What do Morris dancers wear?
From Moorish, we get Morris. It is an outdoor dance performed by men wearing costumes consisting of white shirt and trousers, and a hat adorned with flowers and ribbon. Garters are worn around the legs and these have bells attached.
What do Morris dancers wear around their legs?
Many morris teams wore breeches but these were supplanted by trousers as the nineteenth century progressed. The bell pads are bright red braid, in four vertical strips with long horizontal strips top and bottom to join the vertical strips and act as leg ties.
Why do Morris dancers wear bells?
It fitted in, for example, because some dancers blacked up their faces and attached bells to their legs, which was believed to be something to do with North Africa. By the early 16th century morris dancing had become a fixture of Church festivals.
Why are Morris dancers so called?
The word Morris apparently derived from “morisco,” meaning “Moorish.” Cecil Sharp, whose collecting of Morris dances preserved many from extinction, suggested that it might have arisen from the dancers’ blacking their faces as part of the necessary ritual disguise.
What are female Morris dancers called?
carnival
Girls’ morris dancing—sometimes called ‘carnival’ or ‘fluffy’ morris—is a highly competitive team formation dance, performed in the Northwest of England and parts of North Wales. Its main participants are primary- and secondary-school-aged girls and young women .
Is morris dancing English?
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.
Do morris dancers wear clogs?
Historically, most sides danced in various styles of shoes or boots, although dancing in clogs was also very common. Modern revivalist sides have tended more towards the wearing of clogs. The dances were often associated with rushcarts at the local wakes or holidays, and many teams rehearsed only for these occasions.
Where is the home of morris dancing?
Our style of dancing originated in the cotton mill towns and pit villages of the North West of England, where clogs were the usual type of working footwear and where the Morris tradition was performed by men, women and children.
How do you dance Morris?
58 second suggested clip0:536:26How to perform a Victorian-style Morris Dance – with the – YouTubeYouTube