   #copyright

Morris dance

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Recreation

   Cotswold morris with handkerchiefs
   Cotswold morris with handkerchiefs

   A morris dance is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic
   stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of
   dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, tobacco pipes, and
   handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.

   There are English records mentioning the morris dance dating back to
   1448, though dances with similar names and some similar features are
   mentioned in Renaissance documents in France, Italy, Germany, Croatia,
   and Spain. The origins of the term are uncertain, but one of the most
   widely accepted theories is that the term was " moorish dance,"
   "morisques" (in France), "moriskentanz" (in Germany), "moreška" (in
   Croatia), and "moresco" (in Italy and Spain), which eventually became
   "morris dance". Another, perhaps simpler, explanation is that "Morris"
   comes from the Latin "Moris," meaning "as is the custom." This is
   consistent with the word (with various archaic spellings) sometimes
   being used to describe some other folk customs such as folk plays.

   In the modern day, it is commonly thought of as a uniquely English
   activity, although there are around 150 morris sides in the United
   States. British expatriates form a larger part of the morris tradition
   in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, and there are
   isolated groups in other countries, for example that in Utrecht,
   Netherlands.

History in England

   Illustration of William Kempe morris dancing from London to Norfolk in
   1600
   Illustration of William Kempe morris dancing from London to Norfolk in
   1600

   Before the English Civil War, the working peasantry often took part in
   Morris dances, especially at Whitsun. In 1600 the Shakespearean actor
   William Kempe famously morris danced from London to Norwich, an event
   chronicled in his Nine Days Wonder (1600). The Puritan government of
   Oliver Cromwell, however, suppressed Whitsun Ales and other such
   festivities. When the crown was restored by Charles II, the springtime
   festivals were restored. In particular, Whitsun Ales came to be
   celebrated on Whitsunday, as the date coincided with the birthday of
   Charles II.

   Morris dancing continued in popularity until the industrial revolution
   and its accompanying drastic social change. Four teams claim a
   continuous lineage of tradition within their village or town: Abingdon
   (their Morris team kept going by the Hemmings Family ), Bampton,
   Headington Quarry and Chipping Campden(See their website
   http://www.chippingcampdenmorrismen.org.uk/). Other villages have
   revived their own traditions, and hundreds of other teams across the
   globe have adopted (and adapted) these traditions, or have created
   their own styles from the basic building blocks of morris stepping and
   figures.

   Several English folklorists were responsible for recording and reviving
   the tradition in the early 20th century, often from a bare handful of
   surviving members of mid-19th-century village sides (teams). Among
   these, the most notable are Cecil Sharp, Maud Karpeles, and Mary Neal.
   Boxing Day 1899 is widely regarded as the starting point for the morris
   revival. Cecil Sharp was visiting at a friend's house in Headington,
   near Oxford, when the Headington Quarry morris side arrived to perform.
   Sharp was intrigued by the music and collected several tunes from the
   side's musician, William Kimber; not until about a decade later,
   however, did he begin collecting the dances, spurred and at first
   assisted by Mary Neal, a founder of the Esperance Club (a dressmaking
   cooperative and club for young working women in London), and Herbert
   MacIlwaine, musical director of the Esperance Club. Neal was looking
   for dances for her girls to perform, and so the first revival
   performance was by young women in London.
   Morris dancing in the grounds of Wells Cathedral, Wells, England
   Morris dancing in the grounds of Wells Cathedral, Wells, England

   In the first few decades of the 20th century, several men's sides were
   formed, and in 1934 the Morris Ring was founded by six revival sides.
   In the 1960s and especially the 1970s, there was an explosion of new
   dance teams, some of them women's or mixed sides. At the time, there
   was often heated debate over the propriety and even legitimacy of women
   dancing the morris. This debate has mostly abated, and male, female and
   mixed sides are all found.

   Partly because women's and mixed sides are not eligible for full
   membership of the Morris Ring, two other national (and international)
   bodies were formed, the Morris Federation and Open Morris. All three
   bodies provide communication, advice, insurance, instructionals
   (teaching sessions) and social and dancing opportunities to their
   members. The three bodies cooperate on some issues, while maintaining
   their distinct identities.

