dances

Brimfield - based on the dance of a 6-man side from Brimfield and collected by Cecil Sharp and Ella Leather at Orleton, Herefordshire on Boxing Day 1909. In 1909 the side was led by a Mr Trill, who told Sharp that he had "learned dancing at Chepstow way but his Morris dancing at Brimfield". They had always danced at Christmas and never missed. People said that there is no Christmas without the Morris.

The collected dance uses a figure called napping - which we opted not to use.

Evesham Stick - from the town of Evesham in East Worcestershire. The dance was collected in May, 1940 and was said to have been performed in the streets prior to Christmas by 10 dancers (men) between 1875 and 1895. The tune was 'Fanny Frail' with song accompaniment in parts. The dance called for a stick in one hand and a hankerchief in the other. As we're not from Evesham, we dropped the hanky from our performance.

Tinners' Rabbit and Haccombe - passed on to us from Grimspound Border, thanks to Martin Gosling. Tinners is named after the three interlocking hares symbol found in several Devon churches as roof bosses and perhaps had some siginificance for the miners who worked tin on Dartmoor or perhaps not.

Mr Dolly - picked up from Baldock Midnight Morris - possibly devised by Andy Anderson of Red Stags.

Not for Joe - like most sides we have a dance to this 19th century music hall tune and song. The collected border dance that uses the tune is called Dilwyn from the said village in Herefordshire.

Old Mill - a dance for 5 originally performed by Bawderin' on Morris (a Devon side from Lapford - now defunct). The dance is named after the old flour mill in the village of Lapford, it is now a private residence.

Upton Snodsbury - a vague description has produced this dance for multiples of three. Not one for a hot summer's day!

Wheal Franco Stamp - dance devised by the side on some figures Mavis loosely remembered from a workshop somewhere. It's the little sister of Mr Dolly.

Drunken Idiot - is this a dance? Or really just 4 very tipsy morris dancers? Dance courtesy of the Bassett Street Hounds from New York.

Goose Fair - put together by Foreman Chris Cunningham in honour of Tavistock's annual fair held on every first Wednesday in October.

Hobos Approval - dance passed on by the influential Dorset ladies side the Hobos.

Lodestone Leominster - it started out as a version of Leominster, and then got changed, and as Mavis said it was no longer the same dance.

Cow Poker Hand - Obtained from a Shropshire Bedlams workshop.