Kirtlington Morris
We are delighted to have Kirtlington Morris Dancers to start the festivities at the Fete. The Morris are meeting at the Red Lion for refreshment before parading along Main Street at to the village hall in time for the Grand Opening.
Once the opening ceremony is complete the Morris dancers will perform in the village hall grounds. This is an ideal opportunity to experience the traditional dancing that has taken place in the cotswolds since around 1500
Our photo is taken from the Kirtlington Morris own web site
For those of you who may be interested:
Perhaps the best known variety of the Morris comes from the villages on the uplands of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, and which has therefore become known as “Cotswold Morris”. The teams consist of six dancers and a musician, and often a Fool or animal character. There may also be a cake impaled on a sword, together with a “treasury” which will be used to collect donations from the onlookers. Indeed, it is considerded lucky to donate to the morris men, and to receive a small piece of cake in return - on which you must make a wish! There is mistique in the morris.
Each village produced its own steps and dances, and these have become the “traditions”, known by the name of the parent village - Bledington, Bucknell or Badby, for example. There are still traditional teams, but some villages have revival teams continuing the work of the old sides, notably Ilmington, Adderbury, Eynsham, Ducklington and Kirtlington.
The set dances include hankerchief dances, processional dances, stick dances and handclapping dances, there are also jigs for one or two dancers. The men will usually wear a white shirt, white trousers or dark breeches and black shoes. Bells will be worn below the knee, and the club costume will often be a coloured baldrick or a waistcoat.