Styles

   Today, there are six predominant styles of morris dancing, and
   different dances or traditions within each style named after their
   region of origin.
     * Cotswold morris: dances from an area mostly in Gloucestershire and
       Oxfordshire; an established misnomer, since the Cotswolds overlap
       this region only partially. Normally danced with handkerchiefs or
       sticks to embellish the hand movements.
     * North West morris: more military in style and often processional.
       Clogs are a characteristic feature of this style of dance.
     * Border Morris from the English-Welsh border: a simpler, looser,
       more vigorous style, normally danced with blackened faces (or
       sometimes otherwise coloured, given the negative connotations for
       some of blackface).
     * Longsword dancing from Yorkshire and south Durham.
     * " Rapper or Short sword dancing" from Northumberland and Co.
       Durham.
     * " Molly Dancing" from East Anglia.

Cotswold

   Lionel Bacon records Cotswold morris traditions from these villages:
   Abingdon, Adderbury, Ascot-under-Wychwood, Badby, Bampton, Bidford,
   Bledington, Brackley, Bucknell, Chipping Campden, Ducklington, Eynsham,
   Headington Quarry, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Ilmington, Kirtlington,
   Leafield ("Field Town"), Longborough, Oddington, Sherbourne, Stanton
   Harcourt, and Wheatley.

   Bacon also lists the tradition from Lichfield, which is Cotswold-like
   despite that city's distance from the Cotswold morris area; the
   authenticity of this tradition has been questioned. In 2006 a small
   number of dances from a previously-unknown tradition was discovered by
   Barry Care of Moulton Morris Men (Ravensthorpe, Northants) - two of
   them danceable. Other dances listed by Bacon include border morris
   dances from Brimfield, Bromsberrow Heath, Evesham, Leominster, Much
   Wenlock, Pershore, Upton-upon-Severn, Upton Snodsbury, and White Ladies
   Aston, and miscellaneous non-Cotswold, non-border dances from Steeple
   Claydon and Winster. There are a number of traditions which have been
   invented since the mid twentieth century, though few have been widely
   adopted. Examples are Broadwood, Duns Tew, and Ousington-under-Wash in
   the Cotswold style, and Upper and Lower Penn in the Border style. In
   fact, for many of the "collected" traditions in Bacon, only sketchy
   information is available about the way they were danced in the
   nineteenth century, and they have been reconstructed to a degree that
   makes them largely twentieth century inventions as well. Some
   traditions have been reconstructed in several strikingly disparate
   ways; an example would be Adderbury, danced very differently by the
   Adderbury Morris Men and the Adderbury Village Morris.

North west

   North West morris
   North West morris

   The North West tradition is very different, and has always featured
   mixed and female sides — at least as far back as the eighteenth
   century. There is a picture of Eccles Wakes (painted in the 1820s,
   judging by the style of dress of some of the participants and
   spectators) that shows both male and female dancers.

   The dancers always wore clogs and were often associated with rushcarts
   at the local wakes or holidays. The dances themselves were often called
   'maze' or 'garland dances' as they involved a very intricate set of
   movements in which the dances wove in and out of each other. Some
   dances were performed with a wicker hoop (decorated with garlands of
   flowers) held above the dancer's head. Some dancers were also
   associated with a tradition of mumming, holding a pace egging play in
   their area.

   The Britannia Coco-nut Dancers, named after a mill not far from Bacup,
   are unique in the tradition, in that they used sawn bobbins to make a
   noise, and perform to the accompaniment of a brass ensemble. They are
   one of the few morris groups that still black up their faces. It is
   said that the dance found its way to the area through Cornishmen who
   migrated to work in the Rossendale quarries.

   Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Lancashire tradition was
   taken up by sides associated with mills and nonconformist chapels,
   usually composed of young girls. These lasted until the First World
   War, after which many mutated into 'jazz dancers.' (A Bolton troupe can
   be seen in a pre-war documentary by Humphrey Jennings) They later
   evolved into 'pom pom' dancers (still called 'morris dancers' by older
   people). During the folk revival in the 1960s, many of the old steps to
   dances such as 'Stubbins Lane Garland' were often passed on by old
   people.

