Morris Dancing FAQs [Dance Notes]

A Handbook of Morris Dances (aka 'The Black Book'): by Lionel Bacon
The Morris Ring, 1974; Originally published by the Morris Ring in 1974 from teaching notes first prepared in 1951, it is a distillation of materials drawn from a number of sources including The Morris Book, articles published in the English Folk Dance and Song Society Journal, Roy Dommett's note, and numerous unpublished manuscripts. Recently revised so as to integrate supplemental materials with main text.; • Available: <http://www.themorrisring.org/Shop.htm>; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2006-03-23

abc Library of Morris Tunes: This is a library of morris tunes as used by dances in the traditions of a number of different English villages. It includes just about everything for Adderbury and much of Bledington and portions of the repertoire for other traditions. These are the principal traditions danced by Steve's team, Seabright. The remaining selection of tunes is inspired by the favorite dances of other teams in the SF Bay area, the West Coast, Minnesota, Virginia.; Steve has also experimented in embedding dance notation in abc tune files. His "Morris Dance Notation Using abc" page is an experiment in using abc to "typeset" a morris dance by generating a gif notation from the abc. Note that Steve is no longer supporting this page and has relegated it to the "music.old" virtual dustbin.; • Homepage: <http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/morris/music/>; • Dance Notation: <http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/morris/music.old/wwwdance.html>; • Maintainer: Steve Allen <sla@ucolick.org>; • Categories: Dance Notes : Music Sources

FAQ Entry Updated: 2003-08-27

Adderbury Tradition: by Tim Radford
Morris Federation, 1989
ISBN 0-948383-05-4; Published as part of the Cotswold Morris Dancing Workshop Series, it draws on material drawn from Janet Heatley Blunt and Cecil Sharp manuscripts, The Morris Book II, and Roy Dommett's notes.; • Available: <http://www.morrisfed.org/mf/shopuk.html>; • Available: <http://www.morrisbells.com/morrisbells/bookorder.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Andy Anderson's Border Morris Notes: Andy Anderson has generously posted the notes from a series of border morris and stave dancing workshops that he has conducted. With Red Stags, he is best known for composing new border dances, but he is also a border morris historian with 25 years of experience.; • Red Stags Dances: <http://www.pd49.dial.pipex.com/morris/choreog/toplevel.shtml>; • Brochure: <http://www.pd49.dial.pipex.com/morris/bordern/bordern.htm>; • Workshop Notes: <http://www.pd49.dial.pipex.com/morris/workshop.html>; • Maintainer: Andy Anderson <pd49@dial.pipex.com>; • Categories: Dance Notes : History

FAQ Entry Updated: 2003-03-09

Cotswold Morris Dancing Cheat Sheet: Duramecho (?) has put together a handy cheat sheet with summaries of the moves of quite a few popular Cotswold Morris dances. He has another page with more detailed notes describing common figures of each tradition covered along with notes for specific dances. These are quite well done actually.; • Cheat Sheet: <http://Duramecho.com/Dance/CotswoldCheatSheet/index.html>; • Detailed Notes: <http://Duramecho.com/Dance/CotswoldNotes/index.html>; • Maintainer: Duramecho <info@duramecho.com>; • Categories: Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2002-12-04

Esperance Morris Book: a manual of morris dances, folk-songs and singing games.: by Mary Neal
3d. ed., London, J. Curwen, 1910-1912.
2 v., Curwen's edition, 5694.

One of the earliest published collections of morris dances, it gathers materials used by Mary Neal in her school in London. Long out of print. Copies appear occasionally on Ebay, especially Part 1.; • Categories: Books : Collectibles : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Gog Magog Molly Dances Notation: Gog Magog is a molly team from Cambridge. They maintain a set of dance notes for traditional dances that were recorded by Cyril Papworth.; • Dance Notation: <http://swaine.me.uk/molly/>; • Repertoire and Tunes: <http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/molly/dances.htm>; • Maintainer: Andrew Swaine <andrew-webmaster@swaine.me.uk>; • Categories: Dance Notes : Molly : Music Sources

