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Whats it all about?Morris MapBorder MorrisCotswold MorrisMollyNorth West Clog DanceLongswordRapper SwordAppalachia Dance

The known history of Morris Dance is a subject that can and has been used to bore people for many hours but it can be compressed into a relatively short, easily read paragraph (or two):

The Morris Dance is one of the oldest continuing traditions of rural Britain, and in its origins, was thought to welcome the spring and to ensure the fertility of the year’s crops. In fact it has been known to stop raining when Morris Dancers are about to start dancing!! A little bit of the Morris luck?

No-one knows where it came from – there are probably as many theories as dancers! If anyone tells you that they know its origins, then you can safely say “Pull the other leg, its got bells on”. All that can be said is that it is ancient and has had many influences. The origins of the Morris are the subject of much speculation and little actual knowledge. There are English records mentioning the Morris Dance dating back to 1448 and written documentation dating from the sixteenth century, including references in the plays of Shakespeare, indicating that the Dances were considered ancient at that time and that they were a popular form of spectacle.

The smile factor

The definitions of Morris are many and varied as is the history. It is English. It is not folk except in the broadest sense. It is a dance form often married with local ceremonies which may explain to

some extent its longevity. But for all the variations on a theme there is no mistaking a Morris team when one sees one. Whether it is Cotswold Morris with the usual bells, hankies and sticks, North West Morris with clogs, garlands and “twiddlers”, Rapper and Longsword or Border Morris with there blacked out faces and tattered jackets it is all unmistakably Morris and unmistakably English. It is energetic, it is vibrant, it is public and it is fun. It is an excuse to dance and enjoy music and song with friends, even those friends you have just met, usually over a pint. It is a way of meeting those of the opposite sex. It is a way of meeting people of the same sex. It is a way of life. It is a pastime you fit into a busy schedule.

No matter who you are or where you are from, the sight of a Morris Dancer always has the ability to bring a smile to your face, whether it be through nostalgia, a interest or just laughing at these mad men and women dressed like fools. There is something right, traditional and British about seeing a team outside a pub or dancing at a village feat. “it wouldn’t be the same without them”.

It is thought there are around 14,000 Morris Dancers in the UK dancing for more than 800 sides. With most meeting every week for practice and maybe a pint after with friends that share a common interest in keeping traditions alive, having fun, entertaining and dancing.

Whats it like Today?

A sort of History

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Border Morris

Cotswold Morris

Molly

North West Clog Dance

Long Sword

Rapper Dance

Appalachia Dance

Morris dancing in England has been recorded from the 1600s but is thought to have developed from earlia form of dance.All the Morris Dance styles are danced around the UK but each style originated from certain parts of the UK and are influenced by these parts within the dances, music and costumes.

Appalachia originated from Africa and is now danced all over the UK

This style of dancing was performed in the villages

of the Welsh border counties. The dances are

usually fairly simple and danced by sides of four,

six or eight men, who black their faces and wear

‘rags’ and dark trousers, emulating a tradition that

goes back many hundreds of years. Modern teams

use different coloured face paints, including black.

Virtually all the dances are performed with sticks.

Greetings from the dark side! The Witchmen only get let out to dance. The Papa Lazaroud’s of the Morris World are here to give you a glimpse of the ‘other’ Morris, the kind with a very slight pagan bias. Flying in on our Nimbus 2000 broomsticks, complete with zimmer frame attachments, we will perform some of the oldest dances in all the world. As always, we’ll also be eager to sample the fine ales and ciders available here today and, time permitting, we might get to do a bit of dancing. The Whitchmen dance clad in the magical colours of black and amber.

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Bourne Borderers Morris is a group of men and women who perform with sticks and handkerchiefs and dance based on the few recorded traditional dances from the counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire along the Welsh borders and know as Welsh boarder Morris. These are accompanied by music from their own band.

