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North West and Carnival Morris
There was quite a bit of interest in my previous post on Carnival Morris, so I'll try and show the evolution.
Here, one of my favourite pieces of morris insanity is the Saddleworth Rushcart procession:
Now, the Rushcart procession often used to be accompanied by morris dancers dancing as part of the procession. Why aren't they dancing with it now? Well, as you can see, they're all pulling the rushcart!
This is an old photo of Whitworth Rushcart procession. You can see the Coconut dancers in the foreground (Coconut dancing is an almost extinct offshoot of North West morris) and the morris men along the side processing down the road with their garlands.
Especially in the North West, which was really into carnivals and processions (home of many marching brass bands as well), the dance style evolved to work well with processions. This means a focus on formation moves (rather than complex footwork), choruses that move you forwards, and moves that work well with music with a steady rhythm and a steady drum beat. You're moving at a steady pace, and there may be other bands in addition to your own, so you can't afford to be dependent on music with complex tunes. A lot of North West dances have a chorus that is either forward/backward when static, or forward/forward when moving in a procession.
It's likely that somewhere around a third of traditional NW sides danced in clogs. It used to be believed that this was because a lot of mill workers wore clogs (which is true), but people often wore their best clothes for dancing. My personal belief is because of the sound. Listen to an NW side dancing on cobble stones or tarmac or any hard surface. They provide their own percussion, and it keeps the dancers in sync. You can tell instantly if anyone is off the beat.
See this video and scroll to 3 mins, to see Customs and Exiles. You'll see exactly what I mean about clogs being useful in a processional environment.
See Mendip Morris Men below for an example of a North West morris processional dance. (In all honesty, they're not terribly good, but it does show you the general idea.) They're using 'slings' in their hands. North West morris usually used slings or short decorated sticks or garlands. The slings may well have had their origin in knotted handkerchiefs. Nowadays, anything that swings well can be used. Often short lengths of decorated rope, or sometimes old mill spindles with rope coming out the end. (You hold the spindles in your hands)
Having said they aren't that good, notice how the footwork suddenly becomes much better as they get closer to the audience. There's no point in exhausting yourself in a long procession in the bits where there's hardly anyone watching.
Here are Earlsdon morris, an excellent men's side from Coventry. They're dancing a modern North West dance that is pretty much in the general style of the tradition. The focus is on formation and crisp polka steps. The short decorated sticks are the norm for North West morris.
So, how's our bastardised offspring looking against the tradition?
I can recognised the stepping. If you allow for the fact that the girls are dancing on their toes, rather than in the flat-footed style demanded by clogs, the main steps are virtually identical. The girls also dance with a higher knee-raise, but I've seen younger NW sides aiming for a much higher knee raise as well. There are similarities in a lot of the arm movements too - though you've obviously got to look at dances with sticks rather than with slings. There is the potential for processions as well, the dance on and off were very well done.
The biggest difference seems to lie in the curiously static nature of the figures. In traditional morris, the moves between figures are much faster and more fluid. In Carnival Morris, the emphasis is far more on the stepping and it takes a long time to move from one figure to another. It's possible that this may relate to the high degree of teamwork and precision in Carnival morris. There's probably a trade-off between speed and precision.
The girls are also able to dance on grass. North West dancers perform on grass with reluctance. It's very easy to skid when doing fast moves in clogs (even when the clogs have rubber on the soles). Other forms of morris are a bit happier on grass, though wet grass is a high risk factor for any dancer of any kind.
If you've read this far, share your thoughts... Questions, disagreements, comparisons with other traditions, all welcome.
Here, one of my favourite pieces of morris insanity is the Saddleworth Rushcart procession:
Now, the Rushcart procession often used to be accompanied by morris dancers dancing as part of the procession. Why aren't they dancing with it now? Well, as you can see, they're all pulling the rushcart!
This is an old photo of Whitworth Rushcart procession. You can see the Coconut dancers in the foreground (Coconut dancing is an almost extinct offshoot of North West morris) and the morris men along the side processing down the road with their garlands.
