El Día de Baile Morris

Question

Hola mis amigos, di que se montraría unas fotografías del 'Día de Baile', que se occurió el sábado abril 17, en un pueblo se llama Bury St Edmunds, lo que está cerca de mi aldea.

Baile Morris es un baile tradicional inglés.

Hubo 52 equipos de baile, llegaron del pueblos y las aldeas varios. Estaban bailando estilos diversos de Morris. El nombre del estilo de nuestros equipo es border porque llega de la frontera entre Inglaterra y del País de Gales.

Soy la mujer pequeña, me estoy llevando un (principalmente) chaleco azul. Eso estilo de chaleco se llama tatters porque es fabrica de pedacitosde tela.

Afortunadamente hizo sol todo el día.

Hello my friends, I said I would show you some photos of the 'Day of Dance', which was on Saturday April 17th, in a town called Bury St Edmunds which is near to my village.

Morris dancing is a traditional English dance.

There were 52 dance sides (teams), they came from various towns and villages. They were dancing different styles of Morris. The name of our side's style is border because it comes from the border between England and Wales.

I am the small woman, I'm wearing a (mostly) blue waistcoat. We call this style of waiscoat tatters because it's made from scraps of fabric.

Luckily it was sunny all day.

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Here we are , Kenninghall morris, dancing outside a pub called The Fox.

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In the town centre, I am in the middle playing melodeon (accordeon).

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Here are my side again dancing on the slope! Beyond you can see the old walls of the Abbey gardens, within these walls are the ruins where monks used to live. The cathedral has recently had restoration work done: here is a little about it

For over 1,000 years the site of Suffolk 's Cathedral has been one of worship and pilgrimage. The death of Edmund, King of the East Angles, at the hands of the Danes in 869 led to the building of an abbey to house his remains. St James Church was built within the precincts of the Abbey, becoming a Cathedral in 1914.

I'm sorry, I'll probably need plenty of corrections, especially as I made all this post once and somehow lost it and had to start again!

Answer 1

I am at work and can't see the photos but will check it out later. Morris dancing is a workout! I did it a bit some years ago.

It is, and my feet are still recovering! - galsally, Apr 21, 2010

Answer 2

I don't know anything about Morris dancing. What are the traditions? Why the rags, the black-face, the clubs?

This looks like a lot of fun. Is there a meaning to the costume your group is wearing?

There are several recognised styles of morris - border, cotswold, molly, sword and clog are some I have seen; on Saturday I was fortunate to be able to dance alongside all of these types. There are records of morris dancing dating back hundreds of years; the very old accounts are mostly describing the performances as entertainment at fairs or the big houses of the area. Also records of morris dancers being arrested for drunken or violent behaviour, non-payment of bills etc. Many morris dancers nowadays are keen on a drink or two as well! (Not me, I'm the most lightweight drinker :/)

Morris dancing was done to help pay the bills, and was associated with begging - we think that is the reason for the blacking (or greening in some cases) of faces, to try to allow a degree of anonymity. The tatters possibly originated because the dancers were poor, but also the strips of rags fly out on many moves which helps makes the dance look more of a spectacle. Border morris in particular is very rough and energetic, so there is a lot of fast movement and turns.

Using sticks in the dance really gives a 'rough and ready' impression, and the clashing of sticks adds to the enjoyment; all border dances include different rhythms and manners of stick clashing, particularly in the chorus. In one dance we've learned we throw the sticks to each other - this can cause much hilarity in the ranks when we fail to catch them!

I really like border morris because it's really energetic, we don't take ourselves too seriously and the dances are not so long that they get boring. Another style I particularly like is molly. There is always a man dressed as a woman who is called the 'molly', they have a particular stepping style and a somewhat melancholy feel to the music, and wear very varied costumes.

If you'd like to see us in action, here we are! This was on Thomas Paine Celebration Day last year, in Thetford, Norfolk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrT5AR1pTbA

A nice molly side are Ouse Washes, we danced with them and they did this dance with a story acted out beforehand explaining the black face coverings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3mwjuT33vg

If you have any more questions then ask away!

Thanks, very interesting. - 00d7cd75, Apr 20, 2010

Answer 3

This looks like a lot of fun. Is there a meaning to the costume your group is wearing? It reminds me of the harlequin.

Answer 4

Hello Sally,

Thanks for sharing. You have raised some questions on my part; tell me more - I don't know anything about Morris dancing. What are the traditions? Why the rags, the black-face, the clubs?

Answer 5

Thanks for sharing this, Sally!! It's wonderful to see other cultures and traditions.