Tonight:
5°c
Jane Cornwell's rating
, English folk has its fling at 5000 Morris Dancers Weekend
By
Jane Cornwell
6 Sep 2010
Shake the bells and wave the hankies: morris dancing is officially cool. What was once dismissed as a bizarre custom beloved of pudgy Englishmen in clogs has had its ride pimped; after this weekend’s inspired celebration of English folk culture, London’s evening classes will never be the same again.
Here was film, pop art (Morrissey dancing, anyone?) and dance demonstrations by an array of morris groups who turned the concrete outside the Festival Hall into an impromptu village green.
Here, too, was music: BBC Folk Award winners the Demon Barbers, with their delirious mix of songs, instrumentals and street (b-boy) and traditional dance. A Saturday night nu-folk line-up — Jim Moray, Saul Rose and Blair Hutchings among them — reprised Island Records’ seminal 1972 folk rock album Morris On, delivering accordion-and-fiddle-fired numbers such as Princess Royal with good-humoured dignity. “Each tune could be the national anthem,” said Ashley Hutchings, Mr Morris On himself, in the pre-show Q&A.
It was all rather lovely and oh-so-very-English. And determinedly modern: what with all-female morris side Belles of London City and last night’s multicultural headliners The Imagined Village, it was also a reminder that the contemporary English folk scene is open to everyone.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (1)
I went to a Roman Catholic primary school in North London where the majority of pupils (myself included) were of Irish descent, so Irish dancing was part of the weekly programme. How many other schools in London (Catholic or otherwise) offer traditional English dancing to their pupils? This would go a long way towards recreating a national identity.
- Michael Clifford, Dresden, Germany, 06/09/2010 17:07
Report abuse
