Bill N Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I just heard an excellent interview of the Squire of the Morris Ring. In a nutshell, he was talking about the difficulty of attracting younger male dancers, and the fear that Morris will die out in a decade or two. He made the interesting point that today's Morris has changed very little since the tunes, costume traditions and dances were collected at the turn of the last century, whereas historically it had evolved and changed to fit the mores and popular music of the times. Concertina connection? He suggested that Morris might be danced to contemporary popular music. To illustrate his point, he directed listeners to view a Youtube video of his side dancing (sorry, I didn't catch the name of the side) which had been overdubbed with Aqua's "Candy Man". Don't think I can play that one! OK, I'll run for cover now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Hi Bill I hope it's not a preview of things that I'll live to see. Het Utrechts Morris Team Happy Together http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ZpxEMW-Es&...re=channel_page Rapper Sword Dance (Candy Man) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2jWbSaweYxA&...re=channel_page Rapper Dance set to The Rhythm of the Night http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=g38gTLde0pA&...re=channel_page And the rest: http://uk.youtube.com/profile?user=Cropred...amp;view=videos Not for me. Thanks Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I just heard an excellent interview of the Squire of the Morris Ring. In a nutshell, he was talking about the difficulty of attracting younger male dancers, and the fear that Morris will die out in a decade or two. He made the interesting point that today's Morris has changed very little since the tunes, costume traditions and dances were collected at the turn of the last century, whereas historically it had evolved and changed to fit the mores and popular music of the times. Concertina connection? He suggested that Morris might be danced to contemporary popular music. To illustrate his point, he directed listeners to view a Youtube video of his side dancing (sorry, I didn't catch the name of the side) which had been overdubbed with Aqua's "Candy Man". Don't think I can play that one! OK, I'll run for cover now! Well, I'm not from the morris tradition, but I do know that in the 19th century the morris was heavily influenced by the minstrels craze, which was the hip hop of the day. Loud, indecently rhythmic, garish costumes, blackface....the minstrels were on the edge, and extremely popular across Britain and the US. Morris folks knew a bit about street dancing and garish costumes too, so the two were meant for each other. So, the morrisers picked up new minstrel-written tunes like "Getting Upstairs" "Bobbing Around" and even "Buffalo Gals" and made them their own, and added a little blackface (you didn't really believe that was medieval "Moorish" influence, did you? ). Picking new stuff was always what they were about, which is why they adopted German and then Anglo concertinas from early times, and ditched their geezer parents' pipe and tabor. So...what about them picking up some hip-hop and rapping now? Wouldn't be so bad, and the dancing might be even more interesting, although it might be bad for the concertina player....just naked rhythm. Now the melodeons....maybe they could fill them with beans and make rattles out of them! I'll run for cover, too....just kidding!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 This "story" has been making the rounds over here as well. Read all about it in The Daily Mail online. Morris dancing to become extinct 'because young people are too embarrassed to take part' As for the youtube remixes, I like this one quite a bit. Rumworth Morris - Tribal Dance - 2 Unlimited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 A lot of talk about this on BBC 6 Music as well. If, as they say, they are failing to attract young dancers, then a few rogue sides dancing to contemporary sounds would not be a bad thing. At least it would get new people dancing, get other people watching, and get the ball rolling again. It doesn't mean that all the sides have to do it - after all, there are still plenty of string quartets playing Mozart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 A lot of talk about this on BBC 6 Music as well. If, as they say, they are failing to attract young dancers, then a few rogue sides dancing to contemporary sounds would not be a bad thing. At least it would get new people dancing, get other people watching, and get the ball rolling again. It doesn't mean that all the sides have to do it - after all, there are still plenty of string quartets playing Mozart. The fact that Morris dancing is a minority interest is surely all part of it's charm. Meddle with tradition at your peril ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 (edited) I just heard an excellent interview of the Squire of the Morris Ring. In a nutshell, he was talking about the difficulty of attracting younger male dancers, and the fear that Morris will die out in a decade or two. He made the interesting point that today's Morris has changed very little since the tunes, costume traditions and dances were collected at the turn of the last century, whereas historically it had evolved and changed to fit the mores and popular music of the times. Concertina connection? He suggested that Morris might be danced to contemporary popular music. To illustrate his point, he directed listeners to view a Youtube video of his side dancing (sorry, I didn't catch the name of the side) which had been overdubbed with Aqua's "Candy Man". Don't think I can play that one! OK, I'll run for cover now! Well, I'm not from the morris tradition, but I do know that in the 19th century the morris was heavily influenced by the minstrels craze, which was the hip hop of the day. Loud, indecently rhythmic, garish costumes, blackface....the minstrels were on the edge, and extremely popular across Britain and the US. Morris folks knew a bit about street dancing and garish costumes too, so the two were meant for each other. So, the morrisers picked up new minstrel-written tunes like "Getting Upstairs" "Bobbing Around" and even "Buffalo Gals" and made them their own, and added a little blackface (you didn't really believe that was medieval "Moorish" influence, did you? ). Picking new stuff was always what they were about, which is why they adopted German and then Anglo concertinas from early times, and ditched their geezer parents' pipe and tabor. So...what about them picking up some hip-hop and rapping now? Wouldn't be so bad, and the dancing might