SR - morris dancing in austin ...

[j'lynn yeates]

found this in my inbox today and figured there might be some inerest in 
these circles ...

>A Morris Team is forming in Austin!  For more information, call Jane at
>512/475-8103 or Sharon at 512/453-4225, or email 
drempert at ix.netcom.com.
>The following text is a decription of Morris dancing that was taken from
>the Seabright Morris website, and adapted for the Austin group.
>
>MORRIS DANCING is a traditional form of folk dancing from England,
>usually performed at town festivals and outside of pubs by the working
>class. The dancers leap and bound in ritual patterns, waking the earth
>with the jingling of bells, which are worn on the dancers' legs. The
>clashing of sticks is symbolic of chasing away evil spirits so that the
>crops may grow and prosper.
>
>Preserve a beautiful tradition.
>
>No one knows when or how Morris dancing started, but we enjoy its
>celebration of the seasons. It rejoices especially in the return of
>fertility to the earth in the Spring, and it is said that the money given
>to the Morris dancers will bring good luck and fertility to the entire
>community. We follow traditions taken from villages in the Cotswold area
>of England, where they have performed for centuries. Morris dancing
>nearly died out in the early part of this century, but a Morris revival
>led by folk dance enthusiasts has led to the documentation of many 
Morris
>traditions and dances. We are working on stick dances from Cotwold
>village of Fieldtown and sword dances from from the coastal northeast
>village of Lingdale.
>
>Good exercise
>
>Morris dancing is medieval aerobics. We stretch out and then spend an
>hour and a half jumping up and down in time to music, flapping our arms
>and lifting our legs. The difference between this and modern aerobics is
>that the music is acoustic, live and English.
>
>Meet great people!
>
>Besides the dancing, we are
> a team, working together toward the goals of performing well while
> having
>fun. We also have parties and get together with other Morris teams at
>events called ``Ales''. Most of us are musical and enjoy singing and
>playing instruments together as well as dancing.
>
>Besides, it's fun!
>
>What could be more fun than dressing up, making a fool of yourself for
>the pleasure of others (always with the defense that ``it's
>traditional''), dancing both individually and as a team at the same time,
>and following it all with beer (or ice cream) and good fellowship?



... When we hunt, we all function with one mind
... - Boingo, Pedestrian Wolves
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