Morris dancers waving goodbye to inequality
EXETER’S Morris dancing team – for more than 60 years a men-only stronghold – has decided to let women loose with the bells and hankies for the first time.
The Exeter Morris Men are shortening their name to Exeter Morris and joining the Morris Ring, a national organisation which insists on equal opportunities, meaning that women will be able to join for the first time since the Morris “side” was founded in 1951.
In a new chapter for them, Exeter Morris says it is pleased to announce that it intends to fully embrace the change to becoming a mixed side – the first in the city – and welcome new dancers and members, both men and women. A spokesman said that while Morris dancing was thought to be predominantly performed by men, nowadays there are as many female Morris dancers as there are male, a trend Exeter Morris aims to encourage.
Autumn means that Morris men (and women) are putting their bells away and hanging up their colourful outfits for the winter and looking ahead to recruit new members for next season. “While there are some British traditions that many would argue we could do without, Morris dancing is a very old tradition that’s full of colour, energy and soul and loved by many,” said the spokesman. “You’ll even find references to Morris dancing in popular culture such as Lego, Marmite, Morph from Aardman Animations and the Express cartoonist Giles.”
John Armstrong, the “Squire” of Exeter Morris, added: “If you live within our catchment area and you’d like to come along and see what Morris Dancing is all about, we would be very happy to see you at our Taster Evenings. We provide the sticks, but you might want to bring your own hankies.”
Exeter Morris dances the traditional Cotswold style of Morris dancing with dancers aged from their 30s upwards.
Members travel from as far as Crediton, Taunton, Honiton and Colyford and come from all walks of life. Exeter Morris is hosting taster evenings at 7.30pm on October 14 and 29 at Ide Memorial Hall.