1929 Morris Dancing in New York State - part 1 of 2

Possibly the English Folk Dance and Song Society's 1929 Demonstration Team on a visit to the USA? From old Fox newsreel footage, posted with permission from University of South Carolina Newsfilm Library. Recorded November 10, 1929 at Hastings-on-Hudson NY. Part 1 of 2.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• morris dance
• folk dance
• morris in America

[rwexelblat]

Well, the first dance was a rapper sword -- perhaps Newbiggen. Next was the Wincester Processional, then (I think) the Playford Dance Jenny Pluck Pears, then a Morris Dance -- possibly Lads a'bunchem, then Peascods.

It's been quite a while, but the fiddler looked a bit like Jean Matthews and I think one of the men was Nibs Matthews, but this just a guess based on fading memories.

[Redshift21]

this looks a lot like a "stave dance" where all the staves end up in a star patern held aloft at the end of the dance, I was lucky enough to witness a stave dance on dawn of mayday 2006, it was powerful to see.

[catfdljws]

the circle dance towards the end is "Gathering Peascods", and dates to the 17th century.

[sabrinaeden]

I say you chaps - jolly spiffing weather for a spot of the old rapper dancing, what?

Love it. Quite the most surreal footage on You Tube yet. The sequence beginning 1.45 is like something from Ring...

[BobLuskmusic]

I remember now Pokingbrooks pants are long and floppy, they wear red hats and the women have the same costume as the men

[BobLuskmusic]

I remember one of the founders of the Pokingbrook team was named Chris and he talked about Morris being a tradition in his family. There were May dances in the US back then, possibly this was homegrown.

[BobLuskmusic]

There uniforms were ver similar, except for white pants. They were/are known as one of the few mixed men's/woman's team. When I dance with them in the 70's they did the same stick dance to the same tune "Oh dear mother what a fool I be, six young men acome a courting me. 5 were blind and the other couldn't see, oh dear mother what a fool I be."

[BobLuskmusic]

Great. I imagine that you are familiar with Pokingbrook. (Stands for Poughkeepsie, Kingston and Millbrook, but currently they operate around Albany). I used to dance with them years ago.