Especially in the North West, which was really into carnivals and processions (home of many marching brass bands as well), the dance style evolved to work well with processions. This means a focus on formation moves (rather than complex footwork), choruses that move you forwards, and moves that work well with music with a steady rhythm and a steady drum beat. You're moving at a steady pace, and there may be other bands in addition to your own, so you can't afford to be dependent on music with complex tunes. A lot of North West dances have a chorus that is either forward/backward when static, or forward/forward when moving in a procession.
It's likely that somewhere around a third of traditional NW sides danced in clogs. It used to be believed that this was because a lot of mill workers wore clogs (which is true), but people often wore their best clothes for dancing. My personal belief is because of the sound. Listen to an NW side dancing on cobble stones or tarmac or any hard surface. They provide their own percussion, and it keeps the dancers in sync. You can tell instantly if anyone is off the beat.
See this video and scroll to 3 mins, to see Customs and Exiles. You'll see exactly what I mean about clogs being useful in a processional environment.
See Mendip Morris Men below for an example of a North West morris processional dance. (In all honesty, they're not terribly good, but it does show you the general idea.) They're using 'slings' in their hands. North West morris usually used slings or short decorated sticks or garlands. The slings may well have had their origin in knotted handkerchiefs. Nowadays, anything that swings well can be used. Often short lengths of decorated rope, or sometimes old mill spindles with rope coming out the end. (You hold the spindles in your hands)
Having said they aren't that good, notice how the footwork suddenly becomes much better as they get closer to the audience. There's no point in exhausting yourself in a long procession in the bits where there's hardly anyone watching.
Here are Earlsdon morris, an excellent men's side from Coventry. They're dancing a modern North West dance that is pretty much in the general style of the tradition. The focus is on formation and crisp polka steps. The short decorated sticks are the norm for North West morris.
So, how's our bastardised offspring looking against the tradition?
I can recognised the stepping. If you allow for the fact that the girls are dancing on their toes, rather than in the flat-footed style demanded by clogs, the main steps are virtually identical. The girls also dance with a higher knee-raise, but I've seen younger NW sides aiming for a much higher knee raise as well. There are similarities in a lot of the arm movements too - though you've obviously got to look at dances with sticks rather than with slings. There is the potential for processions as well, the dance on and off were very well done.
The biggest difference seems to lie in the curiously static nature of the figures. In traditional morris, the moves between figures are much faster and more fluid. In Carnival Morris, the emphasis is far more on the stepping and it takes a long time to move from one figure to another. It's possible that this may relate to the high degree of teamwork and precision in Carnival morris. There's probably a trade-off between speed and precision.
The girls are also able to dance on grass. North West dancers perform on grass with reluctance. It's very easy to skid when doing fast moves in clogs (even when the clogs have rubber on the soles). Other forms of morris are a bit happier on grass, though wet grass is a high risk factor for any dancer of any kind.
If you've read this far, share your thoughts... Questions, disagreements, comparisons with other traditions, all welcome.
no subject
I really really like this tradition and the enthusiasts like you who keep it going. And because you all ENJOY it!!!
THank you!
no subject
I really really like this tradition and the enthusiasts like you who keep it going. And because you all ENJOY it!!!
THank you!
no subject
no subject
My main current areas of interest are Border morris and Longsword, but I have a degree of curiosity about Fluffy Morris. If you know a good Fluffy Troupe that dance to mostly trad rather then disco music, I might be able to get them an invitation to a southern Folk Festival where Fluffy morris has never ever been seen. (Might even be able to get them a brass band for the festival procession, though it would need some close co-ordination to agree on music)
no subject
Hi Fluffy troupes used to dance to brass bands up until the 1950s but as these do not play metronomically but have some rubato in their interpretations they became unsuitable for troupes undergoing adudication. It's only possible to judge a troupe's rhythmic stability and conformity if the underlying rhythm is rock-solid. Troupes up until the early 90's would be happy to dance to stuff like the Louis Clark/LPO "Hooked on Classics" tracks but even these had the semblance of a drum-machine as backing to ensure metronomic regularity. Luis Cobos and the LPO "Zarzuela" and other LPs were of a similar, continuous nature but again with background electronic rhythm. Once the requirement for total rhythmic constancy became a significant feature of judging cards the spontaneity of N.W./Fluffy was doomed; dances have to be judgeable and able to be contrasted with others with similarly stable rhythmic characteristic. The high standard achieved by modern Fluffy troupes is largely due to their rarely performing outside, by dancing on flat surfaces and having high quality P.A. equipment delivering their music. Our troupe, Silverdale Sapphires dance in competition from March until early October. Here is a clip of our latest competition performance at Pontin's, Ainsdale on 1st October. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQq4KMwZgaQ
Regards
Ian McKinnon
no subject
I think it may be that heavy involvement in competition and the resulting inability to perform outside that has isolated Fluffy morris so much from the rest of the folk dance world.
