The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #151220   Message #3527785
Posted By: SteveMansfield
19-Jun-13 - 01:58 AM
Thread Name: Why are morris dancers under threat from
Subject: RE: Why are morris dancers under threat from
Amongst the things wrong with the article ...

The statement that 'Morris is dying out' was a press release by The Morris Ring a couple of years ago. What it actually meant was 'we are failing to attract any new members to our particular narrow 1930s Peter Kennedy and Ralf Gardiner approved/dictated vision of the Morris, and because we don't recognise any other form as true and pure Morris, therefore Morris is dying out'. Members of Open Morris, the Morris Federation, and all the unaffilated border, north-west, cotswold, molly etc sides see things rather differently. Or, to simplify, Morris Ring != all Morris.

The majority of sides do not even dance in irons. Those sides that do (mainly mens North-West sides) will be severely affected by a shortage of irons, and I certainly do not mean to demean the effect a shortage will have on them - but saying that 'all Morris is in crisis because of a shortage of irons' is like saying 'all music is in crisis because Beyonce has lost her voice'.

There are no doubt many other flaws and lazy stereotypes in the piece, but I think those are the two main issues ...