Bu hanes dawnsiau gwerin Cymru yn un eithaf trist. Gyda dyfodiad y sectau Anghydffurfiol yn y ddeunawfed ganrif a'r bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, fe edrychodd y capeli ar y celfyddydau a diwylliant gwerinol Cymreig fel pethau pechadurus iawn. Fe wnaeth y capeli, y capelwyr, y diaconiaid a pregethwyr mawr y dydd fel Thomas Charles o'r Bala, eu gorau glas i gael gwared o bob math o ddifyrrwch gwerinol "pechadurus" fel dawnsio, canu gwerin, gwyliau Mabsant a cherddoriaeth werin yn gyffredinol, ac eithrio, wrth gwrs, canu emynau a cherddoriaeth y capel. Gorfodwyd pobl i gydymffurfio (!!) yn y gymdeithas Gymreig a Chymraeg ond roedd rhai yn ymladd yn erbyn y drefn ac yn dal i ddawnsio (ond ar �l tynnu llenni'r ty!!).  Roedd rhai eraill fel William Jones (Llangadfan) ac Edward Jones (Bardd y Brenin), yn gweld y difrod mawr oedd yn digwydd i'r diwylliant ac fe wnaethant hwy a chasglwyr eraill fel Bennett, Walsh a Thompson, lwyddo i nodi'r dawnsiau ar bapur. O'r ail ganrif ar bymtheg ymlaen casglodd a chyhoeddodd Playford nifer o ddawnsiau Cymreig fel Meillionen ac Abergenni. Fel llawer o gerddoriaeth yr adeg yma, bu llawer iawn o newid a benthyg rhwng Lloegr, Cymru, Yr Alban, yr Iwerddon ac Ewrop, ac fe aeth nifer o'n dawnsiau Cymreig i mewn i gasgliadau Prydain Fawr. Cadwyd y teitlau gwreiddiol Cymraeg wrth gyfieithu i'r Saesneg, felly fe aeth y ddawns "Hoffedd ap Hywel" yn "Powell's Fancy" er enghraifft. Dros amser, diflannodd yr hen ddiwylliant gwerinol cyfoethog, byrlymus, a dim ond ambell glocsiwr neu ddawnswraig yn dal i stepio a phasio'r traddodiad ymlaen, a'r telynwyr teires yn dal i ganu yn y plastai mawr yn cadw'r alawon traddodiadol, llawer iawn ohonynt yn alawon dawnsiau. Felly, ar ddechrau'r ugeinfed ganrif, bach iawn oedd cyfraniad dawnsio gwerin i'r diwylliant Cymreig. Yn yr ugeiniau, fe wnaeth Hugh Mellor, Urdd Gobaith Cymru ac eraill ddechrau ymddiddori yn yr hen ddawnsiau. Yn y pedwardegau, daeth Lois Blake a Gwyn Williams yn flaenllaw yn atgyfodi dawnsio gwerin Cymreig ac yn 1949 ffurfwyd Cymdeithas Ddawns Werin Cymru gyda'r nod o hybu ac ail-greu yr hen ddawnsiau. Casglwyd llawer iawn o ddawnsiau oedd gydag enwau Cymraeg neu o naws Gymreig o'r casgliadau, gydag ambell fewnfudiad oedd, efallai,heb ddim byd i'w wneud a Chymru! Trwy ailwampio ac ail-greu y dawnsiau a gyda llawer o ymchwil a hir ymarfer fe ddatblygodd dawnsio gwerin Cymru rhan fywiog, gweladwy, lliwgar a byw o ddiwylliant Cymru.  Heddiw, mae dros ugain o grwpiau dawnsio i oedolion a channoedd ar gannoedd o dimau yn yr ysgolion ac yn Adrannau ac Aelwydydd yr Urdd drwy Gymru. Mae Eisteddfod yr Urdd yn hybu'r dawnsio ac yn denu miloedd o bobl ifanc i gystadlu pob blwyddyn. Mae Gwyl Plant Gwent a Gwyl Plant Cymru yn llwyddiant mawr gyda dros fil o blant yn cymryd rhan, y rhan fwyaf o Dde Cymru. Mae Gwyl Ifan Caerdydd hefyd yn un o ddigwyddiadau mawr y flwyddyn gyda dros ddau gant o ddawnswyr hyn o bob cwr o Gymru yn cymryd rhan, a phawb mewn gwisg draddodiadol.

The history of Welsh folk dancing is quite a sad one. With the advent of the Non-conformist sects in the 18th and 19th centuries, the chapels saw the Welsh folk arts and customs as ones that were very sinful and not in keeping with chapel teaching. The chapels, chapel-folk, deacons and preachers, some of them the greats of their day like Thomas Charles, Bala, did their utmost to stamp out all sorts of "sinful" folk entertainment such as dancing, folk singing, Mabsant festivals and folk music generally, except, of course, hymn singing and music in the chapels. People had to conform (!!) to peer pressure in the Welsh and Welsh-speaking society, although some did resist the pressure and continued to dance (but only after closing the curtains of the house first!!).  People such as William Jones (Llangadfan) and Edward Jones (Bardd y Brenin) saw the great damage that was being done to the culture, and they and other collectors such as Bennett, Walsh and Thompson, managed to record the dances on paper. Playford had been collecting and publishing Welsh dances such as Meillionen and Abergenni since the mid 17th century. Like most music of that period, there was a lot of exchange and borrowing between Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and Europe and a number of Welsh dances went into the British/English collections. They tended to keep their original Welsh names in translation to English, the dance "Hoffedd ap Hywel" became "Powell's Fancy" for example. Over a period of time, the rich, lively, Welsh folk culture vanished, with only the odd clogger continuing to step and pass the tradition on to the next generation, and with the triple harpers still playing in the mansions, keeping the traditional tunes, many of which were dance tunes. By the start of this century, folk dancing contributed very little to Welsh culture. In the Twenties, Hugh Mellor, Urdd Gobaith Cymru and others started to take interest in the old dances. In the 1940s, Lois Blake and Gwyn Williams came to the fore in reviving the Welsh dancing tradition and in 1949 the Welsh Folk Dance Society was formed, with the aim of promoting and resurrecting the old dances. Many dances with Welsh names or "feel" to them were collected from the collections, with the odd import that, perhaps, had nothing to do with Wales! By reviving and creating dances and with much research and practice, Welsh folk dancing developed into a lively, visible, colourful and living part of the Welsh culture.  Today, there are over twenty adult teams and hundreds and hundreds of teams in the schools and Urdd clubs across Wales. The Urdd National Eisteddfod promotes Welsh dancing and attracts thousands of young people in dancing competitions every year. The Gwent Children's Festival and the Welsh Children's Festival are very successful with thousands of children taking part, mainly from South Wales. The St John's Eve Festival (Gwyl Ifan) in Cardiff every midsummer is one of the great events of the folk-dancing year attracting hundreds of adult dancers from all parts of Wales in traditional costume.

Dawnsiau Cymreig - Welsh Folk Dances

©Cymdeithas Ddawns Werin Cymru ~ Welsh Folk Dance Society 1999