Dance Artists
This year’s BunkFest features some absolutely world class teams! We’ve every kind of morris, from champion Cotswold to brilliant Border and magnificent Northwest, loads of amazing Step Clog dancing, thrilling Rapper Sword Dancing, Irish Dance, Belly Dance, Mummers plays, and even some fab modern performances from our local dance school! It’s going to be such a vibrant weekend of fun and energy, prepare to be wowed! Lots of teams are here for their first BunkFest, so do say hello and welcome them to Wallingford!
Dance displays will take place on the Bullcroft Dance Stage and the High Street Dance Stage as well as in the Market Place, at The Boat House, C&W Railway and The Dolphin – all dance events are free but please give generously to our bucket collectors!
Featured Teams
Kinecroft Academy of Dance (Bullcroft, Saturday)
Our brilliant local dance school will wow you! Expect exciting contemporary routines from these sparkling young performers, we’re delighted to welcome them to BunkFest in 2025!
New Esperance Morris (Saturday and Ceilidh Spot Saturday)
With a very special place in the history of morris dancing, this wonderful women’s team from Borough in London dance Cotswold Morris in their own distinctive style, as well as their own Esperance tradition. They wear black trousers and white shirts and purple, green and gold sashes, and you might spot their mascot, Big Pidge, cooing up a storm while they dance!
The O’Gara School of Irish Dance (Bullcroft, Saturday and Sunday)
Viv O’Gara’s fabulously talented Irish dancers of all ages always draw a huge crowd at BunkFest, performing everything from beautiful lyrical soft shoe dances to fast and intricate hard shoe dances, they are sure to delight!
Wallingford Morris (Ceilidh Spot Friday, Sunday and Workshop Sunday)
Wallingford Morris is a brand new ‘home’ side for Wallingford and BunkFest. As a historic and important town in this part of England, it’s almost certain that Wallingford had its own morris dancers in the past. There are records of a trader called Thomas West selling morris bells in his shop here in 1573. So just 452 years later(!) we’re reviving the tradition with a team of men from Wallingford dancing traditional Cotswold morris in our own unique style. We’re excited that Bunkfest will be our first public performance. We hope you like what you see and perhaps you’ll even want to join us. We practice on Thursdays at Centre 70 from 8pm. We’re also planning to teach our dances to children at the schools in Wallingford and we would also be happy to help teach a Wallingford women’s morris team and/or a youth team. Folk music is very inclusive and accessible and we hope the whole community will enjoy what we do, and be proud to support us as a proper local team.
| Artist | Description | Performances |
|---|---|---|
| Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers | Proud veterans of every single BunkFest, ATMD dance under their beautiful antique horns which can be seen from afar! | Sunday |
| Aldbrickham Clog and Step Dancers | Performing traditional country dances and Clog Step dances, this team come from Reading | Saturday |
| Armaleggan | It’s brilliant to have this excellent Oxfordshire Border team back at BunkFest! Even the band has great moves! | Saturday |
| Basingclog | Mixed North West morris from Basingstoke, sporting very floral hats atop their red, white and black kit | Sunday |
| Berkshire Bedlam | Wokingham’s finest Cotswold team, look out for high capers and striking red and blue rosettes | Saturday |
| Black Swan Border | This fabulous black and purple border team from Surrey are new to BunkFest and we can't wait to see them! | Saturday |
| Borderline | Mixed Border Morris from Reading, glowing in the dark with neon colours! | Sunday |
| Box Hill Bedlam | Look out for earthy colours and interesting original dances from this steampunk Border team from Dorking who are also new to BunkFest! | Saturday |
| Chiltern Hundreds | Look out for the dark green and gold costumes and high-quality moves of this mixed Northwest team from Watford | All Weekend |
| Cry Havoc | This mixed Cotswold team from Botley in Oxford are a delight to behold in black, white and purple | Saturday |
| Ellington | This lovely mixed Cotswold team from Maidenhead are old BunkFest friends - look out for the Bear dance, it contains real bears! | Saturday |
| Huginn and Muninn | Also new to BunkFest, Huginn and Muninn are a unique and brilliant spectacle that needs to be seen to be belived! | Saturday |
| HuMP | Hurst Morris People are a local mixed Cotswold team and vibrant part of the local dance scene, we're delighted to have them back at BunkFest! | Saturday |
| Icknield Way Morris Men | Another great local Cotswold team who are regular favourites at BunkFest, Icknield dance in white with pale blue waistcoats. | Sunday |
| Julie Bellyfire | Look out for the brilliant Julie Bellyfire dancing solo this year! | Saturday |
| Kaleidoscope Tribal | These exciting performers are an improvised collaboration between dance groups Ashnash and Nirzari, and the Oxford Drum Troupe, presenting a global fusion of Middle Eastern, Spanish, North African and Indian dancing | Saturday |
| Kennet Morris Men | Long time BunkFest die-hards, and significant contributors to the rate of beer consumption at every BunkFest! | Saturday |
| Knights of King Ina | Stunning, energetic Cotswold jigs danced in striking black and white | All weekend |
| Maldon Greenjackets | We're very pleased to welcome another new team to BunkFest, dancing Cotswold with white kit and green jackets as the name suggests! | Saturday |
| Mason's Apron | Dancing in black, white and red kit and lovely aprons, this North West team come from north Oxfordshire. | Saturday |
| Moonlight Morris | This brilliant border team from the midlands are glittering in blue and silver, and dance complex and exciting border dances - they're at BunkFest for the first time too! | All weekend |
| Old Speckled Hen | One of our brilliant local teams, dancing mixed North West Morris in red, green, white and yellow | Saturday |
| Owlswick | Mixed Cotswold from Buckinghamshire, look out for brown, yellow and orange, and of course lots of owls! | Sunday |
| Phoenix | Mixed Cotswold dancers from Rickmansworth, these old friends of BunkFest are very welcome back after a few years off! | Sunday |
| Prize Old Mummers | If you've never seen a mummers' play before, you're in for a treat! Bringing a theatrical air to BunkFest, Prize Old Mummers will be performing a short play as part of the dance programme | All Weekend |
| Rockhopper | This colony of penguins dance Raglan Cotswold dances to fabulous tunes! | Sunday |
| Roots Morris | We're thrilled to have new team Roots with us all the way from Manchester, dancing high quality Cotswold in earthy colours to fabulous music. | All Weekend |
| Rosehips | Possibly the world’s only Folk/Belly fusion team, Rose Hips from Wantage add colour and glamour to the festival! | Saturday |
| Stony Steppers | Stony Stratford's own superstar Step Cloggers - catch them on the Kinecroft in their black and red outfits! | Saturday |
| Thrales Rapper | It's wonderful to have a rapper sword dance team at BunkFest this year - catch them on the dance stages or touring the pubs, and see if you can spot them crack a smile! | Saturday |
| Towersey Horsehoes | In striking black, white and red, Towersey Horseshoes are old friends of BunkFest! | Sunday |
| Windsor Morris | Here comes the Windsor Morris! Look out for this dazzling women's Cotswold team in their neat white kit. | Sunday |