Revised Original Border Notes V 2.0

This is a retype of my original dance mss but without the tunes or the abbreviations and made more readable. These notes were made available in the mid 60's before the term "Border Morris" was coined by Dr Cawte, when it still appeared that there were simple dances involving heys which were more widespread than the Cotswold Morris and possibly older in concept. Sharp saw a relationship but also thought its performance style degenerate. Some of my subsequent notes and comments have been added and are distinguished by being like this, in italics. Each of the basic "traditional" dances has inspired numerous interpretations and some are mentioned.

One must not judge all morris by the yardstick of the Cotswold dance which after all is only one flower on the folk tree. Any custom is only as elaborate as is necessary to fill the need which occasions it in its community. The emphases may be different. A simplicity of step may be compensated for by a variety of figure from dance to dance, or by an elaboration of costume, even to the point of fancy dress, or by an increase in the impressiveness of the noise, either by using a band or percussion instruments such as tambourines and bones. This balancing should be borne in mind when presenting "Other Morris" to the morris world or to the public.

The intrusion of country dance elements into the morris outside of the Cotswolds is largely a myth. Molly dancing includes triple minor longways dances as whole sets, and two of the Winster dances are recognisably community dances, but in general the morris lacks the physical contact, the partner response and the figure movements, particularly the progression, of the social dance. It is the experience of most collectors that ordinary people equate morris and country dance music and movements. This and an ignorance of the existing `traditions probably led to this widespread misapprehension.

HEADINGTON QUARRY - Oxfordshire. col. C Sharp and R. Kenworthy Schofield.

Travelling Step - this was a quiet morris step based on 3 running steps and a hop. He used the ordinary hand movements, without handkerchiefs, but rather milder in effort than was usual for Headington Quarry.

Reel Step - it is similar to the stationary "polka" step of Morpeth Rant and similar country dances. On the first beat of a bar the ball (or heel) of the free foot is tapped on the ground in front of the other foot. Schofield remarked that the toe was well turned out as it is tapped. Sharp noted that the legs were well crossed and the toe of the front foot well pointed. In the reel part the arms are `a Kimbo` (but not in the Swedish fashion) with the hands on hips, and the fingers pointing to the front. "For you see you dance with your waist, not anything else".

Reel for Six :- stand with all six facing up. There is no once-to-yourself.

A continuous reel is danced twice through (16 bars), started progressively, the tops casting out and going behind the 2nd couple and between the 3rd. Partners face and "reel-step-with-toes" (8 bars). Partners change places across the set passing by the right, using the same reel step (8 bars). Hey as before, twice through, now on the other side of the set (16 bars). Partners face and reel step with toes again (8 bars). Partners change back as before using the reel-step-with-toes (8 bars)

Repeat all, but using the heel in the reel stepping.

End with a final hey done once through and finish with an "all-up".

Reel for Four :- stand in a line facing up.

When the music starts Nos. 1 and 3 cast to their left and start the hey-for-four by passing Nos. 2 and 4 by the left. Dance two complete heys to get back to places and end with Nos. 1 facing 2, 3 facing 4. (16 bars) Dance reel-step-with-toes on the spot (8 bars), and in the 8th bar Nos. 2 and 3 change places by casting to their right. The next 8 bars start with No. 1 facing No. 3 etc.

The next hey is started by Nos. 1 and 3, 2 and 4 passing by the right. In the next reel-step-with-toes Nos, 2 and 3 again cast to their right in bar 8 to go back to their original places.

Then repeat the heys and the reel but with the reel-step-with-heels. End with single hey and a jump to finish all facing up.

Reel for Three :- stand in a line of three facing up.

A hey for three, No 1 casts to the left and passes No. 2 by the left. No. 1 faces down and No. 3 faces up throughout the reel stepping, while No. 2 first faces No. 1 and then in bar 8 turns to face No. 3.

The second hey starts by No. 2 passing No. 3 by the right.

In the next reel stepping No. 2 faces No. 3 first and then No. 1,

and the next hey starts by Nos. I and 2 passing by the right.

The dance ends with a single hey and finishes with all facing up.

UPTON SNODSBURY - Worcestershire. col. M Karpeles,

This is a three handed reel with heys and stick tapping. They did some kind of stepping throughout the dance. In the stick tapping the middle man tapped alternately with the men on either side of him.

BROMSBERROW HEATH/MITCHELDEAN - Gloucestershire. col. TM.

Sticks : about 30" long and stout.

Called the THREE HANDED REEL as performed by three pairs of dancers.

Stick dance - start in one line of six facing in pairs 1-2, 3-4, 5-6.

All shoulder sticks and walk or "march" a complete reel to the first part of the tune played twice (16 bars). End facing in pairs as at the start.

Then caper vigorously on alternate feet on the spot, clashing the stick tips alternately forehand and backhand on each caper for the second part of the tune played once through only (8 bars).

