Morris Booklet

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Whats it all about?

Morris Map Border Morris Cotswold Morris Molly North West Clog Dance Longsword Rapper Sword Appalachia Dance

The smile factor 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.

A sort of History 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”.

Whats it like Today?

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.

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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.

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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.

Border Morris Cotswold Morris Molly North West Clog Dance Long Sword Rapper Dance Appalachia Dance

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

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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.

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Greetings from the dark side! The Witchmen have been let out for the weekend to dance for you in the badkads of Whittlesea-on-mud. 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.

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We are Morris Dancers based in the historic town of Ironbridge in Shropshire. The Ironmen are a men’s team who dance in the Welsh Boarder tradition, while The Sever Guilders are a woman’s team who dance North-West Morris. Although we dance separately, we almost always appear together (that way we get a rest between dances) and many of the dancers from one team appear as musicians while the other is dancing.

Kit is black and red with clogs worn on our feet.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The side was formed in October 1979 by a dozen men with an interest in Morris dancing, and the commitment to give up their Tuesday evenings to practise. Half the members had danced before at some point in time, the others were complete beginners with no Morris experience at all. Peternorough Moris has learnt the traditions of many Oxfordshire vollages.

The costne of Peterborough Morris is straw hats decorated with flowers around the brim with short blue and yellow ribbons dangling from brim at the back. The costume of Peteborough Morris is straw hats decoated with flowers around the brim with short blue and yellow ribbins dangling from the brim at the back.

White shirts are worn with crossed blue and yellow badlricks, proudly displaying the City of Petebrough’s shield of corss keys in front.Black knee breeches, white socks and black shoes complete the costume.

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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.

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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.

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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.’

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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.

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Oxblood Molly was formed comparatively recently and tends towards the fun side of molly with plenty of interaction with the public where appropriate. Trouble is, all our men want to be the molly.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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 t0shirts 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, *:00pm Dancers and musicians welcome.

No previous experience necessary.

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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.

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P.R.A.T.S (Pateley Real Ale Tasting Society, Longsword division) They’re breaking the Longsword rules, it’s interesting to watch and they look like they’re enjoying themselves when they dance.

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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.

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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 56/57

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 highenergy, high-standard dances delight and excite the audience. Make sure you get a chance to watch this extremely impressive team.

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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-UponSeven. 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.

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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.

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The club was founded in 1978 to promote the enjoyment of traditional English Country Folk Dancing. We dance English country dances dating from 1650 to the present day together with some dances from America and other parts of the British Isles. The display team dress in modern day clothes to represent folk dancing as it is in the present day.

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The Witchmen www.witchmen.com

Old Hunts Molly www.users.zetnet.co.uk

Bourne Borders www.bourneborderers.co.uk

Old Glory www.old-glory.org.uk

Ironmen www.ironmenandseverngilders.org

Pig Dyke Molly www.pigdyke.co.uk

Wicket Brood www.wicketbrood.org.uk

Peterborough Corss Keys www.peterboroughcorsskeys.co.uk

White Rose Morris Men www.whiterosemorrismen.org.uk

Mortimer’s Morris www.mortimers-morris.org.uk

Peterborough Morris www.peterboroughmorris.co.uk

Ramrugge www.ramrugge.org.uk

Rebbournestoke Morris www.redbornstoke.com

P.R.A.T.S myweb.tiscali.co.uk/prats2

Rattlejag Morris www.rattlejagmorris.org.uk

Boojum Rapper www.boojumrapper.com

Gog Magog Molly www.societies.cam.ac.uk/molly

Smutt Rapper www.rapper.org.uk/teams/smutt

Ox Blood Molly www.oxbloodmolly.com

Southport Sword www.southportswords.org.uk

Mepal Morris www.mepalmorris.com

Peterborough Folk Dance Club www.5starphotography.co.uk