What are female morris dancers called?

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.

What is the history behind 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. This was rare in most of the other forms of ritual custom.

What does morris dancing Symbolise?

Morris dancing is a celebration, a display of dance and music performed at seasonal festivals and holidays to banish the dark of winter, celebrate the warmth and fertility of summer, and bring in autumn’s golden harvest.

Is morris dancing a fertility dance?

The exact origin of morris dancing remains shrouded in mystery – the earliest records found date from the rule of Henry VI in the 15th century, however it is believed that the dance predates these written accounts. Some believe it to be a harvest dance, others claim it is a fertility rite.

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.

Who dances around the Maypole?

The British May Day tradition of dancing around a maypole is around 600 years old and the activity often brings communities together. Traditionally the dancers position themselves in pairs of boys and girls before beginning their routine. The dance creates a multi-coloured pattern which creeps steadily down the pole.

Is Maypole dancing banned?

The Protestant Reformation put an abrupt end to the drinking and dancing that accompanied May Day in the Middle Ages. In 1644 maypoles were banned altogether in an Act of Parliament under the 17th century Protectorship of Oliver Cromwell.

Is Maypole dancing Pagan?

Historians believe the first maypole dance originated as part of Germanic pagan fertility rituals. Originally, the dancers danced around a living tree. While dancers usually perform this dance in the spring on May 1 or May Day, those in Sweden perform it during their midsummer celebrations.

Is the maypole Pagan?

Who dances around the maypole?

Is the morris dance a male or female dance?

Morris was historically gendered male (Sharp, 1912: 42) and women’s participation—where it was acknowledged at all—was typically portrayed as a substitution, or borrowing from the men’s dance.

How does a carnival Morris dance troupe work?

Troupes devise and polish a single dance per year; selecting new music and creating costumes, drawing on an active network of trainers and supporters. At the end of the season, a championship event crowns each organisation’s Troupe of the Year. The following week, rehearsals begin again from scratch.

Where does girls Carnival Morris dancing take place?

Girls’ morris dancing—sometimes described as ‘carnival’ or ‘fluffy’ morris, but known simply as ‘morris’ or ‘troupe’ dancing in the communities of which it is a part—is a highly competitive team formation dance from the Northwest of England and parts of North Wales.