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SKYLARK Contra & Ceilidh Band A website for one of England's leading Contra Dance Bands. |
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SPREADING OUR WINGS
Order your copy right here! Whether you’re looking for superb music to dance to, or simply want to get your feet tapping at home, you’ll find something here to move you. There are slinky sets to lull you into the “dance trance” and vibrant rhythms to snap you back out of it again. Skylark spreads its wings with a beautiful arrangement of Brian Stone's tune "Emma's Waltz" to accompany Colin Hume's Dance and the tune "Key to the Cellar" for a dance written by Jenny Beer.
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Skylark supports Halsway Manor - A National Centre for Traditional Music. As a band we were involved in producing a second CD for the Halsway Millennium Players - a Folk Orchestra founded in 2000.
Skylark's 2nd album was debuted at the American Evening dance at Chippenham Folk Festival this year (2010), with Geoff Cubitt calling, a rerun of their 1st album debut at the same event in 2007. The launch event was hugely popular, as was their CD, with John Meechan on sales being overwhelmed at one point with people literally throwing money at him in the scramble to get copies of the CD. In my opinion, Skylark's 2nd album is inspired and exceedingly well crafted, clearly demonstrating both the individual and combined talents of these fine musicians, who, as Skylark, have evolved a superb collection of tune-sets to suit a wide range of dance styles, English as well as American, and are now deservedly in great demand as a band........ read the full review in Set and Turn Single - Autumn 2010 edition.Reviews of Skylark's Original CDIf this CD doesn’t get you leaping around the dance floor (or the kitchen), nothing will! Overseas review from Kentucky! “…..for making such a good CD. The tunes are just wonderful and they won’t leave my head. I keep waking up with them playing in endless loops, I hum them doing laundry, I catch myself whistling them in meetings (oops). It’s a real triumph for the dance world, but driving me crazy just at the moment. Congrats to Skylark. A+!”
“I've just listened to the whole of the Skylark CD again and I want to tell you again how terrific it is. There's so much life and vitality, and the final tune is so much fun.
Afterwards, I listened to Mozart's Piano Concertos number 20 in D minor and 21 in C major which were also terrific, but I couldn't email him to tell him so!”
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SKYLARK's original CD: 
"Spreading Our Wings" Release date May 2010
Reviews: SKYLARK........is a now soaring - bringing the modern sound of Contra Dance to the UK.
The musicians are - Dave Brown (Fiddle), Elaine Meechan (Keyboards), Kathryn Dunphy (flute), and Mark Brown (Bass).
"The bright new sound of Skylark starts the week with their crisp, new arrangements, performed with excellence and great enthusiasm." “Quite probably the best Contra Dance Band in England!” (Quoted at the Leeds Contra – September 2006).
Festival organisers, clubs, Contra Dance Organisers please contact Dave Brown and book the band now.
- "incredible energy, superb musicianship and incredible dancebility." John Meechan. 
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Dave Brown: |
Kathryn Dunphy:
 has also grown up with Folk Dance music. She works as a Primary School teacher in Manchester. Kathryn mainly plays the Flute in Skylark but can often be seen playing the Alto Sax and even, occasionally, the Piccolo.
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Elaine Meechan:  has played accordion mostly in her other musical incarnations, notably with Glorishears Band. Elaine has worked as a musician with Folk Camps an has a wide experience of Folk Music and dance. In Skylark she provides the rhythmic harmonic structure for the rhythm section of the band. |
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has played in many bands over the years including, Wild Thyme, 
