|
How did it all start? - In October
1999 adverts were placed in local
parish magazines and newspapers for people interested in starting a
new border Morris
side in the area. Very quickly there were enough
members to make a side (six of us
grew to nearly 20), dances were
taught to us by Alverchurch Morris Side.
What is Border Morris?
- Unlike other forms of Morris we don't use scarves,
but
dance with sticks, which is traditional for the Welsh / English borders. We
black our
faces to hide our identity, as it is thought that Morris dancing was
banned by the
government in Cromwell's time, leaving those who wished to dance to hide their true
identity.
What do
we wear? - We firstly have a jacket made of tatters of material in mainly red and
green which are the colours of the local school where we both practice and
support. Every
side is different and the colours ,all have their own traditions.
Each member has made or
helped with the making of their own tatters, which is also true of the bells worn around
the legs. These are strung on elastic or on straps with
ribbons for extra show. We all wear
top hats in grey with what ever decoration we like
including pheasant and peacock feathers,
scarves, flowers and even a false
ponytail !
We currently have a few musicians including two accordion
players, a Bodhran
drummer
and two fiddles
Our Bodhran player deep in concentration.
Morris dancing in some form can be traced
nearly all over Europe and many of the dances
originate
over a hundred years ago as fertility
rites. Today Morris dancing is experiencing a
revival and has rejuvenated the Spirit of..
Making New Traditions !
Home
Copyright © 2000 [Foxs Morris] All rights reserved.
Revised: December 2001. Website Design by Scooby & Co.
webmaster@foxsmorris.org.uk
|
