I have been doing a lot of rooting around on the net recently for information on morris dancing for an assignment I am doing for a degree. Hence, I have stumbled across this message board and other morris sites.
There seems to be a common argument about whether Carnival (or fluffy, as some call it) Morris is actually a true form of morris dancing or not. There also seems to be a lot of fuss and wonderment that we should be included on these sites/boards, as if this type of dance is something new and strange. Although this type of morris dancing is confined to the North and North Wales, the number of dancers must be phenomenal. There are three troupes within a mile of each other in Eccles, such is the popularity, which boast about 40-50 members each. And it isn't just for children either - the senior section is particularly strong these days, which is for women of any age.
I have seen some encouraging comments from people about the inclusuion of Carnival Morris in the 'morris' community. These are mostly from people from the North, those that have seen us in action, or Americans(!).
There is a strong social side to Carnival Morris too, and the fact that we travel around the North West to competitions means that we often get to see friends from troupes based in other towns and cities.
There are standards set, but Carnival Morris itself is evolving with different dance steps and armwork styles still appearing after its inception about 70 years ago.
Who cares whether it's traditional or not? It's just different and everyone enjoys it so what does it matter? If the Donkey had copied me in when quoting from my web site, then I could have enlightened them ;-)
Jenny - Trainer of the Senior 'Line' Monaco
The Donkey writes: Thanks for this, Jenny - it's good to have a response of any kind, and this further insight is much appreciated. In an ideal world, yes, we'd contact everyone we're writing about. However, The Donkey is written in people's spare time, and it's in very short supply. If we had to apply the same professional standards as a commercial news operation, we'd never publish anything. It's a flaw, but the alternative is... nothing. Banbury Bill - a wild card for whom we dare take no responsibility - was essentially commenting favourably on what he'd read, if flippantly. We always publish links, and we hope this encourages people to visit the relevant sites. There is a point for other readers here: we receive remarkably few contributions, and when we approach people directly, we don't always get a response. Need we say more?
©2001 Simon Pipe, Mark Rogers