The Ironmen are Morris team based in the historic town of Ironbridge in Shropshire. The Ironmen are a men’s team who dance in the Welsh Boarder tradition and their dances are what could be described as a unique and exuberant style of morris, which we know dates back to at least the 17th century. All their dances are danced with sticks, which are clashed together loudly, and the dances are characterised by loud shouts and lively energetic figures - well, as energetic as we can all manage to make it these days

Wicket Brood are a Morris dancing side, performing principally those dances from the Welsh Border tradition. Formed in 1999, the founding members of the side were all experienced dancers from both Border and other Morris and Folk dancing traditions. We now have forty members – many of whom both dance and play instruments. The mixed-sex side is based in the Watford/St Albans area if Hertfordshire, and practice in the village of Bricket Wood. In our quest for an appropriate, original and witty name for the side we deduced that a spoonerism of our home base might conjure up images of a mysterious assembly of dark shadowy characters, keeping alive ancient rituals and traditions. The dances we perform originate from a number of sources. Some are obtained from documents notations of dances performed many years ago by some of the original Border Morris teams from Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Some o these notations are very fragmented, some just based on personal recollections, and so a certain amount of interpretation has been requited to give us a full dance. Other dances we perform are more contemporary, either being developed by ourselves, or obtain from other similar sides. We hope that the variety provides an interesting contrast for our audiences. The costumes we wear are based on traditional sources and we feel present a colourful and interesting sight. Our tatty jackets are purple, green and black, all are similar but a degree of individual flair is allowed! Black trousers, stout boots of purple, green or black and hats of similar colours complete the scene. In coming with many Boarder Morris sides, our faces are painted, originally though to be a for of disguise, and again black, purple and green paints are used to subtle combinations. Most of our dances are performed with stout sticks, wither long or short depending on the dance.

Cotswold is considered the achetype of Morris.

It comes from the relatively affluent and rural

Cotswold hills in the south of England. The

dance uses wither sticks or handkerchiefs

and the dancers traditionally wore costumes

based on Napoleonic attire as worn by the

military of the time. Most dances are for six in

a standard dountry, dance set and sides had a

large repertoire of dances normally with similar

choruses. Cotswold Morris was competitive and

the collected dances include a large number of

show dances, including solo dances.

Since the dawn if the time, the White Rose Morris Men have made their annual pilgrimage, from the hear of the Yorkshire Cotswolds, on an eternal, but ultimately futile, mission to bring light and joy to the beak fenland winter. Wonder at their dancing, be sunned by their singing, and be amazed that they can still get out of bed on a Sunday morning to do it again. Their kit is white with green baldrics, and panama hats, and their performances will feature Brampton, Fieldtown, Headington and Wherry.

Peterborough Morris was formed in October 1979 by local folk musician, Pete Shaw. It is an all-male side of 12 dancers and 3 musicians. They all wear straw hats decorated with flowers around the brim with short blue and gold ribbons dangling from brim at the back. White shirts are worn with crossed blue and gold baldric. Black knee-breeches, bell pads, white socks and black shoes complete the costume. Their badge is based on the Peterborough City coat of arms. They dance traditional men’s Morris dances of England from the Cotswolds and Midlands of England. Our dances come from villages and towns in the shires of Oxford, Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, Northampton and Stafford. Our preferred styles are from Adderbury, Badby, Bampton, Bidford, Bledington, Brackley, Fieldtown, Hinton in the Hedges, Lichfield and Upton upon Severn. We dance regularly in Peterborough and the adjacent counties. We also make guest appearances further a-field. In addition to special events and weekend bookings, we dance every Tuesday evening from May to July and practise from September.

The side was established in the Bedfordshire market town of Amptill in 1976, and named after the historical ‘Chiltern Hundred’ of Redbornstoke. From 1986, Redbornstoke kit has been all white with red and black baldrick with a Redbornstoke logo on the front, from Ampthill, anti-infested ill. On the back red, green and black arm bands and bell pad ribbons.

Using recently found local materials as a starting point, Rattlejag Morris have created new dances, which try to reflect the style of Morris dancing from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and East Yorkshire area, In some dances rattles and shakers are used, other dances use brooms or bacca pipes and they have also developed their own word dance. Each member of the side uses different colour face paints and ribbons to give the whole group a multi-coloured effect. Rattlejag Morris are based in the Retford area and use the local dance tunes to accompany their dances.