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Hook Eagle Dance Notes: The Hook Eagle "Hook Book" contains notations for dances as performed by the Hook Eagle Morris Men. These were written as notes for their own use and reflect their own modifications to traditional dances. This version of the Hook Book contains what might be called 'public domain' dances - those based on the original 10 or so 'traditional' dances and others that have been taught at workshops.; • Dance Notes: <http://www.mikelanng.com/HEMM/dancenot.htm>; • Maintainer: Mike Lanng <mike@lanng.demon.co.uk>; • Categories: Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2003-09-03

How to dance the revived ancient dances: By Ardern Holt.
London, H. Cox, 1907.; This book is reproduced as part of the Library of Congress's "American Memory Project" collection of dance instruction manuals. It is interesting because it has a section on "Morris Dancing". The notes on the LOC website have this to say about the book: "Holt begins his discussion with a history of "chorography" and the work of famed eighteenth-century dancing masters and choreographers... Holt's interpretations bear no resemblance to the originals; however, they do clearly illuminate the romanticized aura that began to surround such dances as the minuet during the nineteenth century."; • Homepage: <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/musdibib:@field(NUMBER+@band(musdi+200))>; • Dance Notes: <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/musdi:@field(DOCID+@lit(M20038))#2000121>; • Categories: Dance Notes : History

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-11-22

John Kirkpatrick's Morris Dancing: A series of articles that appeared in English Dance & Song and the American Morris Newsletter on border morris in general and his interpretation, through performance with his team, Shropshire Bedlams, in particular. No dance notation but well written and providing good background information even if you disagree with his conclusions.; • Homepage: <http://www.johnkirkpatrick.co.uk/morris.htm>; • Maintainer: John Kirkpatrick [Contact Form]; • Categories: Dance Notes : History

FAQ Entry Updated: 2002-12-08

Lexington-in-the-Bluegrass: These are the dances in the Lexington-in-the-Bluegrass morris tradition. This tradition was initially designed in 2003 and 2004 in Lexington, Kentucky, to be danced by the Squash Beetle Morris Dancers.; • Homepage: <http://www.cs.engr.uky.edu/~klapper/squash/Lexington-in-the-bluegrass.html>; • Maintainer: Andy Klapper; • Categories: Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-11-08

Mike Miller's Border Morris Notes: Mike Miller is the border fore for the Bassett Street Hounds. He has done quite a few workshops teaching these dances and provides these notes for people who would like to reconstruct them.; • Dance Notes: <http://web.lemoyne.edu/~millermj/border/>; • Introduction to Border Morris: <http://web.lemoyne.edu/~millermj/border/introduction.html>; • Maintainer: Mike Miller <millermj@mail.lemoyne.edu>; • Categories: Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2002-11-13

Molly Dances Performed by Vancouver Morris Men: Concise dance notes of Molly dances performed by the Vancouver Morris Men during their celebration of Plough Monday. Includes a short bibliography to key manuscript and published reference materials. Links to photos from past performances.; • Molly Dance page: <http://www.vancouvermorrismen.org/molly.html>; • Dance notation (PDF): <http://www.vancouvermorrismen.org/Molly_Dances.pdf>; • Maintainer: Graham Baldwin <grahamb@vancouvermorrismen.org>; • Categories: Bibliographies : Dance Notes : Molly

FAQ Entry Updated: 2006-03-24

Morris Jigs From Bledington, Headington, Longborough and Bucknell: by Bert Cleaver
Morris Ring, 1986; Written in response to very popular jig workshops hosted by the Greensleeves Morris Men. Dances with tunes.; • Available: <http://www.themorrisring.org/Shop.htm>; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2006-03-23

Morris Ring Archive: The Morris Ring Archive represents the largest collection of morris/sword related material available to researchers anywhere in the world. The Archive Web Site contains bibliographic information covering sources which refer to morris and sword dance and related topics and also seeks to provide transcripts of sources which are not readily available. The latter cover both published works and manuscript material. A cross section of information is currently available and new material is added on a regular basis.; • Ring Archive: <http://www.ringarchive.co.uk/>; • Mumming Archive: <http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/walk/ykp55/mumming/>; • Dance Notes: <http://www.chrismetherell.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Traditions/trad1.htm>; • Maintainer: Chris Metherell <Chris@Metherell.org.uk>; • Categories: Archives/Libraries : Dance Notes : Mumming/Ritual Drama : Organizations

