It is a traditional dance seen throughout the month of May is Morris Dancing. It is a traditional English form of folkdancing, performed by groups of men or women.
Morris Dancing has been danced for centuries, and passed down through the generations in the villages of rural England. The dances are usually performed at festivals such as May Day, Whitsun and Christmas.
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| Morris men dacing - image by Richard2s |
There are different hypotheses about the origin of Morris Dancing. The name might refer to the possibility of the form of dancing coming to England from the Moors of North Africa; or it may have been called 'Moor-ish' simply because the dancers sometimes painted their faces black, and people compared this to the dark-skinned Moors.
The Music
The dancing is very lively and accompanied by an accordion player, a melodeon or fiddle player (Cotswolds) or a noisy band with a drum (Border Morris or North West sides).
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| Morris dancing - image by Kaihsu |
Costumes
Morris dancers wear different clothes depending on the part of the United Kingdom where they are from. They are often dressed in white with coloured baldrics (coloured belts) across their chests but red or green are also common.
The Dances
There are usually six or eight dancers arranged in two lines or in a circle facing each other. The dancers may carry white handkerchiefs that they shake, or short sticks that they bang against each other as they dance. Some dancers have bell-pads tied at their knees, which make a loud and cheerful rhythm as they dance.
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