Want to join us?
What's it like to be a Morris dancer?
The Seasons of the Morris Year
Practice Season
During the winter, we practice our dances, teach new starters and enjoy the occasional music session at a local pub.
Performance Season
Pub tours start on or around St George's Day. We tour various local pubs (see On Tour for a complete schedule), but we also appear at some local fetes and events local to Sherfield. We regularly appear along with many other sides at Bunkfest at Wallingford, Swanage Folk Festival, and other events across the South.
Socialising
Socialising and playing music together is one of the best parts of the folk scene. We gather a few times a year for a meal and a music session at a pub.
We very often share evenings with other Morris teams of varying traditions. There is a huge scope for meeting new people, hearing new tunes and generally having fun regardless of your age and walk of life!
Would you Like to join the Band?
Our tunes are in the Northwest tradition with tunes mostly in the key of G, D and E minor. Each dance usually has two tunes played for our dancers to perform to at a speed to suit. Amplification is not standard practice, but do please get in touch if you have any queries.
Our sound is good, but we are a band made from many different levels of experience, we all had a day when we first picked up an instrument and wondered which way up to hold it. As such there is no judgement! We practise together, we help each other and we have a lot of fun doing so!
At present we have players of melodeons, accordions, flutes, recorders, guitars and a truly epic bass drum, which has been with us since 1983.
We have a full set of dots available for those who use them and a library of YouTube videos for those who play by ear.
Would you like to Dance?
The dancing is in the Northwest Style meaning that (clue in the name) clogs are generally worn at live events. These are generally made to order and crafted from leather and wood but in their first year, new dancers are can wear black shoes if they don't yet have a pair of clogs.
We need a hard surface for the sound of the clogs to really be heard during the dance, but where there isn't one, we may perform in black shoes. Our decorated sticks and braided slings provide another colourful touch to our performance.
The hats are worn during live events by those dancing as men and add hugely to the to the performance. They are brightly coloured, decorated with flowers and made by the individual. They are a fun craft project and other members will be happy to share hints on how to make one.
The number of dancers per performance vary between 4 and 9. Each position is a little different in the dance steps and sequences so there is plenty of variety to learn about. Again the YouTube videos will help with this, but there are also written notes to aid in the learning process.
As with the band, we are good at what we do but there are different levels of experience within the dancing team. We all remember what day one was like and everyone understands! Everyone helps and the best dance is the one where people have the most fun, not the one with the straightest lines!
What about kids?
Why not? Kids can jump higher! Lots of Morris sides have entire families involved in the group, ourselves included. We adhere to the Child Protection Policy set down by The Morris Federation with whom we are affiliated (http://www.morrisfed.org.uk), and children are welcome to dance from age 11, as long as they are accompanied by a responsible adult.