Moly Dancing is characterised by black faces,

heavy boots, usually hobnailed, and the presence

of a Lord or Lady, two of the men specially attire

respectively as a gentleman and his consort,

who lead the dances. Plough Monday, the day

which marked the end of the Christmas period

for the agricultural communities in the East and

North – East of England, was a very special day.

Its when the molly dancers would sometimes

accompany gangs of ploughboys, dressed in

white shirts or smocks and cracking whips,

who would drag a plough around the parish,

collecting contributions with the cry of ‘penny

for the ploughboys.’

Gogmagog Molly was formed in 1996 to celebrate Cyril Papworth’s 80th Birthday. Many people ay that the last of the molly dancers are less than completely mentally secure and accuse them of performing manic street dancers! Few realise its true artistic nature. Disregarded by Cecil Sharp as primitive, the original dances from the basics for Gogmagos’s repertoire, which also includes their own compositions, and one to two dances borrowed from other sides.

Ox Blood Molly endeavours solely to entertain and involve the audience,which we believe is more akin to the original concept,i.e. to collect much-needed money in those times.Precision of dance with us is not a priority,unlike many other sides. Some,as you may have seen,take things very seriously and can be rather dark (literally) and scary. We on the other hand,try to be colourful and appeal to parents and children alike. When appropriate we perform mummer’s plays.Our dances range from traditional through those devised in the mid-twentieth century morris/molly revival to those we have put together ourselves. The music is mostly very traditional. Within the many forms of morris,whether it be Cotswold,Border, North West, Rapper, or Molly,customs are still maintained. In the case of molly one custom is the Cutty Wren.

Mepal Molly men have danced every plough Monday for well over twenty years in the Fenland villages around Ely. Their repertoire of three short dances is unrehearsed from one year to the next; they say “it shows!” The dancers have black faces and wear ribboned jackets, one of the gang is dress as a Molly.

From Fenstanton in the old county o Huntingdonshire, Old Hunts are comprised of members of Fenstanton Morris pulse friends. They dance the Comerton dances as recorded by Cyril Papworth with a current repertoire of the six dances. The team first appeared at Whittlesea on the Sunday of the revival inn1989 and have regular supporters ever since. Long dresses or skirts with shawls, pinafores and white bonnets for women. Shirts, decorated waistcoats, dark trousers tied at the knee with lally-gags and blackened faces for the men.

Motto: “Strict and Particular”Founded in 1994, Old Glory has only male dancers and female musicians. All have seriously blackened faces, and all their dances are led by a Lord and Lady. Old Glory only dance in the winter, usually by the light of oil lamps. The men’s costume is based on farm labourers’ clothes, complete with hobnailed boots. The musician’s wear hats decorated with masses of ivory. Old glory can be easily recognised by their dark overcoats and solemn demeanour. Take a tour around their website )old-glory.org.uk) to see some of the strange traditions they are associated with, including the ceremony of the Cutty Wren, revived by Old Glory in the village of Middleton, where it was last recorded over a hundred years ago.

Pig Dye Molly bring the colour to black and white …the local team aims to make Molly energetic, fun and entertaining for 21st Century audiences, educational too. Where else would you hear the history of the Pondersbridge pocket sundial makers?

In the North West style this is mainly

processional dancing originating in the

industrial towns of Cheshire and Lancashire.

The dancers wear brightly decorated

costume with sashes, ribbons and clogs

worn to exaggerate the stepping. The

dancers usually carry slings of cotton rope

or, sometimes short sticks decorated with

ribbon. The slings or sticks are swirled about

the head as the dance processes through

the community.

Peteborough based Crosskey clog was formed in 1982 from a mix of have danced (Poly Olbion) and want to dance ladies. Dancing traditional clog dances the early years, including the very early Straw Bear festivals when it was mainly the local sides attending the Bear. Over the years they have appeared at Rochdale, Sidmouth, Portugal and other festivals, plus several TV appearances. In the latter years Crosskey have become a mixed side, assorted husbands taking the Kings shilling and appearing at numerous other festivals and functions. Kit is distinctive red blouses and navy breeches and socks for the men, plus of course the black clogs. Corsskey always welcomes new dancers and are particularly in need of new musicians, the website is www.corsskeyclog.org or have a word with the Bagman, Pete, at the festival.