This sequence is done ad lib with the tempo getting faster at each repeat. The leader called "Off'." for the reel and "Set'." for the clashing.

Stepping Dance - this is as the stick dance in the hey. At Mitcheldean the stepping just replaced the sticking. At Bromsberrow the stepping was done facing the partner for 8 bars and then repeated by the partners with their backs to each other for 8 bars.

STEEPLE CLAYDON - Buckinghamshire. col. C Sharp

Music : Only one tune was played by Inwood - "Old Mother Oxford"

Clapping Dance - start in a line, facing in pairs 1-2, 3- 4, and 5-6.

Dance a straight hey, called a "double", ending up as at the start.

The normal morris step - Inwood danced with great vitality and spring for a man of 77, throwing his leg further and therefore higher than morris men are normally used to doing and keeping them very nearly straight, though his hip joints were wonderfully loose and flexible.

Then they clapped in the usual manner as in "Shepherd's Hey" or "None So Pretty". After the second "double" they ended facing thus, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6, Nos. 1 and 6 now being neutral.

The dance continues ad lib.

Stick Dance - they sometimes used sticks instead of clapping.

Sharp remarked that it was apparently very like the morris at Ludlow and White Ladies Aston. This must be in terms of style, not choreography!

BRIMFIELD - Herefordshire. col. C Sharp and Leather.

Music : they used any polka, but sometimes schottiches played rather slow.

Sticks : short, about 6 to 8'' long x 11/2" diameter.

Start with four men in a line facing in pairs 1-2, 3-4. Nos, 2 and 3 hold their sticks at the bottom in both hands, resting their hands on the midriff. Nos. 1 and 4 strike these thus held sticks from side to side as in single stick in rhythm with the music for 8 bars. This is "napping".

Then Nos. 1 and 4 dance a "figure of 8", not a hey, around Nos. 2 and 3 who remain in their place marking time. No. 1 passes his partner first by the right and then No. 1 passes before No. 4 in going between Nos. 2 and 3. All call "Ho!" before the start of the figure eight and use plain steps or hopsteps. They follow the same path, 180' out of phase.

Instead of the "figure eight" the dancers can,

I suggested the following order of movements :

Nap/figure 8/nap/set/ /nap/figure 8/nap/arm/ /nap/figure 8/nap/swing/ /.

Dr Cawte says that there was as well a four-hands-across, 4 bars each way, and most teams include this movement today. Typically the ends move in and the middles move out sideways to form the star. With more dancers they danced in a longways formation and the leader called the figures.

Not surprisingly there is more than one way to dance a reel or hey for eight.

The interpretation of collected dance material often depends on nuances of the wording on the assumption that the author actually meant it preciselv. The possibilities to be considered are:

UPTON ON SEVERN - col. M Karpeles and R Kenworthy Schofield.

Music : Hornpipes, "Brighton Camp, Yankee Doodle, Keel Row" played in 1925. M. Karpeles chose to publish a Newfoundland jig tune for the dance.

Step : Only Joe Griffen of the side did anything like a systematic footing. He did something approaching a morris step. He held his feet a little distance apart and had his legs very bowed. In the 4/3 step he would swing the free foot across the supporting leg on the 4th.

Partners clash their sticks together at the beginning of each evolution rather than at the end.

Chorus - between each figure dance "Sticks and Dance in Position"

Partners strike sticks from right to left at the beginning of each bar hitting tips and butts alternately for 8 bars, stepping all the time.

Dancers make a quick whole turn left about (anti-clock) then dance in position facing partners without stick tapping.

Some teams vary the stick clashing, standing still and using,

(a) hitting tips to the left and butts to the right in each bar.

(b) holding the sticks at both ends and clashing the middles of the sticks to form crosses,

(c) hitting tips alternately high and low swinging the stick around anticlockwise, like a windmill.

The newer versions also make the sticking and the loop last 4 bars each and repeat it through again for 16 bars in all.

Emily who had danced in the side, insisted that they had danced with eight. It does not present a problem except for THREE TOPS which become FOUR TOPS, where the upper middles dance a reel of four with the top couple and the lower middles dance with the bottom couple.

Shropshire Bedlams dance their version as "Half a Farthing Candle''. A development for eight has been danced as ''Barley Bree'' by the West Somerset Morris Men.

Music : jigs ''Bonnets so Blue" was used in 1925.

Step : a sort of running step except when dancing in position when 4/3, 4/2 or ''change, change" was used indiscriminately.

I recommend hopsteps.

Hands : very indefinate, mostly a swing back and forward with a marked upward flick, but other variants were,

A form of the dance with specific hand movements has now got currency but it owes little to what has been collected. One problem is that it uses hand or arm movements that were not current when the dance was collected!

