Review of our Cotswold Morris workshop held on 30th January 2022, attended by aound 15 participants on Zoom to learn the jig ‘Ladies’ Pleasure’ in the style of Fieldtown, with a bonus of the Nutting Girl too. The workshop was kindly run by dancer Owain Boorman from Clausentum Morris in Southampton, and his partner, musician Rimini Dick-Carr. You can see the video of the Fieldtown Ladies Pleasure & Nutting Girl jig workshop on the MF YouTube channel.
Joyce Ormrod of Golden Hare Morris watched the recording after the workshop and writes:
“I was unable to join the live zoom session but used the YouTube link provided by the Morris Federation in order to take part in this instructional jig.
“The side by side viewing format worked very well to link up the footwork in detail, which I like to learn first, and the arm movements when required. Having the side on/rear view of Owain’s feet made sure that I started on the correct foot, rather than translating a mirror image.
“The notice board with the sections of the dance listed, and on view all the time, made so much more sense of the dance for me. Understanding that the ‘jig’ was in place of a chorus helped with my view of the total structure and hopefully is now embedded in my brain, and should help when learning other jigs.
“The listing of As, Bs and Cs was useful for playing the sequence on the melodeon as well as knowing what came next in the dance. It took a long time into my morris career to know what A and B music meant. Generally as a dancer one doesn’t look at the music so these letters are lost on us.
“Owen is a super dancer and explains the details of each movement well. It’s always the tiny, different details that get lost when you try to remember a particular dance and Fieldtown style does have a quite a few!
“The whole workshop was well structured and paced. It was broken down well with lots of detailed demonstrations and information.
“I enjoyed Owain’s Nutting Girl instructional in 2020, was it really that long ago? I found the video of this very useful during lockdowns. Our side has since gone on to dance this out as a 4 person jig, so grateful to still have this aide memoire.
“Thank you Owain for your hard work in preparing and executing the session and to the Morris Federation for providing us with such excellent workshops.
by Joyce Ormrod, a member of Golden Hare Morris in Bedfordshire
Donations from workshop participants raised money for Action for M.E., a charity in the UK supporting people with M.E. of all ages whose services have often been referred to as a ‘lifeline’ by those who have accessed them: https://www.actionforme.org.uk/support-us/other-ways-to-support-us/
Resources
Resources from Owain and Rimini:
- Here is the video of the Fieldtown Ladies Pleasure & Nutting Girl jig workshop (1hr 20mins)
- Here is the video of the Fieldtown Nutting Girl instructional on 2020 (23 minutes)
There are lots of other workshops and talks on the Morris Federation’s YouTube channel.