Mortimer’s Morris are a lively women’s side based in Nottingham. Brought together in 1994, the side’s reason for formation was to perform dances from the North West tradition with vigour, enthusiasm and style. The name ‘Mortimer’s’ was taken from ‘Mortimer’s Hole’, which can be round at Nottingham Castle.Mortimer’s Morris are one of a small but growing group of teams who see the dance traditions as dynamic, building on the treasury of dances from Lancashire and Cheshire by choreographing dances of their own making. Renowned for the energy and enthusiasm that is found in their dancing, Mortimer’s have become a familiar sight and prestigious events throughout the country and recently took part in the 5000 Morris event on London’s Southbank. Their kit has evolved into a colourful, stylish and much talked about outfit, which often receives as much limelight as the dancing! Black skirts and three quarter sleeved t-shirts are work with handmade ribbon appliqué waistcoats and colourful underskirts to give a striking appearance. Wearing the ‘men in black’ suits and shades started out as a humorous suggestion for the band but soon developed into the ‘Mortician chic’ that it is today. With hurdy gurdies, melodeons, guitars, accordion, bazouki, fiddle and whistles, the band contribute a unique sound to the ‘Mortimer’s Experience.’ Many of the tunes have a distinctive French flavour adding the uplifting sound that the team promote.

Celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, we are a mixed side dedicated to performing the more absorbing and complex Morris dances to be found in the traditional style of Lancashire and the Cheshire Plain. Our uniform or kit is our own design and also follows the traditional conventions of North West Morris. The distinctive sound of the dances comes from a heavy drum presence and our wooden clogs, which are fitted with irons, similar to horseshoes, for outdoor use. The twizzles and bobbins held in our hands were spools once used in northern textile mills. Practise nights: Wednesdays at the Village Hal, Great Wymondley, 8:00pm Dancers and musicians welcome. No previous experience necessary.

Longsword is the traditional sword dance of the

Yorkshire region. Te six or eight dancers carry

rigid swords o steel or wood and each holds the

end of the sword of the next person, forming

a circle. In a chain, the dancers pass over and

under the swords, eventually weaving the swords

together into a knot, or ‘nut’, which is held

aloft. Longsword is often associated with the

Christmas period and the Plough celebrations of

the new year.

The Pateley Real Ale Tasting Society, Longsword Division (The Prats!) was the tongue-in-cheek name for a Yorkshire Longsword dance team formed in 2004 by experienced dancers from several other Morris traditions, including North-west, Cotswold and Border. This year it was decided to change the name to the more accurately descriptive Pateley Longsword, which we felt better demonstrated how seriously we take our activities. All our longsword dances are devised and developed by ourselves and are given imaginative titles, such as: Old Six Man, Three Man, New Six Man, Five Man, etc. Despite the male reference in each title, we are a mixed team comprising both hard and soft-fronted chaps. We intersperse the longsword dances with those from other traditions, including a Basque dance (the always and perhaps inexplicably popular Chicken Dance), a Hebridean dance (the Weavers’ Dance) and a Border Morris dance called Twiglet. Our kit is black trousers and a white collarless shirt with blue striped ribbon armbands. The swords are rigid steel blades with wood handles. The sword blades are blunt, but heavy and capable of causing injury if wielded by less capable hands than ours. The main difference between longsword and rapper, the other form of British sword dance, is that rapper uses flexible swords with a handle at each end. Rapper is usually performed at a faster tempo than longsword, which is often relatively slow and military in style, but Pateley Longsword is noted for the fast and lively pace of its longsword dances, which we feel makes us a bit different to other sides.

Originally found in the counties of Durham and

Northumberland, rapper dances are normally

performed by five dancers. The rappers,

flexible swords with a handle at both ends,

link the dancers as they weave around each

other, usually at very high speed. The weaving

movements are interrupted by set pieces to the

audience including somersaults and back-flips.