Border

   The term "border morris" was first used by E. C. Cawte in a 1963
   article on the morris dance traditions of Herefordshire, Shropshire,
   and Worcestershire — counties along the border with Wales.
   Characteristics of the tradition as practiced in the nineteenth and
   early twentieth centuries include blackface (in some areas); use of
   either a small strip of bells (in some areas) or no bells at all (in
   others); costume often consisting of ordinary clothes decorated with
   ribbons, strips of cloth, or pieces of coloured paper; or sometimes
   "fancy dress"; small numbers of dances in the team repertoire, often
   only one and rarely more than two; highly variable number of dancers in
   the set and configurations of the set (some sides had different
   versions of a dance for different numbers of dancers); and an emphasis
   on stick dances almost to the exclusion of hankie dances. Dances tended
   to be uncomplicated in form, e.g. alternation of sticking with a hey;
   stepping was likewise not elaborate. While performances at various
   times of the year are recorded, the most common dancing occasion was
   Boxing Day. Border morris performance persisted into the early
   twentieth century before it died out.

   Many dances were collected, by Cecil Sharp and later collectors, and
   several were included in Bacon's book, but border morris was largely
   neglected by revival morris sides until late in the twentieth century.
   The Silurian Morris Men of Ledbury, Herefordshire changed over from
   Cotswold to border morris in 1979, and the Shropshire Bedlams were
   founded in 1975; both became pioneers of a resurgence of border morris
   among revival sides in the following decades. Silurian has emphasized
   re-creation of the traditional border dances, while the Shropshire
   Bedlams have created a new repertoire of what some call "neo-border"
   dances, tending to be more complex and theatrical than the collected
   dances.

Sword dancing

   Usually regarded as a type of morris, although many of the performers
   themselves consider it as a traditional dance form in its own right, is
   the sword dance tradition, which includes both rapper sword and
   longsword traditions. In both styles the "swords" are not actual
   swords, but implements specifically made for the dance. The dancers are
   usually linked one to another via the swords, with one end of each held
   by one dancer and the other end by another. Rapper sides usually
   consist of five dancers, who are permanently linked-up during the
   dance. The rapper sword is a very flexible strip of spring-steel, with
   a fixed handle at one end, and a rotating handle at the other. The
   longsword is about 0.8 metres long, with a wooden handle at one end, a
   rounded tip, and no edge. Longsword sides consist usually of either six
   or eight dancers. In both rapper and longsword there is often with a
   supernumerary, who dances around, outside, and inside the set.

Mumming

   The English mummers play occasionally involves morris or sword dances
   either incorporated as part of the play or performed at the same event.

Other traditions

   Other forms include Molly dance from Cambridgeshire. Molly dance, which
   is associated with Plough Monday, is a parodic form danced in work
   boots and with at least one Molly man dressed as a woman.

   There is also hoodening which comes from East Kent, and the Abbots
   Bromley Horn Dance.

   Another expression of the Morris tradition is Vessel Cupping. This was
   practiced in the East Riding of Yorkshire up to the 1920s. It was a
   form danced by itinerant ploughboys in sets of three or four, about the
   time of Candlemas.

Music

   Music was traditionally provided by either a pipe and tabor or a
   fiddle. These are still used today, but the most common instrument is
   the melodeon. Accordions and concertinas are also common, and other
   instruments are sometimes used. Often drums are employed for example
   the Bodhran.

   Cotswold and sword dancers are most often accompanied by a single
   player, but Northwest and Border sides often have a band, usually
   including a drum.

   For Cotswold and (to a degree) Border dances, the tunes are traditional
   and specific: the name of the dance is often actually the name of the
   tune, and dances of the same name from different traditions will have
   slightly different tunes. For Northwest and sword dancing there is less
   often a specific tune for a dance: the players may use several tunes,
   and will often change tunes during a dance.

Terminology

   Like many activities, morris dancing has a range of words and phrases
   that it uses in special ways.

   Many participants will refer to the world of morris dancing as a whole
   as the morris.

