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Are Cotswold Dancers more conservative?
Are some forms of morris more conservative than others? (by conservative, I mean more likely to be men only and less likely to invent new dances)
The Morris revival began with Cotswold morris. It was the first to be recorded in detail and subsequently the first to be taught to modern dancers. This was part of the Victorian desire for pure British country roots that also surfaced in things like the Arts and Crafts movement.
Cecil Sharp (who collected his first morris dance in 1899) was seeking for English traditional music, as most of the music around in his time was based on traditional German tunes. His first morris dance was an accidental discover while he was visiting a friend near Headington Quarry.
He saw the dance as a primitive survival of a purer time. When the dances came to be taught, there was a desire to pass them on exactly as they had been recorded, to pass on this ancient lineage without losing the direct connection to the past. The dances were recorded in detail, but were also taught to the girls of the Espérance Club by men who had been morris dancers with the old Cotswold sides.
Other forms of morris, such as North West and Border were recorded later.
Cotswold dances were originally performed in the local villages. They were static dances. Each village had its own dances and there were distinct 'style' variations between villages. Modern Cotswold sides will often dance in the style of a specific Cotswold village such as Adderbury. Sharp published several books of Cotswold and it's still reasonably easy to find copies today; thus, there is always the original source material to go back to.
Mersey Morris Men
North West was a processional dance and when processions met, sides would often encounter one another. I suspect this introduced a more competitive element to the dances. Certainly, North West dances have a lot of variety and are danced in a very crisp style. Perhaps because of this original variation, there seems to be more modern variation in North West dances and more modern dances being written (some of which have a classic feel, and some others which really don't match my own perception of what North West is). It's hard to find published collections of North West dances. I know, I've tried. Trefor Owen has published ten dances, but there's not much else. North West dances are passed on by sides learning them in workshops from other sides. It's a game of Chinese whispers in which dances change and evolve as they pass down the line. We write new dances because we need more dances (it's dull just dancing a small handful) and there aren't enough dances that we can find proper written records for. (I'm continually amazed by how little morris information is available on the web. One reason why I keep posting stuff is to prevent it getting lost and to hopefully make it easier for other people to find morris related information.)
Saddleworth Morris men.
Carnival Morris (also know as 'fluffy morris') is alive and kicking and totally ignored by all people in the folk community. I've never seen a carnival morris side at a folk festival. It grew out of the North West tradition, but looks more like majorettes or cheerleading and is danced almost exclusively by little girls. It's a good demonstration of just how fast a dance can change in only 70 years.
Hag Fold morris dancers (junior team)
Border morris
There's not a lot of collected material for historical Border morris. See here for a discussion of sources and what original material there is. The records of dances are patchy and not very detailed. Revival sides have started to develop a distinct Border style. It may/may not resemble the original, but it's certainly a valid modern tradition. Generally characterised by blacked faces, tatter jackets, big bold stepping and flowing figures.
Datchet Border Morris
I guess I've really answered my own question. If there's lots of source material, dancers are more likely to use it and stick closer to the original dance (which is not to say that there are no modern dances in the Cotswold style, as there are). The less source material there is, the more likely dancers are to innovate, but that innovation can lead to the development of a consistent modern style (see also my post on Molly dancers). Competition (carnival morris is done for competitions) can also drive innovation. (I may post about rapper and longsword dances on some other occasion - competition is definitely a factor in rapper evolution)
Last, but never least. In all it's forms, Morris is an old dance that moves forward with the times and evolves to meet circumstances. It's colourful, entertaining and a great way to get out and meet people. If you belong to any groups that would like to learn morris, I'd be happy to help out.
The Morris revival began with Cotswold morris. It was the first to be recorded in detail and subsequently the first to be taught to modern dancers. This was part of the Victorian desire for pure British country roots that also surfaced in things like the Arts and Crafts movement.
Cecil Sharp (who collected his first morris dance in 1899) was seeking for English traditional music, as most of the music around in his time was based on traditional German tunes. His first morris dance was an accidental discover while he was visiting a friend near Headington Quarry.
He saw the dance as a primitive survival of a purer time. When the dances came to be taught, there was a desire to pass them on exactly as they had been recorded, to pass on this ancient lineage without losing the direct connection to the past. The dances were recorded in detail, but were also taught to the girls of the Espérance Club by men who had been morris dancers with the old Cotswold sides.
Other forms of morris, such as North West and Border were recorded later.
Cotswold dances were originally performed in the local villages. They were static dances. Each village had its own dances and there were distinct 'style' variations between villages. Modern Cotswold sides will often dance in the style of a specific Cotswold village such as Adderbury. Sharp published several books of Cotswold and it's still reasonably easy to find copies today; thus, there is always the original source material to go back to.
Mersey Morris Men
North West was a processional dance and when processions met, sides would often encounter one another. I suspect this introduced a more competitive element to the dances. Certainly, North West dances have a lot of variety and are danced in a very crisp style. Perhaps because of this original variation, there seems to be more modern variation in North West dances and more modern dances being written (some of which have a classic feel, and some others which really don't match my own perception of what North West is). It's hard to find published collections of North West dances. I know, I've tried. Trefor Owen has published ten dances, but there's not much else. North West dances are passed on by sides learning them in workshops from other sides. It's a game of Chinese whispers in which dances change and evolve as they pass down the line. We write new dances because we need more dances (it's dull just dancing a small handful) and there aren't enough dances that we can find proper written records for. (I'm continually amazed by how little morris information is available on the web. One reason why I keep posting stuff is to prevent it getting lost and to hopefully make it easier for other people to find morris related information.)
Saddleworth Morris men.
Carnival Morris (also know as 'fluffy morris') is alive and kicking and totally ignored by all people in the folk community. I've never seen a carnival morris side at a folk festival. It grew out of the North West tradition, but looks more like majorettes or cheerleading and is danced almost exclusively by little girls. It's a good demonstration of just how fast a dance can change in only 70 years.
Hag Fold morris dancers (junior team)
Border morris
There's not a lot of collected material for historical Border morris. See here for a discussion of sources and what original material there is. The records of dances are patchy and not very detailed. Revival sides have started to develop a distinct Border style. It may/may not resemble the original, but it's certainly a valid modern tradition. Generally characterised by blacked faces, tatter jackets, big bold stepping and flowing figures.
Datchet Border Morris
I guess I've really answered my own question. If there's lots of source material, dancers are more likely to use it and stick closer to the original dance (which is not to say that there are no modern dances in the Cotswold style, as there are). The less source material there is, the more likely dancers are to innovate, but that innovation can lead to the development of a consistent modern style (see also my post on Molly dancers). Competition (carnival morris is done for competitions) can also drive innovation. (I may post about rapper and longsword dances on some other occasion - competition is definitely a factor in rapper evolution)
Last, but never least. In all it's forms, Morris is an old dance that moves forward with the times and evolves to meet circumstances. It's colourful, entertaining and a great way to get out and meet people. If you belong to any groups that would like to learn morris, I'd be happy to help out.
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Anyway, be sure that if I lived in England, I would probably one of your keen students:-)
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I've never seen a useful book that covers the traditions and history in brief.
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My main exposure to Morriseses is in Pratchett, so I'm compelled to ask about the Stick and Bucket Dance :P
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Broom dances are very competitive. They essentially consist of one guy doing a figure, then challenging his mates to copy it.
It's ceilidh.