Dartington Short Courses

25/07/2023

Join Sarah Kelly, Ella Saltmarshe, Jay Griffiths, Colin Campbell and Valentin Gerlier for a fascinating six-week online short course starting next month called Unravelling Time.

On this course we give ‘space for time’ to consider where it comes from, why it matters, and what alternative viewpoints exist within and between cultures and species. We will sit with the inevitable tensions between the urgency of climate change and the encouragement to consider a range of alternative temporal perspectives including slow time, cyclical time, mythic time, ancestral time, q***r time, enduring time and interruptive time. If this sounds interesting to you, book your spot at https://www.dartington.org/event/unravelling-time/

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24/07/2023

MAKERS WANTED!

We've extended the deadline for applications to be part of our Great Hall Craft Fair in December - you now have until next Monday (July 31st) to apply and the final selection will be confirmed by August 21st.

https://www.dartington.org/event/craft-fair/

Our inaugural fair last year attracted more than 6,000 visitors, and this year we have even grander plans! As well as the beautiful Great Hall, this year's event will be woven through the historic rooms surrounding our courtyard, which will be lit up to create a magical festive vibe unrivalled in the area. With food and mulled wine on offer, it promises to be the biggest and best Christmas craft fair around. Please share this with anyone you know who you think may want to be part of this fabulous event.

A wonderful gathering of makers and designers showcasing a wide selection of contemporary craft and design. Applications NOW OPEN for makers!

10/07/2023

Join folk legend Martha Tilston this autumn for a week of songcraft and nature connection. The River of Song and Story runs from October 16-20 and is suitable for everyone from total songwriting novices to established singer-songwriters. Together with facilitator Andy Raingold, Martha will help you harness techniques and skills to develop your practice and nurture your creative self.

She says: ‘Songs are like a river. You can use writing techniques as the river banks to support the flow – too much and the river can’t get through, too little and the river has no clear course, but just enough will guide the song where it needs to go’.

You can find further information and book your spot here: https://www.dartington.org/event/the-river-of-song-and-story/

04/07/2023

We have several performance courses coming up this autumn, from dance with Kyra Norman and Dance Connection and drumming with Taiko South West to writing with Katrina Naomi and songwriting with Martha Tilston. Check out all of these and the rest of our unique arts short course programme at www.dartington.org/shortcourses.

And don't forget there's our annual Dartington Summer School and Festival starting later this month, which features dozens of courses for musicians across its four weeks. There are also several public concerts each night of this, the 75th anniversary of this cornerstone of the musical calendar. https://www.dartington.org/whats-on/programme/summer-school/

22/06/2023

Last chance to book! Calling anyone with an interest in the future of forestry: we need you to bring your expertise and experience to the conversation. Tree Radicals is a weekend with The Woodland Presents and Evolving Forests, pioneering a new paradigm for trees. It runs from July 14-16 on the Dartington Estate in Devon. Whether you're a or , or , , , or have any contact with or interest in , please join us for this vital workshop. Full information and booking via the link in our bio.

16/06/2023

Applications are still open for you to join us at the Dartington Estate this December for a wonderful gathering of makers and designers from the South West and across the UK.

Our inaugural 2022 Great Hall Craft Fair attracted over 6,000 visitors. This year we will be increasing the number of stands and offering different pricing options as we expand into the rooms surrounding our beautiful medieval courtyard.

We are looking to showcase high-quality contemporary craft and design including ceramics, printmaking, jewellery, textiles and more.

Music, choirs, workshops, food and merriment will run throughout the weekend.

To apply, go to dartington.org/craft-fair or see the link in our bio.

Deadline for applications: 30 June 2023

12/06/2023

Get to know gamelan on this fun weekend workshop with Saj Collyer and Isis Wolf-Light. This elaborate set of percussion instruments, comprising bronze gongs and metallophones, is a staple of Balinese culture and produces complex interlocking melodic and rhythmic patterns, usually led by a pair of drums.

