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History
The Morris is England’s oldest surviving dance tradition. For at least five and a half centuries (perhaps much longer), it has been performed to welcome the spring, and to mark the turning of the year at midsummer and midwinter. One version of it was danced in Hexham until the 19th century, when - like many other rural customs - it fell into decline.
A local revival began in November 1976, at the Royal Hotel. Only a few dancers attended the inaugural practice, but numbers increased through the winter. Although most of the recruits were novices, Paul Tabbush, the team’s first “Squire”, got them up to a satisfactory standard for their inaugural performance. Thereafter, the Hexham men’s grey top hats and blue waistcoats became a familiar sight at Northumbrian events like the Morpeth Gathering and Ovingham Goose Fair.
Since 1990, they have travelled further afield, to northern folk festivals like Holmfirth and Whitby, and to southern ones like Warwick, Chippenham and Towersey. England’s biggest folk event, the Sidmouth International Festival, has seen them three times.
In 2003, Hexham played a leading part in the closing display in Sidmouth’s main arena, and one of their dancers won the “Best Newcomer” award in the festival’s solo jig competition.
During the winter of 1992-93, the Hexhamshire Lasses began developing their own distinctive repertoire of dances. Since then, the two teams have undertaken several joint expeditions. They have performed in Hexham’s twin towns - Noyon in France, and Metzingen in Germany - and in 1998 made a very successful trip to Poland. In 2000, they represented the United Kingdom at the world’s largest folk dance festival - the “Folkloriada”, sponsored by UNESCO. This was held in Tokyo, where the Hexham teams performed alongside troupes from over 60 nations, to massive acclaim.
Since then, they have been enthusiastically received at international festivals in Bulgaria, and in Hungary, while still continuing to dance regularly in the Tynedale area (and to raise money for local charities). With the 2005 diary already filling up, both teams are eager to welcome new members. It’s a strenuous, but very rewarding activity. Come and try it - if you think you’re fit enough!
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