FAQ Entry Updated: 2002-11-15

Playing Morris Music: Jeff Bigler has provided notes from a morris musician's workshop that he gave at the 2003 NEFFA (New England Folk Festival Association) Festival.; • Notes (PDF): <http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/morris/music-workshop.pdf>; • Maintainer: Jeff Bigler [Contact Form]; • Categories: Dance Notes : Instruments

FAQ Entry Updated: 2003-06-13

Rapper Online: The rapper sword dance is traditional to Northumberland and County Durham in England and is thought to have been performed by miners in the pit villages of Tyneside. It is peformed at speed by a team of five people continuously linked by flexible swords called rappers, which are weaved in and out of figures for display. The website includes dance notations (and links to more), a bibliography, notes on origin and history of the dance, and links to teams on the web.; • Homepage: <http://www.rapper.org.uk/>; • Dance Notation: <http://www.rapper.org.uk/notations/>; • Bibliography: <http://www.rapper.org.uk/bibliography.html>; • Maintainer: John Asher <john.asher@btinternet.com>; • Categories: Bibliographies : Dance Notes : History : Sword Dancing

FAQ Entry Updated: 2003-05-29

Roy Dommett's Morris Notes: Roy has passed some of his notes of Cotswold and Border traditions onto Nigel to make them available to a wider audience than has been possible so far. He has never sought to publicly publish in the past. Many of the notes have been published for workshops or lectures which Roy has given or attended. Also included are the text of some of Roy's lectures.; • Notes: <http://www.opread.force9.co.uk/RoyDommet/>; • Maintainer: Nigel Sparkes <nigel@bigfoot.com>; • Categories: Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2002-11-13

Roy Dommett's Morris Notes: by Roy Dommett, edited by Anthony Barrand
Country Dance and Song Society, 1986; Published in five parts:
Part 1, Cotswold or Wychwood Morris [686 pages]
Part 2, Northwest Morris [135 pages]
Part 3, Garland Dances [80 pages]
Part 4, Sword Dances [44 pages]
Part 5, Other Morris [183 pages]; Notes by the foremost modern collector and authority of the morris "revival", edited by Tony Barrand.; The CDSS withdrew this series after controversy arose over the inclusion of the Abingdon dances in the published notes. At present, the only part of his notes that are available, other than the time-honored practice of circulating multiple-generation degraded photocopies is a partial repository of the notes maintained by Nigel Sparkes on his website. Discussion on the MDDL indicates that the Morris Federation is looking into producing a digital version of some sort.; • Web Version: <http://www.opread.force9.co.uk/RoyDommet/>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Sherborne Dances and Jigs: by Bert Cleaver
Morris Ring, 1983; Description of 13 dances as interpreted and performed by the Greensleeves Morris Men. Dances with tunes.; • Available: <http://www.themorrisring.org/Shop.htm>; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2006-03-23

Sword Dances of Northern England: by Cecil Sharp
Parts I, II, III
EP Publishing Ltd., 1977; Notation of nine longsword and shortsword (rapper) dances as well as the Abbots Bromley horn dance. Now out of print; the Morris Ring has considered reprinting it, but situation in less clear now that Allsop's work is now available. Contact Eddie Dunmore, Ring Publications Officer for more information.; Some of the Sharp's collected dances are notated on the Rapper Online website.; • Online notation: <http://www.rapper.org.uk/notations/>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes : Sword Dancing

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Sword Dancing in Europe: A History: by Stephen D. Corrsin
Enfield Lock, Hisarlik Press, 1997
ISBN 1-874312-25-7

Widely distributed from the mid fifteenth century on, sword dancing has been popular at different times in towns and villages in many parts of Europe. This meticulous study surveys the history of European styles of linked sword dancing based on the evidence of primary sources in ten or more languages. This breadth of reference makes it essential reading for students of the history of European dance, popular performance and festival customs, as well as for those interested in sword dancing itself. With photographs.; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Available: <http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ISBN=1874312257>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes : History : Sword Dancing

