New at
Beginning February 28,
2011
Free
After-School Dance Lessons
in
Renaissance & Morris Dance
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Come learn the court and village social dances of the Renaissance and Jane Austen’s 18th century England, as well as the traditional English performance dance-forms of *Morris Dance
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Classes are free and open to students of MCS and the
*Morris dance
is a form of
English
folk dance, accompanied by music and rhythmic stepping through the execution of choreographed figures—with different representative styles descending from various English villages. Implements such as sticks, swords,
handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers.
Its origins are lost in the mists of time, derived from the pan-European agrarian traditions of pastoral celebrations at sowing and harvest-tide. The dances were well known during Shakespeare's time, with written documentation dating back to the 15th century.
Morris dancing continued in popularity until the
industrial revolution and its accompanying social changes
. The steps and music of surviving village dances were recorded by 19th century folklorists, and today o
ther villages and have revived their own traditions. Hundreds of other teams across the globe have adopted (and adapted) these traditions, or have created their own styles from the basic building blocks of Morris stepping and figures.
