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Origins of Morris dancing
Jan. 15th, 2010 02:23 pmContinuing to read my morris history book, I'm also following up thoughts sparked by it on YouTube.
There are many references historically to a dance called a moreska (with several possible spellings), which is often synonymous with morris.
The moreska was often found as part of court pageant and could well have been part of a dramatic presentation that used dance to tell a story - usually the rescue of a maiden (as these were chivalric pageants that slowly took over from the more lethal tournaments). Indeed, many early references to morris have a maiden before whom the dance is performed.
Out of curiosity, I looked up moresca on Wikipedia and found that there is still a moresca performed regularly on the island of Korčula, (part of Croatia). It's a full performance lasting half an hour even in abbreviated form (the long version is 2 hours) and is essentially a drama, involving dance, about the rescue of a maiden. (there may be a connection to the early 'Ring' morris which has dancers in a circle about a woman).
Even better, I then found some good quality footage of the dance on YouTube. (there are more entries on You Tube showing more of the dance, but the clip I have here gives a good overall impression)
Cotswold morris dancers will instantly relate to the double stick/sword work and some of the footwork. Not bad after 500-600 years of divergence.
There are many references historically to a dance called a moreska (with several possible spellings), which is often synonymous with morris.
The moreska was often found as part of court pageant and could well have been part of a dramatic presentation that used dance to tell a story - usually the rescue of a maiden (as these were chivalric pageants that slowly took over from the more lethal tournaments). Indeed, many early references to morris have a maiden before whom the dance is performed.
Out of curiosity, I looked up moresca on Wikipedia and found that there is still a moresca performed regularly on the island of Korčula, (part of Croatia). It's a full performance lasting half an hour even in abbreviated form (the long version is 2 hours) and is essentially a drama, involving dance, about the rescue of a maiden. (there may be a connection to the early 'Ring' morris which has dancers in a circle about a woman).
Even better, I then found some good quality footage of the dance on YouTube. (there are more entries on You Tube showing more of the dance, but the clip I have here gives a good overall impression)
Cotswold morris dancers will instantly relate to the double stick/sword work and some of the footwork. Not bad after 500-600 years of divergence.
