Let’s get back our dancing fitness, learn just one more Cotswold jig and a solo Border style dance. And if that all sounds like too much exercise, grab a cuppa and soak up some recent – or not so recent – morris team history.
And … “at last” you say – something for kids!
The JMO Day of Dance has now moved date to 24th April, and is going virtual, so we’re starting planning that too.
The various online events have been very popular, but we should start to see some nice weather soon, and be able to get out and about a bit more, so we’ll probably run our online events up to 16th May, then have a break until the winter.
Come along to our events (LIVE on Zoom)
Here’s the current list – the ones marked “NEW!” have been added recently. Click on the links below to find out more and to register. We are still adding more events, so the latest and correct list will always be at: www.morrisfed.org.uk/events/. Also posted on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/MorrisFed.org.uk.
see all MF events & register
March 2021
- JMO Workshop – Morris Census 2020 Results – Jack Worth – Sat 20th March 14:00-15:30. Presentation of the key findings and what’s changed since previous surveys in 2014 & 2017, then an opportunity to chat in smaller groups.
- Workshop – Pipe and Tabor for beginners – Taborers Society – Sat 20th March 17:00-18:30. Learn to play Shepherds’ Hey Bucknell on the pipe and tabor with Andy Richards.
- 6
Week Programme – Return to Dancing Fitness – Rhys Boorman – Sun 21st March & Sun 2nd May 10:00-11:00. Get dance fit with Rhys. A ‘live’ session at the start and end, and 5 weeks of exercises provided for you in between. NEW! - Talk & Workshop – Kirtlington Morris – Sun 21st March 14:00-16:00.
Talk on the history of Morris at Kirtlington Lamb Ale in the 17th-19thC, the reconstruction of Kirtlington dances in the 1970s, & the Kirtlington revival. Plus a chance to dance like Kirtlington in the workshop. 
Not one of our events but some great Rapper dancing at the DERT of DERTS, hosted by the DERT Steering Group will be providing a virtual weekend of rapper on Sat 27th and Sun 28th March. See the DERT Facebook page for more information and a host of brilliant rapper videos from teams across the world and informative talks. NEW!- Workshop – Cotswold – 2 Ilmington Jigs – Sun 28th March 14:00-15:30. Come along to learn ‘Nelson’s Praise’ and ‘Jockey to the Fair’ in the style of Ilmington, taught by the Knights of King Ina.
April 2021
- Workshop – Family Dance – Rachel Cole-Wilkin – Sat 3rd April 14:00-15:00
. For young dancers age 7+, an introduction to ceilidh and morris dances. - Talk – ‘Merrie England Once More’? The Morris Revival c.1886-1951 – Matt Simons – Sat 3rd April 16:00-17:30. Born out of a widespread fervour for ‘Merrie England’ – a brief overview of the ‘Cotswold’ revival movement.
- Workshop – Border – ‘Waiting for the Vaccine’ solo dance – Sat 10th April 15:00-16:30. Linda Glanville & Pauline Woods-Wilson teach a newly-devised solo Border style dance.
- Talk – Good Morning, Lords and Ladies – Gill & Barry Goodman – Sun 11th April 16:00-17:30. The magic, mystery & madness of English traditional customs in story, song & visual images.
- ‘Virtual’ Joint Morris Organisations’ Day of Dance 2021 – Sat 24th April. Save the date –
details and times tbc. We’ve moved it from the 17th April so it doesn’t clash with Oxford Folk Weekend. - Talk – The Adderbury Morris Men – Sun 25th April 16:00-17:30. Find out about the Adderbury tradition in Oxfordshire that died out in the 19thC, what sparked its revival in 1975, and what happened next.
May 2021
- Last session of 6 Week Programme – Return to Dancing Fitness – Rhys Boorman – Sun 2nd May 10:00-11:00. Get dance fit with Rhys. The final ‘live’ session. NEW!
- Workshop Showcase – Sun 9th May. Show off all your newly acquired skills and dances that you’ve learned at our workshops. We’ll have a rehearsal then we can all dance together.
see all MF events & register
How to access an event
Register for an event, and a couple of days before we’ll email you a Zoom link to access it, plus another reminder about an hour before. Don’t worry if you’ve not used Zoom before, we’ll send you some hints & tips. We are recording some of the events, which will appear on the MF YouTube channel when they have been processed.
We need your video editing skills!
We’ve been recording most of the online events, but it takes a lot of time to do a professional job on them to edit out all the little interruptions, and add the branding and credits. If you have some spare time and video editing skills and would like to help improve our videos for posterity, then please contact us with info about your experience and how you could help.
Fancy being our Events Officer?
It has been a lot of fun organising these events for you, and we’ve already had requests and volunteers to run online events over Winter 2021/22. So we now have a role of ‘Events Officer’ up for grabs. If you fancy making our events happen, which includes liaising with potential speakers/workshop leaders, creating web pages, managing the bookings, emailing registrants and hosting the events, please contact us with info about your experience and what you could bring to the role.
