High Spen Blue Diamonds: A Century of Rapper.
Join us in the Pitman’s Parliament to celebrate the centenary of the High Spen Blue Diamonds rapper team.
A tradition unique to the pit villages of County Durham and Northumberland, rapper dancing was first performed by miners in the 19th century and is more popular than ever, with rapper teams found all over England and in countries across the world.
Phil Heaton, author of Rapper: The Miners’ Sword Dance of North-East England, will be in conversation with Ricky Forster, grandson of the team’s founder Fred Forster, where they will discuss the history of the team, the Spen dance, the legacy of the Forster family (from the 1800s to present-day generations) and everything in between. Guest appearances from Newcastle Kingsmen and Sallyport Sword Dancers.
There will also be an exhibition across the weekend at Redhills of material from the High Spen archive.
