Archive for the 'Morris dancing' Category

Dancing with Herbaceous Border Morris Side at Sidmouth Folk Festival Radway Winter Reunion 2009

Published on February 27, 2009 in Morris dancing, dancing and learn Morris dancing. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .
Herbaceous Border Morris Side, Sidmouth Radway Reunion weekend 2009

Herbaceous Border Morris Side, Sidmouth Radway Reunion weekend 2009

Well, OK, I wasn’t actually dancing! I was just helping to play the folk tunes while the regular members of Herbaceous Border Morris side and people from the public waved dangerous looking stick above their heads and brought them crashing down on the sticks of the other dancers.

However, I wanted to make mention of the great work that Sue White does to manage Herbaceous Border Morris side. She always seems to be full of unbounded enthusiasm as she cajoles musicians to play for Herbaceous Border Morris dance side and members of the public to join in and learn how to Morris dance.

In a previous post about the West Somerset Morris Men, I mentioned that some Morris sides are finding it difficult to attract new members but also how much it is a way of meeting people, getting involved in the community and, in many cases, collecting for charities.

So, if you are at a folk festival and see Sue White, the intrepid organiser of Herbaceous Border and would like to join a Morris side and try a traditional dance form that is lots of fun, good exercise and very much places you at the heart of your community, don’t hang around. Introduce yourself to Sue and start Morris dancing. I’m sure you will get a friendly welcome :-)

(See comment submitted by Sue)

Bye for now

Rob

(Rob Hopcott – online author and folk musician)

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Traditional dancing is a great way to find friends, travel and get exercise – perhaps even find love or marriage

Published on December 10, 2008 in Morris dancing, dancing and traditional dancing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
West Somerset Morris Men at Dunster by Candlelight lifting a lady aloft

West Somerset Morris Men at Dunster by Candlelight 2008 lifting a lady aloft

Eavesdropping on a conversation at Dunster by Candlelight last weekend about the need to get in new members, it occurred to me that joining a dance group is a great way of meeting people and  become part of a very friendly and welcoming community.

So, if you would like to make new friends and have fun socially, why not contact your local traditional dancing group. You will probably be welcomed with open arms.

Traditional dancing enables you to see lots of new places too. When I go to folk festivals all over the country there are almost always groups of traditional dancers who have travelled from other parts of the country too – sometimes even from abroad.

West Somerset Morris Men musicians at Dunster by Candlelight 2008

West Somerset Morris Men musicians at Dunster by Candlelight 2008

Traditional dancing is very good exercise too and a wonderful way to keep fit. If you would  like to shift the extra ounces or lbs you have put on over Christmas, traditional dancing may be a great way to do it while also having fun and making friends.

What a great idea for a New Year’s resolution :-)

Traditional dancing is friendly. Barn dances, which involve dancing in a circle or square, often mean you get an opportunity to dance with everybody else who is on the floor. Morris dancing is available for men and women and, I believe, even for mixed sides. It’s just a matter of finding the dance side that is right for you.

Traditional dancing is very ‘family’. When I go down to Sidmouth Folk Festival and watch the ceilidhs in the car park behind the Anchor Inn, sometimes called the Anchor gardens, it is usually full of families. There is even an organisation called Folk Camps where you can go camping with other families who enjoy traditional dancing and playing traditional music.

So, what’s holding you back. Check out your local traditional dancing groups, telephone them and get involved. You are quite likely to find friendship and may even encounter love and marriage born from a shared interest which many argue is, at the end of the day, the best way to build a relationship.

So, back to my eavesdropping at Dunster by Candlelight. I was standing next to the West Somerset Morris Men and there was a dancer from a different Morris side. They invited him to join in and in a moment he was happily dancing along with the rest of them.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott – online writer