boys are pretty and the girls are grim."
For many years Jem was the Squire and the side was very successful. Like all things though the side has waxed and waned over the years. We have moved homes a few times, changed practice night and for a time we had no regular musician and only a handful of dancers. Practise nights relied on a CD player and dance-outs were restricted to festivals where we could borrow musicians from other sides.
Jem handed over the reigns to Kenny and we recruited a new musician and a couple of extra dancers. Things were starting to look a little better until Kenny emigrated to Germany and Squire Sean was press-ganged into service.
Then in 2011 two more musicians joined meaning that for the first time in almost ten years we had a band! In the spring of 2013 an influx of six new dancers saw the side burst into new life. Since then we have had more changes as people have moved on and new people have joined. Currently we have around 18 dancers (5 new dancers in 2018), and 6 or so musicians - its difficult to count because some musicians dance and some dancers play music and none of them will stand still long enough to count them all! We are happily settled practicing at Blaxhall village hall on a Thursday night and sometimes end up at the Blaxhall Ship, just round the corner, for some refreshment after a long hard practice.
We always welcome new dancers and musicians. The best time to join the team is in the Autumn, when you have a whole winter to practice before the major festivals from April onwards, but if you have previous dance experience and can pick things up quickly, or of you are happy just to learn a couple of dances and just soak up the atmosphere you can join any time of year. Do contact us first - we don't always practice every week (especially when we're dancing out during the summer) and we'd hate you to turn up to find a dark and empty hall!
Pretty Grim past and present
Pretty Grim rose, phoenix like, from the ashes of two previous sides - Black Shuck and Flying Tatters. Although even founder members of the side are a bit hazy about exactly when the side formed we have traced it back to November 1999 when we used to practice in Ipswich. When deciding on a name one of the dancers said "...well the dancing's pretty grim..." and nobody else could come up with anything that described us better so it stuck. As the dancing improved, we affectionately thought it more fitting to let everybody know that it still describes us as a side... "the boys are pretty and the girls are grim."
For many years Jem was the Squire and the side was very successful. Like all things though the side has waxed and waned over the years. We have moved homes a few times, changed practice night and for a time we had no regular musician and only a handful of dancers. Practise nights relied on a CD player and dance-outs were restricted to festivals where we could borrow musicians from other sides.
Jem handed over the reigns to Kenny and we recruited a new musician and a couple of extra dancers. Things were starting to look a little better until Kenny emigrated to Germany and Squire Sean was press-ganged into service.
Then in 2011 two more musicians joined meaning that for the first time in almost ten years we had a band! In the spring of 2013 an influx of six new dancers saw the side burst into new life. Since then we have had more changes as people have moved on and new people have joined. Currently we have around 18 dancers (5 new dancers in 2018), and 6 or so musicians - its difficult to count because some musicians dance and some dancers play music and none of them will stand still long enough to count them all! We are happily settled practicing at Blaxhall village hall on a Thursday night and sometimes end up at the Blaxhall Ship, just round the corner, for some refreshment after a long hard practice.
We always welcome new dancers and musicians. The best time to join the team is in the Autumn, when you have a whole winter to practice before the major festivals from April onwards, but if you have previous dance experience and can pick things up quickly, or of you are happy just to learn a couple of dances and just soak up the atmosphere you can join any time of year. Do contact us first - we don't always practice every week (especially when we're dancing out during the summer) and we'd hate you to turn up to find a dark and empty hall!