Well, for a start it's English, and has been around for a long long time, though where it originated is mostly explained by the old phrase "Lost in the Mists of Time".
The word "morris" has been recorded at least as far back as 1458 and we know it was used in Shakespeare's time, even appearing in some of his plays (well, at least the word did!),and it was considered a mysterious and ancient art even then. That word was used to describe a particular dance form, though whether it was the same as the morris we know today is the cause of much debate.
|
The dancers have been regarded as the bringers of luck, ensuring sunshine, fertility and good crops ...at least that's one theory! In return for this service to the community contributions of money are collected during the dancing, which is good for us, but there's probably as many theories on the origin of morris as there are dancers! What you generally see of morris these days derives from what was collected around the turn of the 19th century. Only a handful of sides were still dancing, and they weren't young, so the dances and styles were recalled, cajoled and even pulled like teeth from those few remaining souls that were still dancing or could remember what dances they did and vaguely how they went. Hedgemonkey dance what is known
as "Cotswold Morris" from the Cotswold Hills in the upper Thames
Valley, around Oxford. Most villages in the area could field a morris
team in their day, each having there own distinct style, or in some cases
a very similar style to a neighbouring village, which occasionally caused
Hedgemonkey's style, or tradition, derives from the village
of Ascot-Under-Wychwood. We refer to it as Ascotesque, just so those traditionalists
won't be too put out, but as tradition to us means "ever evolving"
we hope we are interpreting the essence of the dance without losing |
|
For further information and bookings contact Bronny:
bronnyl@internode.on.net
Designed by : Kim Brown