Great Western Morris. Morris / folk dance and music (traditional and contemporary) in Exeter, Devon and the South West.

Great Western are based in Exeter, England. The side started up in the late 1960's, when Morris dancing was going through one of its revivals. Morris has been around for a long time. A very long time Something with the same name is referred to in some incredibly old sources, but we doubt if it looked much like the Morris you see danced today. Get 100 morris dancers together in the same room (heaven forbid) and you'll get 100 opinions about it, and they may all be wrong. Some people think there are links to dances performed by the medieval Spanish moors ("moorish dancing"). Something very similar is still danced in the Basque Country. The word 'Moorish' was once used to describe anything strange and unusual - a bit like 'Bohemian' in more recent times. What's clear to us is that all the stuff about fertility and crops is complete nonsense. You might as well believe in fairies and Camelot. What's clear are the strong historical links with fun, beer and collecting money - morris dancing was an important source of income in hard agricultural times. A good place to look for a truly knowledgable account of all this is Roy Dommett's account, here.

Morris developed and evolved over the years into the various forms and styles you can see today. Henry VIII was an enthusiastic dancer. An associate of William Shakespeare Morris danced from London to Norwich; a long distance record which still stands. But by the end of the 19th century Morris dancing was in danger of fading away as England consolidated its urban industrial economy. Whole teams were killed together in the first world war. Things were getting critical! Cecil Sharp and his colleagues did their best to write down what they could find, and what you see today is largely inspired by their turn of the century work. As a result, most teams dress in a sort of pastiche of 19th century agricultural labourer's clothing and commonly dance to Victorian tunes, with some more ancient ones thrown in.

Most of our dancing is based on styles Sharp collected from two villages in the Cotswold Hills of the Southern English Midlands; Leafield (better known amongst Morris Dancers as "Fieldtown") and Bampton, with one dance from Eynesham. "Cotswold" Morris is the style associated with large "wavers" (handkerchiefs), shin bellpads and long sticks. We also perform Border Morris, normally at Christmas; a style danced with disguised faces from the Welsh/English Marches. Great Western likes to put on a good show of "Performance Morris"; dancing with character, audience contact, and a high entertainment value. We try not take it too seriously, but work hard to entertain. Come and see us.

New dancers and musicians are always very welcome.
Practice starts in October, with dancing out the following April or May.
We meet in Bowhill School, Buddle Lane, Exeter on Mondays, from 8-10 pm.

For more information, contact Great Western