The Ellwood Family have appeared at the EFDSS Festival at the Royal Albert Hall on two occasions.
In 1951 there were two shows about six months apart. The second show was put on as part of the celebrations for the Festival of Britain in June that year, Johnson Ellwood appeared at this event as only the second clog dancer ever to perform for the EFDSS at the Royal Albert Hall. He performed solo, as part of a sequence called a “Northumbrian Barn Dance”. Music was provided by Billy Ballantyne a piccolo player from Northumberland.
Ten years later, in 1961, he appeared again but this time in comany with his daughter Mary and grand-daughter Angela. Their musician was Peter Kennedy.
Unfortunately although the 1951 programme was reported in the press, no mention was made of Johnson’s performance. The 1961 event was reported in the Manchester Guardian, which presented quite a critical review of the English dancers performance generally, and in particular the costumes. Again the clog performance was not mentioned. However you can explore the programmes below.
