The Rainbow Folk

What do you offer?

The Rainbow Folk is a vibrant queer-led folk band specialising in fun, friendly and inclusive ceilidhs. We combine beginner-friendly dance instructions with infectious enthusiasm and an incredible live band to get everybody dancing! Expect boundless enthusiasm, gender-free dance instructions and lots of laughter.

Why do you want to work with the LGBTQ+ community?

As a queer-led band we know how important it is to feel like you're in a safe space - especially in contexts that can feel very cis/heteronormative such as dancing. We love making space for expressing queer joy, where everyone can be themselves and let their hair down without worrying about outdated stereotypes and assumptions.

Allyship

Our caller, Lisa Heywood (they/them), has been at the forefront of encouraging ceilidh and barn dance teachers to use inclusive, gender-neutral dance instructions. They create gender-neutral dance resources for other dance teachers, wrote a feature article for the English Folk Dance and Song Society magazine, and has even appeared on BBC Radio 4's Front Row programme talking about the need for inclusive dance instructions. 

We also share queer content on our social media channels, and are regularly involved in running public Queer Ceilidhs in various locations around the UK.