About

Solo dancerDancing

We perform dances from the Cotswold region of England - our current traditions are Adderbury, Bledington, Brackley, Bucknell, Ducklington and Fieldtown. We only have male dancers; other sides in the area include ladies and mixed groups.

MusiciansMusic

Traditional dancing calls for traditional instruments. Our musicians play for us on melodians, violins, pipe and tabor, and the like.

Help save historic instruments: The V&A are intending to place in long-term storage its collection of historic musical instruments, which is unparalleled in the UK. The reason for this destruction, given by a V&A spokesman, is so that "the gallery can be redesigned to show the fashion collections." Musical instruments have been part of the collection since its inception in 1851: the museum has received adverse comment on this plan from curators worldwide. The removal is to take place in Spring 2010, and is a short-term decision which will have long-term negative results for scholars and music lovers alike. Sign the petition online at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/VandAchange/.

Typical tunes in the ABC format (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abc_notation): Adderbury, Bledington, Brackley, Bucknell, Ducklington, Fieldtown and a couple of processionals. Various apps are available, one such is the Freeware ABC Navigator (http://abcnavigator.free.fr/). Note that the tunes we dance to might differ from these.

N'DobbinN'Dobbin - our animal

He's cheeky, he's cheerful, he's in the same colours as us, and he's our side animal N'Dobbin the zebra. Look out for him - although he doesn't bite, he will defend himself.

Social events

Even when we're not dancing, we still find things to do as a variety of social events.

History

Morris dancing was referred to as an ancient tradition in Shakespeare's time (late 16th century). Pilgrim Morris isn't that old - we first danced out in 1972, part of the modern revival of the Morris after a largely dormant period since Edwardian times (early 20th century).

Funding and charity

We are a non-profit group. Any fees we charge go towards our operating expenses - the largest of which is the hire of a practice hall. The side provides the bells, baldricks and armbands to the dancers, but the rest of the kit is the paid for by the individuals.

If you are organising an event for a charity or other good cause, then contact our Bagman.

Morris dancing — you know it makes sense