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

The Morris Book (1907 edition): Cecil Sharp and Herbert MacIlwaine
In Two Parts. Part I.
London: Novello and Company, Ltd., 1907
[e-text: Project Gutenberg, 2004]; Many morris dancers are familiar with the 1912 edition, but most will never have seen the original 1907 edition, which was released on Project Gutenberg in 2004. There are some significant and very interesting differences, especially at the beginning of the text. Sharp and MacIlwaine describes these in the 1912 Introduction, for example the exclusion of some Bidford dances. A historically interesting difference is on the front page, where the dedication is: TO OUR FRIENDS AND PUPILS, The Members of the Esperance Girls' Club, CUMBERLAND MARKET, N.W. [Abstract exerpted from John Maher.]; • Full-text available: <http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/12926>; • Paginated full-text: <http://www.tomkeays.com/morris/text/12926-h/12926-h.htm>; • Maintainer: Tom Keays [Contact Form]; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes : History

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

The Morris Book (1912 edition): Cecil Sharp and Herbert MacIlwaine
The Morris Ring, 1991
ISBN 0-95030203-5; A reprint originally published in five parts:
Part I, first published in 1907, second edition published in 1912,
Part II, first published in 1909, second edition published in 1919,
Part III, first published in 1911, second edition published in 1924,
Part IV, first published in 1911,
Part V, first published in 1913.; A definitive resource for many traditions as collected by Sharp including Headington, Ilmington, Adderbury, Bampton, Castleton garland dance, Longborough, Fieldtown, and more. With tunes and index.; • Available: <http://www.themorrisring.org/Shop.htm>; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes : History

FAQ Entry Updated: 2006-03-23

The Strathspey Server: The Strathspey mailing list is a forum for the discussion of all aspects of Scottish country dancing, e.g., dance descriptions, dancing technique, the history of dances and dancing, learning or teaching how to dance, dance music, descriptions of new dances, announcements of events, etc. There are other community areas including a dance database, event listings, and links to related sites.; • Homepage: <http://www.strathspey.org/>; • Mailing List: <http://www.strathspey.org/archive>; • Dance Database: <http://www.strathspey.org/libDances>; • Maintainer: Anselm Lingnau <anselm@strathspey.org>; • Categories: Dance Notes : Discussion Groups

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-06-03

Welcome In The Spring: Morris and Sword Dances for Children: by Paul Kerlee
World Music Press, 1994
ISBN 0-937203-93-9; Instructions and music for 14 dances, with teaching notes, and glossary of steps. Sold alone or with CD containing music to all the dances.; Contents: The Morris call; The mayer's carol; Peopleton stick dance; North Skelton sword dance; Rigs O'Marlow; Bean setting; Shepherd's hey; Ring-o-bells; Bromsberrow Heath; Constant Billy (Adderbury); Constant Billy (Headington); Lads a-bunchum; Beaux of London City; Jenny Lind; The Boghouse Door; Evesham; The fool's jig.; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes : Sword Dancing

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Welsh Border Dances of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire: by Dave Jones
Publ. by Dave Jones, 1988.; Ten Welsh border morris dances from Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Shropshire. With information on the history, dress, and dance and music forms in this tradition.; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Welsh Border Dances of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, 2nd edition: by Dave Jones
Publ. by Dave Jones, 1995.; A newer edition with music: Ten Welsh border morris dances from Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Shropshire. W/information on the history, dress, and dance and music forms in this tradition.; • Available: <http://www.TheMorrisRing.org/Sales.htm>; • Available: <http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2004-12-07

Welsh Border Morris Dances: Paul Millennas dances with the Clerical Error border team and these are his quirkily presented notes. His introduction says "These pages represent a view of how I have seen these dances performed over the last 20 years. They are intended as a learning tool, an aide memoire, or a second opinion. Where I have seen variations, I have included the better ones. It, therefore, is a homogenised view of what I have witnessed, experienced or taught."; • Homepage: <http://fp.millennas.f9.co.uk/welshbor.htm>; • Traditional Border Morris: <http://www.millennas.force9.co.uk/tborpage.htm>; • Contemporary Border Morris: <http://fp.millennas.f9.co.uk/cborpage.htm>; • Maintainer: Paul Millennas <paul@millennas.f9.co.uk>; • Categories: Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2002-11-13

Wraggle Taggle Gypsies: by Jack Brown
The Morris Ring, 2000; The story and notations of the Lichfield Morris dances including an account how they were collected (a subject of some controversy). Includes reproductions of original manuscript material.; • Available: <http://www.themorrisring.org/Shop.htm>; • Categories: Books : Dance Notes

FAQ Entry Updated: 2006-03-23