It's a shame.
I'm dance organiser for Wimborne Minster Folk Festival, and I'd be more than happy to include a Fluffy troupe, but all our performance areas are oudoors.
A dance that was heavily processional in its origins has lost that element. ('Folkie' North West sides always have at least one processional dance in their repertoire, as they're often called for at festivals.)
no subject
P.S. Here is a picture of an 'embryonic' Fluffy troupe - trained by one of Godley Hill mens' team, from the 1920's. Hard to make out whether they are slings or shakers but they were regarded by their peers and the other teams as a 'new-fangled Carnival team." https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150960588938085&set=t.673803084&type=3&theater
Regards
Ian McKinnon
On 9 October 2016 at 16:48, Ian McKinnon ian.bigmac.mckinnon@gmail.com wrote:
no subject
Mind you, terminology varies a lot.
I have a box of NW morris stick behind me that don't look much different to those. My ribbons are shorter, but that's because they were produced on the cheap for a workshop I taught several years ago.
Slings (being flexible and bendy in my book) couldn't be held crossed like that.
no subject
HI Try this link. YT is - like FB (and Trainers and Dancers and Adjudicators!) occasionally cantankerous. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQq4KMwZgaQ
Shakers were humungous in the 50's through to the 70's and made of crepe paper bound either to a dowel stick or with parcel tape. In fine weather they were, er, 'fine' ...when it rained they were often ruined Then some bright spark thought of using plastic carrier bag material and for the last 30 years this has been the dominant type. The Dutch produce metallic material in various colours (at large prices) and we imported the material for our last set of shakers (on the video) and a lady in Swansea made them for us - 14 pairs + Leader + Mascot - for £200. Let me know if the video works this time.
Cheers
Regards
Ian McKinnon
no subject
It is posted private or public? Not sure if that might cause the error.
I can see how carrier bag material would work really well (apart from the wretched biodegradable ones - which aren't even very environmentally friendly as they have a larger carbon footprint)
The wavers I see are always done with ribbon, but they only have a few bits of ribbon on each end, so that keeps the cost pretty low - and we generally include a few bells along with the ribbons.
no subject
Hi You need to be using the one I inboxed you on FB. The one above is incomplete.
Cheers!
Regards
Ian McKinnon
no subject
Hi Another thought. Platt Bridge Antoinettes senior troupe (Wigan) performed at Dancing England (Derby Assembly Rooms) in 1983 and again at Daughter of Dancing England in 1993. They've been invited again to dance at Dancing England in Sheffield in January. Both times they've danced they got rapturous receptions - Silurian Border and Seven Champions thought they were ace and so did Eynsham Morris who danced at the 1993 event. We were asked to perform at Sidmouth in the late 90's but the logistics and cost of getting young kids and young women to a prestigious event like that were beyond us and we had to decline. We *can *and *have *danced outside (all last year, on grass, in fact) but insurance problems for troupes and danger of twisted ankles or worse have largely forced us inside - to various 'vanilla sport centres and schools. The conditions are good. But no-one sees us apart from the other troupes.
Cheers!
Regards
Ian McKinnon
no subject
I can see the problems of getting to Sidmouth. It's not just distance, it's also accommodation.
I find I have to limit the number of youth sides I invite to Wimborne to the number of local scout huts. Scout huts make it more affordable for children's groups and make it a lot easier to keep them safe and supervised.
What sort of insurance issues do you face? (I understand the twisted ankle issue - my morris side will dance on grass, but we have a clause in our terms and conditions that says we will not perform for safety reasons if the grass is wet.)
I was wondering if the JMO (joint morris organisation) policy would be useful to you, but I've just checked and it excludes children under 16. (It has very good public liability cover, and optional personal accident cover)