Open Morris
Encyclopedia
Open Morris is one of the three umbrella groups for morris dance
sides in England
. It was formed primarily by members of Fenstanton Morris (an early mixed sex dance side operating near Huntingdon) in the early 1980s as a response to the male-only policy of the Morris Ring
and the female-only riposte of the Morris Federation
(although, by 1980, the Morris Federation had already dropped their female-only policy in favour of one that allowed mixed teams and would by the mid-80s allow all-male teams to join as well although several female only sides were against the idea of mixed dancing, just as much against it in fact as were Ring sides).
Today Open Morris has a large number of member sides and interacts happily with the other umbrella groups. Members of this grouping have always made a point of promoting morris dance as a living tradition and enjoying themselves. They are generally not especially "academic" about the tradition.
The "politics" of morris dancing around the time of Open Morris's formation led to almost open warfare between some male-only sides and those of female or mixed gender memberships while others found it hard to see what the problem was. Instances of verbal and, on rare occasions, physical abuse or other attempts by a small subset of men's sides to prevent women's or mixed sides performing are well documented.
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
sides in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was formed primarily by members of Fenstanton Morris (an early mixed sex dance side operating near Huntingdon) in the early 1980s as a response to the male-only policy of the Morris Ring
Morris Ring
The Morris Ring is one of three umbrella groups for Morris dance sides in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1934 by 6 sides: Greensleeves, Cambridge, East Surrey, Letchworth, Oxford and Thaxted. They meet several times a year, each Ring Meeting being hosted by a different member side...
and the female-only riposte of the Morris Federation
Morris Federation
The Morris Federation is one of the three existing umbrella organisations for morris dancing sides in the United Kingdom. It was officially founded as the Women's Morris Federation in 1975 as a direct response to the long-existing Morris Ring which did not allow all-female or mixed sides to join...
(although, by 1980, the Morris Federation had already dropped their female-only policy in favour of one that allowed mixed teams and would by the mid-80s allow all-male teams to join as well although several female only sides were against the idea of mixed dancing, just as much against it in fact as were Ring sides).
Today Open Morris has a large number of member sides and interacts happily with the other umbrella groups. Members of this grouping have always made a point of promoting morris dance as a living tradition and enjoying themselves. They are generally not especially "academic" about the tradition.
The "politics" of morris dancing around the time of Open Morris's formation led to almost open warfare between some male-only sides and those of female or mixed gender memberships while others found it hard to see what the problem was. Instances of verbal and, on rare occasions, physical abuse or other attempts by a small subset of men's sides to prevent women's or mixed sides performing are well documented.