Morris Dancing

The morris dances of the Cotswold, Borders and North-West are all ritual not social dances and, as such, were traditionally performed only by men. Their origins are obscure and their association with fertility debatable, but some features do suggest a relationship with the courtly dances of medieval Europe. Sword dances, and even mumming plays, are also often considered as being part of 'the morris'.

Villages once had their own morris 'sides' and style of dancing, whose secrets were passed down from father to son. The loss of so many men in World War I broke this continuity but, fortunately, most dances were rescued by dedicated collectors before they faded into oblivion. Since then, there has been a great revival of interest in the morris and, today, there are male, female and mixed morris sides throughout the country, performing dances from all these areas and not just on high days and holidays.