As with longsword, the finale involves a set of

movements, which weaves the swords into a star

shaped ‘nut’, which is held aloft to tumultuous

applause! Both types of sword dance teams

are often seen with a variety of traditional food

characters in attendance, the Tommy, Betty or

Betsy, or characters from the local mid-winter

Mumming or Plough play, who may take part in

the dancing.

They have been described by themselves as a team of selected dance tarts! The team celebrated its 4th birthday in November and has danced at nearl all major UK festivals already and have previously been to half moon’s sword Ale in New York in February 2003

SMUTT Rapper, as their name suggests, wear black and green, but that’s where the similarity ends. They are a team of young dancers performing traditional Rapper sword dances from the coal fields of North East England. They are most at home in pubs, be it drinking, singing, playing, or occasionally performing high-energy, high-standard dances delight and excite the audience. Make sure you get a chance to watch this extremely impressive team.

Southport Sword Dancers are a team of Men’s Sword and Morris dancers based in Southport, which is a seaside town about 12 miles north of Liverpool, England and attracts members from the surrounding villages and towns. The team’s main dance is the North Skelton long sword dance, our next most frequent type of dances are Cotswold Morris from the villages o Adderbury, Brampton, Bledingtonm Bucknell, Fieldtown and Upton-Upon-Seven. We have also created two long sword dances of our own called ‘Southport’ and ‘Birkdale’. We also do a Sword dance from the Shetland Islands called Papa Stour. Finally we do the New Biggin Rapper sword Dance.

Appalachia dancing has evolved from a mixture of

dance styles taken to the Appalachain Mountains

of North America by the English, Irish and

Scottish settlers of the 19th century. These were

distilled into this new dance form, which was

influenced and adapted by the local inhabitants.

It has become extreamly popular in recent years

in the UK and is a style of dance as exiting to

watch as to perform, as audiences responses

have always shown.

The club was formed over 30 years ago and many of the founder members are still dancing with the club. It was formed when folk dancing was at its height in the 1970’s. The style of dancing the club members enjoyed ranged from Playford’s more formal dances from the 1650’s to good old knees up style of dancing in the form of jigs and reels written in the 1990’s. The dances remain the same with members collecting dances throughout the years and pooling them, many of the dances were already in collections for example the above names Playford collection, this collection extended to the music which were on records and played on record players Now the music is still taped but played from pc’s, music centre’s, ipods, and so on. The club loves holding events when they can have live music. Musicians are a precious commodity though, so it relies mainly on its collection of music. The founder members have welcomed new members who in many cases have stayed with the club and helped promote the Traditional English Country Folk Dancing that they all have come to enjoy so much.

The Witchmenwww.witchmen.com

Bourne Borderswww.bourneborderers.co.uk

Ironmenwww.ironmenandseverngilders.org

Wicket Broodwww.wicketbrood.org.uk

White Rose Morris Menwww.whiterosemorrismen.org.uk

Peterborough Morriswww.peterboroughmorris.co.uk

Rebbournestoke Morriswww.redbornstoke.com

Rattlejag Morriswww.rattlejagmorris.org.uk

Gog Magog Mollywww.societies.cam.ac.uk/molly

Ox Blood Mollywww.oxbloodmolly.com

Mepal Morriswww.mepalmorris.com

Old Hunts Mollywww.users.zetnet.co.uk

Old Glorywww.old-glory.org.uk

Pig Dyke Molly www.pigdyke.co.uk

Peterborough Corss Keyswww.peterboroughcorsskeys.co.uk

Mortimer’s Morriswww.mortimers-morris.org.uk

Ramruggewww.ramrugge.org.uk

P.R.A.T.Smyweb.tiscali.co.uk/prats2

Boojum Rapperwww.boojumrapper.com

Smutt Rapperwww.rapper.org.uk/teams/smutt

Southport Swordwww.southportswords.org.uk

Peterborough Folk Dance Clubwww.5starphotography.co.uk

Morris Ring

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