   A morris troupe is usually referred to as a side or a team. As can be
   seen in preceding paragraphs, the two terms are interchangeable.
   (Despite the competitive connotation of both words, morris dancing is
   hardly ever competitive).

   A set (which can also be referred to as a side) is a number of dancers
   in a particular arrangement for a dance. Most Cotswold morris dances
   are danced in a rectangular set of six dancers, and most Northwest
   dances in a rectangular set of eight; but there are many exceptions.

   A jig in morris dancing is a dance performed by one (or sometimes two)
   dancers, rather than by a set. Its music does not usually have the
   rhythm implied by the word jig in contexts outside morris dancing.

   The titles of officers will vary from side to side, but most sides have
   at least the following:
     * The role of the squire varies. On some sides the squire is the
       leader of the side, who will speak for the side in public, will
       usually lead or call the dances, and will often decide the
       programme for a performance. On other sides the squire is more of
       an administrator, with the foreman taking more of a leadership
       role, and with dances being called by any experienced dancer.
     * The foreman is the person who teaches and trains the dancers, and
       is responsible for the style and standard of the side's dancing.
     * The bagman is traditionally the keeper of the bag — that is to say,
       the side's funds. On some sides today the bagman acts as secretary
       (particularly bookings secretary) and there is often a treasurer
       separate from the bagman.
     * On some sides a a ragman manages and co-ordinates the team's kit,
       or costume. This may include construction of bell-pads, ribbon
       bads, sashes and other accoutrements.

   Many sides have one or more fools. A fool will usually be extravagantly
   dressed, and will be communicating directly with the audience, whether
   in speech or in mime. Often the fool will dance around and even through
   a dance without appearing to really be a part of it, but it usually
   takes an unusually talented dancer to pull off such fooling while
   actually adding to and not distracting from the main dance set.

   Many sides also have a beast: a dancer in a costume which is made to
   look like a real or mythical animal. Beasts mainly interact with the
   audience, particularly children. In some groups this dancer is called
   the hobby.
   A tradition in Cotswold morris is a collection of dances which come
   from a particular area, and have something in common: usually the
   particular steps, the arm movements, and the figures danced. Many newer
   traditions are in fact invented by revival teams.

   Most Cotswold dances alternate common figures (or just figures) with a
   distinctive figure (or chorus). The common figures are common to all
   (or some) dances in the tradition; the distinctive figure distinguishes
   that dance from other dances in the tradition. Sometimes, (particularly
   in corner dances) the chorus is not identical each time it comes in a
   dance, but has its own sequence of forms specific to the tradition;
   nevertheless something about the way the chorus is danced will
   distinguish that dance from other dances. Frequently several traditions
   will have essentially the same dance, where the name, tune, and
   distinctive figure are the same or similar, but each tradition uses its
   own common figures and style of dancing.

   In England, an ale is a private party where a number of morris sides
   get together and perform dances for their own enjoyment rather than as
   a performance for an audience. Usually food will be supplied, and
   sometimes this is a formal sit-down meal known as a feast or ale-feast.
   Occasionally an evening ale will be combined with a day or weekend of
   dance, where all the invited sides will tour the local area and perform
   their dances for the public. In North America the term is widely used
   to describe a full weekend of dancing involving public performances and
   sometimes workshops. In the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, the term
   "ale" referred to a church- or village-sponsored event where ale or
   beer was sold to raise funds. Morris dancers were often employed at
   such events.

Spelling

   "Morris" is sometimes capitalized though in this context it is not a
   proper noun.

Discography

     * Morris On (1971)
     * Son of Morris On (1972)
     * Absolutely Classic — The Music of William Kimber (2001)
     * Mally's Cotswold Morris (2001)
     * The English Folk Dance Project — Cotswold Series, Vol. 1 (2001)
     * Grandson of Morris On (2002)
     * Grandson of Morris On (2002)
     * Roll a Ferret for Jesus (Black Pig Border Morris)
     * Duck Race (2004)
     * Great Grandson of Morris On (2004)
     * Great-Grandson of Morris On (2004)
     * Magic of Morris (2005)
     * Lost Morris: Tunes from Lost Cotswold Morris Traditions (2005)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
