Greenginger Garland Dancers History The beginnings 1977-1988

                                             
Green Ginger Garland began in the autumn of 1977 when a visiting friend suggested the ladies might do some Morris dancing and suggested North West or Garland.  Garland appealed and a group formed to learn Paper Flowers and 'A French Garland Dance' (Waving.) This original group all had links with Folk Union One and in many cases were already members of Green Ginger Clog or the Green Ginger Country Dance Teams.  Some members of this original group moved on to found Middleton Garland Team which has since become Beverley Garland Dancers.  
 
Green  Ginger Garland first danced out in December 1977 at the Christmas Ceildh.  Initially they practiced at the Pacific Club on High Street, in a room with mirrors.  In the summer the team gave the first of many appearances at the dance displays in Queen's Gardens.  Here the team leader danced on at the beginning of Waving and realised that not only had she lost count of how many dancers had come on behind her but there was also no mirror to check it in.  She was saved by a member of the country team who saw her panic and mouthed 6...  7... 8... Now!  The incident is told to new dancers as a cautionary tale against using features of the practice hall to know where you are up to.

In the early days Green Ginger appeared as a Folk Dance Road Show including the Morris Men, the Clog Team, the Country Dance Team and the Garland team.  In practice this meant a lot of quick costume changes especially for the ladies.  To make this easier the original Garland costume incorporated the long sleeved white blouse from the Country Dance Costumes.