Attitudes to Morris

Controversy in the Morris? Why yes - how else will we get publicity. After all, "everyone agrees that Morris is fun" isn't exactly a headline grabber. Some of what follows is my own, but as an antidote to my own views on the various topics, I'm trying to post material about both sides of each argument. If you know of material, or have some of your own, which isn't referenced here, let me know and I'll try to add it.

Gender

Most of the sides for which I play and dance are either women's sides or mixed morris. It's fair to say that even today, there's an element of controversy about this. Of the three "umbrella organisations" within the UK, the oldest is the Morris Ring, which has a strict "men-only" policy for sides which are full members. Because of that policy, the body which is now the "Morris Federation" was formed, originally as the "Women's Morris Federation" and originally admitting only women's sides. The youngest of the three organisations, "Open Morris" has always had a policy of admitting anyone who wants to dance.

My personal experience of the three organisations is that each is the product of its time. The Morris Ring is formulated very much along the lines of a gentlemen's club and Ring Ales tend to be fairly formal, proceeding along traditional lines. Morris Federation events are normally less formal, and Open Morris less formal still.

There are good and bad sides in all three organisations, and the three bodies all encourage groups to dance to the best of their ability.

Although there are individuals and sides who hold staunch pro- or anti- women, or pro- or anti- "Ring" views, on the whole the three organisations get along well together, exchanging observers at meetings and collaborating on certain working groups and for certain events. Unfortunately, this doesn't make for good news-copy and the press tend to concentrate on the more extreme viewpoints.

As I've indicated, there is a body of thought in the UK which suggests that the Morris should be a male-only dance. I don't agree with that view, but it would be churlish not to recognise it. One of the best laid-out sites I've found which puts that side of the argument, is Gnasher's Morris Page, which is run by Chris Clarke. If you visit it, why not drop me a line to tell me what you think.

Other viewpoints have been equally strongly expressed, and I hope to be able to post some of those views here shortly. Help me by encouraging people you know to respond to my emails asking for clearance.

My own view on the matter oviously differs substantially from Chris's. There are references to women dancing the morris, even if they are few and far between. Chris is good enough to list some of them, even if he does approach them from the position of "why they are insignificant". The paucity of information may indeed mean that women seldom danced, or it may simply mean that they were better behaved and did not appear in court at quarter-sessions so often. Even if there were no such references, then my view would still be that "times and attitudes change" and that anyone who wants to, should be encouraged to dance morris.

I do feel that some women's and mixed sides have to work harder to produce good quality dancing. Size and body shape have a lot to do with this, and a mixed side who are all of roughly the same size and weight has a substantial initial advantage over a side with some dancers who are much larger or much smaller than the norm. The same can, however, be said for all-male sides. A 5'5", with very short legs, I find it difficult to cover the same amount of ground as someone who is 6'5", but I can normally turn much more sharply than someone who outweighs me by four or five stone. Compromise is therefore required so that the team as a whole can dance well together. In fact, because they are forced to think more about these aspects, it's quite possible for a mixed side to outshine an all-male side who have never had to think about such things.

Ownership of Material

Chris Clarke has also been a stalwart in helping traditional sides to express their viewpoints regarding the use of their material. With his help, several sides posted their opinions on the MDDL or elsewhere on the net, which has encouraged healthy debate.

As soon as I get clearance from the people involved, I hope to post some of those views. However, Roy Dommett has expressed his own opinon regarding the Abingdon material, and his letter is available here in full.

Black Faces

There's good historical evidence for the blacking of faces in the Morris from its earliest inception. I have some pictures on this site. However, the tradition is sometimes misconstrued: watch this space for more, but in the mean time, here's a posting in full of the Joint working party statement on Blacked Faces and the Media