Are there female morris dancers?
Are there female morris dancers?
Women have always had a role in the Morris dance. There are now over 16,000 people dancing Morris, and 50% of them are women.
Are Morris dancers English?
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.
What is Fluffy Morris dancing?
Girls’ morris dancing—sometimes called ‘carnival’ or ‘fluffy’ morris—is a highly competitive team formation dance, performed in the Northwest of England and parts of North Wales. Its main participants are primary- and secondary-school-aged girls and young women .
What music does Morris dance to?
Historically, Morris dancing music was probably played on loud and rhythmical instruments of the time such as the pipe and tabor. Today, the music is often played on accordion, melodeon and concertina, the so-called “Free-Reed Instruments,” but violin and flute can often be heard.
How many morris dancers are there?
A recent survey published in December 2020 identified how the profile of morris dancers has evolved since the first survey published in 2014. The number of morris dancers in the UK has increased from 12,800 in 2014 to 13,600 in 2020.
Where are morris dancers from?
North West of England
Our style of dancing originated in the cotton mill towns and pit villages of the North West of England, where clogs were the usual type of working footwear and where the Morris tradition was performed by men, women and children.
How many morris dancers are there in the UK?
13,600
The number of morris dancers in the UK has increased from 12,800 in 2014 to 13,600 in 2020. The average age of a morris dancer in the UK is 55, up from 52 in 2014.
What instruments do morris dancers use?
One traditional Morris instrument is the pipe and tabor; a single musician simultaneously plays a three-holed pipe with the left hand and a small drum with the right hand. During the twentieth century other instruments have come into use, including the accordion, the melodeon, the fiddle, and the concertina.
