Happy May Day Folks!
Chances are when you’re reading this I’ve already been to dance the sun up this year (so if the sun’s up, you’re welcome).
In honor of this, I present to you a Morris Dance Video that I quite enjoy.
Notice a few things:
- Mixed set. Looks great. All you nay sayers who think “Morris should be danced in single-sex teams?” Wrong.
- Morris need not be done to English tunes. There is latitude here for some creativity, even in the Cotswold tradition.
- Although in the midwest, we are prone to judging the tradition of Bleddington as being particularly challenging and exuberant given the awesomeness of the Ramsey’s Braggarts team. While it’s not a sedate tradition like, say Fieldtown, there aren’t really sedate Morris Dance traditions, Bleddington can be enjoyed less exuberantly.
And of course, the first half of what remains my favorite morris dance ever, done last year by a Toronto team, Queen’s Delight: