The
New Zealand Society for English Folk Dancing was the first official overseas branch of the
EFDSS. However it is known that traditional Irish step dancing and English maypole dancing
was performed at least as early as 1905. The New Zealand Graphic has some photos from that
time. See: NZ Morris & Dance. Certainly English
folk dancing was taught widely from the 1920s when disciples of Cecil Sharp such as Miss.
Hilda Taylor emigrated to NZ. In the 1930s and 1940s John Oliver, a New Zealander at
Cambridge University, also trained under Sharp as a member of Cambridge Morris men and the
Travelling Morrice. He then returned to NZ and was instrumental in promoting English folk
dancing including country dancing Sharp-style and also morris and sword dancing. Indeed
during the 1930s/40s there were more English country dance groups than Scottish. There
were few men involved. Two of the ECD clubs existed even as late as the 1980s/90s - these
were in Timaru and Christchurch. The ladies of Christchurch were filmed in the 1980s and
can be seen on Google
Video.