Open to all levels of prior experience, including total novices, this inclusive and hands-on course will look at four different styles of Balinese gamelan, with the focus on Gamelan Gong Kebyar and Gamelan Angklung. For each set of instruments, players will be looking at both a traditional and a newly created piece – a kreasi. We will also hear some live Joged Bumbung (a bamboo instrument) and some live Gamelan Gender Wayang (which traditionally accompanies shadow puppets) and there will be time to have a go on these instruments as well.

The brilliant thing about gamelan is that complete beginners can play along with experienced players, who will also benefit from tailored tuition appropriate to their level of experience. For more information and to book your space on this wonderful weekend of music-making, see https://www.dartington.org/event/gamelan-a-weekend-of-balinese-music-making

07/06/2023

We have a stellar selection of tutors coming to Dartington to lead some incredible singing and songwriting workshops over the next six months. Whether you're a seasoned singer or hate the sound of your own voice, we have something for you!

June 22 | Solstice Celebration: Forest Bathing & Songs for Summer
https://www.dartington.org/event/solstice-celebration/
Celebrate the longest days with group harmony singing and nature connection. Emma Capper leads us on a mindful walk to notice the forest at dusk in new ways, helping to awaken our creative muse and enliven our senses, before Pearl Love teaches us simple song parts that will pay homage to the turning of the wheel, the forest and the river. A midsummer delight not to be missed.

October 16-20 | The River of Song and Story
https://www.dartington.org/.../the-river-of-song-and-story/
Are you curious what might flow if you gifted yourself the time and space to nurture the songs within you? Join folk artist Martha Tilston for this immersive songwriting experience for absolutely all levels of experience. On this course you will build techniques and skills to develop your songwriting practise, with plenty of time given to holding the flow state where ideas can emerge.

November 3-5 | Finding Your Voice
https://www.dartington.org/event/finding-your-voice/
Do you believe you ‘just can’t sing’? Or do you perhaps suspect there is a beautiful voice within, if only you could let it out? This course offers you the space and time to discover your voice as part of a supportive learning community and under the expert tutelage of celebrated choral conductor Ruairi Edwards. One of our flagship short courses, this sell-out course is back for a fourth year. “Finding Your Voice was transformational – a truly deep and healing workshop. It felt more like a re-birth and aliveness.”

December 8-10 | Midwinter Festive Singing Weekend
https://www.dartington.org/.../midwinter-festive-singing.../
Julu Irvine and Heg Brignall of folk duo Suthering lead this joyful and engaging harmony singing course. Their hugely popular Suthering Singing Retreats come to Dartington Estate for a unique weekend exploring traditional and contemporary folk songs, all themed around the winter season. During the day there will be workshops where you will learn singing and breathing techniques which you will then apply to an array of different folk songs. The group will also get the chance to sing some festive songs in an informal singaround setting, facilitated by Julu and Heg. Together we will fill the room with harmony.

To see the full range of upcoming short courses, head to www.dartington.org/shortcourses

01/06/2023

THE CRUSH COURSE | JUNE 16-18

If you enjoy wine and have ever pondered the process of making a bottle, this course pops the cork on some winemaking secrets! Led by former head of wine at Waitrose, Justin Howard-Sneyd, and Duncan Schwab of Sharpham Wine, this is a fun and hands-on weekend by the River Dart learning about grapes, squishing them between your toes, and making your very own bottle to take home. The perfect gift for the wine lover in your life (even if that wine lover is you...)

Sign up at https://www.dartington.org/event/the-crush-course/

26/05/2023

We're delighted to be able to offer the chance to spend a day learning from two acclaimed songwriters - Mercury Prize-nominated Williams and Emma-Lee Moss - here at Dartington in June. This workshop is a collaboration with creative writing charity Arvon where their week-long course that follows this Saturday workshop is sold out. Don't miss this opportunity to learn the craft from two incredible artists and teachers. For more information and to book your space, viist https://www.dartington.org/event/arvon-x-dartington-live-songwriting-day/

There will also be a free-to-attend songwriter's circle in the White Hart from 6-7.30pm: https://www.dartington.org/event/arvon-x-dartington-songwriters-circle/