It’s best-known as a long-running tradition in Helston, but now the Floral or Furry Dance is to make a return to St Austell. 

Saturday, May 27 will see Mount Charles Band lead the dance White River Place, directly after the St Austell Pride procession at around 12.45pm. 

Organiser Sheila Vanloo says: “Once upon a time, all towns and villages had a Flora Dance that was often incorporated into their Feast Week, regatta or carnival. I remember dancing the Flora in Fowey and Lostwithiel, and have always been sad that the tradition has died away.”

A deep dive into in the archives by traditional Cornish dance expert Carmen Hunt (aka Scoots Kernow) has uncovered records of a 1921 St Austell Flora Day with more than 1,000 participants – and mention of similar events in work by Clay poet Jack Clemo. 

However, there was no evidence of which steps St Austell dancers would have used, so the traditional Helston steps will prevail on the day – Helston Flora dancer Liane Jose has shared footage of the most recent festivities plus written instructions, which can be found online. This will be backed up by tuition on the day from award-winning dancer Sandie Foord at Studio4 Dance from 11am to 12.30pm. Participation is free. 

Historically, Flora Day refers to a number of activities, from decorating buildings to performing the Hal-an-Tow mystery play, and general festivities including eating and drinking. The Helston Furry was a dance that happened on Flora Day; however, it was increasingly known as The Floral Dance thanks to the popular English folk song. 

“I carried out a straw poll of 20 friends and none of them knew what the Furry Dance was,” says Sheila. “When I mentioned Flora Dance, they knew exactly what I meant. There has been a huge amount of interest on social media since I began promoting the Flora Dance, so it clearly hits the spot and has generated fond memories for many people.”

The dance was originally scheduled to take place during the town’s Christmas light switch-on, but was postponed when bad weather ruled out the possibility of outside events due to health and safety concerns.