be even more interesting, although it might be bad for the concertina player....just naked rhythm. Now the melodeons....maybe they could fill them with beans and make rattles out of them! rapping rappers. lol! Edited January 7, 2009 by LDT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDNICKILBY Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Perhaps the Morris Ring should be taking a bit more interest in the likes of The Demon Barbers,now this really is Morris with ATTITUDE. Vibrant energetic and downright sexy and raunchy.Sides such as Leicester Morris are really great sides we went to see them on Boxing Day and there about 200 or so watchers and they raised over £400 for their charities. Keep up the good work chaps and keep on raising the profile Charlie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjcjones Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 It seems an odd comment - Morris in the last 30 years or so has completely reinvented itself, with women dancers, mixed sides, more adventurous costumes and music. Not all of it is to my taste, but to suggest that morris hasn't developed or that young people aren't getting involved seems out of touch. Border Morris and Molly are both fairly recent revivals. Of course, the Morris Ring is for men-only sides (they won't even allow women musicians) so most of these developments are taking place outside the Ring. Even so, they surely can't be unaware of them. I thought the Ring's press release was unnecessarily negative, they could have given the same message without providing ammunition for those in the media to take the mickey. However, some of the press coverage has been surprisingly positive, although there have also been articles like this one in The Times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 The fact that Morris dancing is a minority interest is surely all part of it's charm. Meddle with tradition at your peril ! ...but if you don't meddle with it, it just turns into a museum piece. Which is OK if new dancers like the museum. But if new dancers don't join in, it dies. And let's face it - how much of what we currently call "the tradition" is actually that old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I hope it's not a preview of things that I'll live to see. Het Utrechts Morris Team Happy Together http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ZpxEMW-Es&...re=channel_page These lads certainly get around; looks like the Cotswolds, England, although I'm not certain of the village (Chipping Camden?). I last saw this team dancing in the Loire Valley, France, on a tour organised by the Hong Kong Morris Men (Easter 1995). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Rogers Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 and added a little blackface (you didn't really believe that was medieval "Moorish" influence, did you? ). The once-popular "Moorish" and "fertility ritual" explanations for Morris have largely been replaced by the recognition that, whatever its real origins, it was usually a public performance in exchange for beer or money that on occasions became little more than Demanding Money With Menaces. If you're going to go about doing something illegal, a bit of disguise doesn't go amiss - blacking the face is one of the cheapest, easiest and most effective disguises available (there was even a 1723 Act of Parliament forbidding it in certain contexts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Act) and was certainly used by Morris dancers well before the minstrel craze swept the country. I don't think Morris is in any danger of dying out at all - in fact, it would probably be good for the average standard of performance if some of the sides made up largely of 60-70 year olds did decide to hang up their bells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter Laban Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 More of the same here from the Guardian the past week: The Morris is a mate of minethe rumours state it's in decline! My answer is a little dull, it's not decline – it's just a lull: like concertinas squeeze to shut until the arms unbend, like deckchairs go back in the hut at every summer's end. But, out again that seating comes, like dentures in and out of gums. The Guardian 1 The Guardian 2 The Guardian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 well they revived interest in ballroom with strictly come dancing...maybe they should do a strictly come morris dancing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Collicutt Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I hope it's not a preview of things that I'll live to see. Het Utrechts Morris Team Happy Together http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ZpxEMW-Es&...re=channel_page These lads certainly get around; looks like the Cotswolds, England, although I'm not certain of the village (Chipping Camden?). I last saw this team dancing in the Loire Valley, France, on a tour organised by the Hong Kong Morris Men (Easter 1995). Probably Broardway, not Campden. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 well they revived interest in ballroom with strictly come dancing...maybe they should do a strictly come morris dancing? That's given me the best laugh I've had this week. But it is actually not such a bad idea... or am I going daft as I age? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 well they revived interest in ballroom with strictly come dancing...maybe they should do a strictly come morris dancing? That's given me the best laugh I've had this week. But it is actually not such a bad idea... or am I going daft as I age? Ian What celebrities would you choose to be on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 well they revived interest in ballroom with strictly come dancing...maybe they should do a strictly come morris dancing? That's given me the best laugh I've had this week. But it is actually not such a bad idea... or am I going daft as I age? Ian What celebrities would you choose to be on it? Well, Frank Bruno has danced with North Wood Morris Men, and Rolf Harris is an honorary member (he appears in their very first photo as a "twin" to the then musician Pete Twitchett). Sadly one member died just a couple of days after meeting Anthea Turner at the launch of the UK's National Lottery in 1995, but I don't believe the two events were related. So; there's three who have some idea of what it's all about. Maybe, with the passage of time, these three should be adjudicators ...... you know what I mean, Harry! (By the way, Harry Carpenter went to the same school as me!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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