The Marvellous Morris
Morris Dancer in full molly. By David-F
One end of a sweaty handkerchief is pressed into the palm of our hands as we hastily take our place in line ready for the next dance. It’s apparent when we begin that morris dancing takes some practise and a certain level of co-ordination.
We struggle to get our legs and arms to move independently and in time to the music, something that seems to both frustrate and humour the professionals around us.
Friendly Phil the music man plays his jigs in the background, as the others move off into formation and say to us ‘don’t be afraid to make as much noise as you want.’
If shuffling our feet and gasping or breath is the type of noise they were looking for, it’s fair to say we’ve got it covered.
Morris Dancing has been around in the UK since the 15th century, but today it is viewed as a humble tradition performed in pub car parks and village fetes.
Barry Goodman, Chairman of the Morris Dancing Federation, explains that today’s morris is also very different version from the original.
“The Morris that we see today comprises interpretations of the old dances as collected in the early 1900s, new dances in the style of the collected dances, and completely new traditions invented and developed by individual teams.”
This new style is attracting a wide of range of people to a dance that was once thought to be dying out. Joy Knight, 34, one of the dancers we have joined in with at the Kesteven club, says that: “It is a fun and energetic hobby which is bit different from the usual.”
The fifteen strong female team at Kesteven, Lincolnshire are proof that “there are probably as many women dancing morris as men.”
There have also been attempts to encourage younger generations to get involved, such as the Spring Event, which has seen the tradition cross genres to create a blend incorporating street dancing and the Morris.
According to Barry, this has raised the profile of the dance, helping to recruit new members:“There are more [groups] chasing them from the wings, and the prospects for young teams starting up and continuing to dance the Morris are very encouraging.”
“There seems to be more acceptance of it as a dance form among young people recently than I can remember for many years.” All this leads Barry to believe that Morris dancing will have a strong future.
But, for us, the class has come to and end and it’s time we put down the sticks.