Claro Sword & Morris Men |
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Claro Sword & Morris are based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
We are members of the Morris Ring and perform traditional Morris dances from the Cotswolds, Midlands and Welsh Borders,as well as our own local tradition of North Yorkshire Longsword Danceing.
Over the 26 years since our formation, our performances have taken us to many towns and villages in England as well as various destinations abroad. We have danced in Vannes in Brittany, Bruges in Belgium, and three times in Harrogate's twin town of Luchon in the French Pyrenees. We were please to return there last August to take part in the 100th annual Fête des Fleurs
Every year we attend Morris and Sword events in various parts of England and also organise our own Bank Holiday tours in the Harrogate area, as well as dancing at local pubs on Thursday nights during the summer.
From September to May we practise at Pannal Scout hut on most Thursday evenings, from around 8.15pm. If you would like to have a go yourself why not come along and give it a try? Just call the Squire or Bagman and we will be delighted to welcome you (no experience necessary!)
The term is often used to describe a number of traditional English dance forms, including the classic handkerchief and stick dances of the Cotswold villages, Midlands and Welsh Borders, North-West Morris from Lancashire, normally performed wearing iron-shod clogs, and rapper and longsword dances from Yorkshire and the North-East.
The origins of the Morris are obscure; references are often made to fertility rituals associated with the agricultural year, but this is merely speculation. The earliest documentary evidence largely stems from churchwardens' accounts in the early 16th. century which suggests that the Morris was embraced by the church as part of village life at that time.
Today's dancers perform for a variety of reasons: to continue a traditional folk heritage; for the fellowship it brings; for the sheer pleasure of dancing; because Morris has its own particular"Magic" which captivates the imagination as it did for Cecil Sharp, a professional musician and teacher who devoted the last 20 years of his life to the collection of our traditional dances and songs. Sharp collected over 150 dances from 1899, when he first saw Headington Quarry Morris Men in Oxfordshire, until his death in 1924 and thus preserved many of our dances and traditions.
As Sharp commented: "We have restored to our own people a rightful inheritance, a means and method of self-expression in movement, native and sincere, such as is offered by no other form of dancing known to us."
Leeds Morris Men, Leeds (obviously) : - Ebor Morris Men, York : - Great Yorkshire Morris
Follow this link to an index of other local sides including-
Ripon City Morris Dancers, Betty Lupton's Ladle Laikers, Highside Longsword,
Flag & Bone Gang, Knaresborough Mummers, Wakeman Mummers
Wharfedale Wayzgoose, Otley: - Buttercross Belles, Otley :The Morris Federation : - Open Morris : - List of other Morris Sides : Top of Page
Heatherdene Folk Dance Club - Third Friday Folk and Tap and Spile Sessions