M Karpeles was not sure if the dance in position should be done only at "corners", or if it should also come before each evolution, as in the stick dance. Without this extra it goes on rather a long time already!

Most sides have found difficulty with the change of orientation in "corners" and there have been many solutions tried. My solution was to combine it with the first of the second set of back-to-backs.

The distinctive THREE TOP movement could be the basis of chorus movements, as half of the evolution could replace a half hey, in a chorus-&-half-hey structure.

EVESHAM - col. by J. Hargreaves.

(I have doubled the length of what is in the MSS )

The dance is too simple and I have not seen it performed outside of a work-shop.

 PERSHORE col. M Karpele.

This is an interesting dance structure, similar to that remembered by villagers at nearby Bidford. It does not match that used by the later team known as the `Pershore Not for Joes, who also had a much larger range of figures.

Fairly obviously other such movements could be included. Informants knew there were other figure; but could not remember them. I added figures between ii) and iii) as a) in fours's, diagonals cross and back, b) half round in fours. The mss says hey not weave. In the repeats one can chose whether the bottom or top pair is always the same people or the same people in that place at the time.

A Mr Jones at Pershore told me that they occasionally danced with handkerchiefs for a change. He showed a dance on the spot movement to replace the napping, hopstep with hands doing circles horizontally at head level, and both arms swing together in the figure.

WHITE LADIES ASTON col .M Karpeles.

The following is an amalgamation of three collected notations although it is likely that those were a danced on different occasions. One may have come from Pershore.

The dance starts with once-to-yourself facing partner. Then it begins with a chorus and alternates the chorus with figure, ending; with a chorus.

Figures : assume 8 dancer's.

There is no need for the dancers to return to their places for the finish.

Some teams dance the processional two at a time, or accumulating, 2, 4, 6 and then all 8, or after their turn the couples nap together till the end of the figure. Some sides feel uncomfortable with the body contact in figures 1, 8 and 9 and avoid them.

They sang carols and did step dances in between dancing.

Missing from the original set of notations was Peopleton, which I was shown

by M Karpeles in her papers when I met her in 1960.

LEOMINSTER / WEOBLEY / DILWYN - Herefordshire.

In the 1920's there was a team of five, two with sticks 16" long, and one each with triangle, tambourine and melodeon. The first four danced, "in a circle they crossed over, bowed, circled and hit sticks"

Martha Rhodens took the idea, did the star for six and added whole rounds for the figures for "Three Jolly Sheepkins" and "Mad Moll of the Cheshire Hunt". Alton and Hook Eagles have a modern fashion of doing the first 8 bars of napping nearly noiseless and then repeat the opposite.

MUCH WENLOCK - Salop. Karpeles col. from Baden Minton 30.3.37

Music "Not for Joe",

Sticks: 14" Long x 4" circumference and undecorated.

The dance came from Homer a mile away in the 1880's. The old team last came out before WWI. Mr. Minton danced with them. He revived the dancing in 1926. The men were all workmen in the limestone quarries where Minton himself used to work. They used to come out first on Xmas Eve and dance from 8pm until midnight, then on Boxing Day, and sometimes every day afterwards until New Year. It was believed that the dance used to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Costume: any fancy dress was worn, such as that of an Italian clown, a King's Jester, or Sambo the Black. Some dancers dressed up as women. Mr. Minton said that he had introduced this feature. All had black faces. There were no bells.

On 30.3.37 Mr Minton with his melodeon and three dancers came to the Raven Hotel, Much Wenlock, and showed Miss Karpeles their dance.

Dr Cawte met George Walters on 29.5.57 who joined the side in 1917 and Nick Rowlands on 29 and 30.5.67 who joined in 1897. The dancers originally wore tags of cloth on their ordinary clothes, later the tags were paper, then the cloth changed to fancy dress and finally the tags were abandoned because boy's used to set them alight. The dancer; blackened their faces and their hands and wore top hats. For part of the dance they used a clumsy single shuffle, as for the rapper dance, but it was still a Cross-over and stick tapping only dance.

There is a photo of the team as "Wenlock tells the World" in the Shrewsbury Chronicle for Friday 5th April 1935. The same men performed in 1949 when some were living at Stretton Westwood, see Geoffrey Menham article "Encounters with the morris dance in Shropshire" in ED&S Dec/Jan 1953/4 p 100.

 The concept of two stick men and two musicians has been developed in the "Circle Dances" of the Paradise Islanders and perhaps influenced one of the stunt dances of Seven Champions. There were always rumours of more Much Wenlock figures and many versions have appeared besides those collected by Dave Jones. Some of the more interesting dances have combined the characteristic stick tapping with the Sheepskin Heys in the same dance.

Drum - Pershore

Triangle - Much Wenlock, Leominster, White Ladies Aston.

Tambourines: Much Wenlock, Leominster, White Ladies Aston. Upton on Severn.

Bones : Much Wenlock.