The Morris Federation

The UK's largest association of morris and traditional dance teams

  • About us
    • Who we are
    • What is morris?
    • Our history
    • Committee
    • Constitution, standing orders and resolutions
    • Equality Statement
    • Joint Morris Organisations (JMO)
    • Privacy Notice
  • Join us
    • Benefits of membership
    • Join or renew
  • Resources
    • AGM and day of dance
    • Archive and library
      • Library books
      • Instructional videos
    • Coronavirus Covid-19
    • Face Paint FAQ
    • FedExtra
    • Morris Matters
    • Notation library
    • Related links
    • Sponsorship, Grants and Bursaries
    • Teamfinder
  • News
  • Events
  • Merchandise
  • Teamfinder
  • Members
  • Contact us

Our history

Maids of Barum 1976 - photo courtesy of Sally WearingThere was a dramatic rise in the number of women publicly dancing morris in the early 1970s, with several female Cotswold and North West morris sides forming. This followed a period of three or four decades during which a ‘male only’ climate had been allowed and encouraged to prevail in morris circles.

The emergence of female dancers was greeted with some hostility by those who considered it to be ‘untraditional’. Only the Carnival Morris of the North West, usually performed by teams of young girls, had continued as an example of public female morris during this time. This itself had been considered a deviation from the ‘pure’ tradition, rather than a continuation of it, and had been virtually dismissed by some as irrelevant anyway.

It must be said that, while morris would appear always to have been a predominantly male pursuit, it was never exclusively so. The idea of an organisation to provide information and moral support for these newly formed women’s sides was first mooted in 1973 and, following a period of informal contact, the Women’s Morris Federation was officially inaugurated in October 1975.

At first, much emphasis was placed on the historical validity of female morris, both by its exponents and its opponents. Later, the opinion expressed by many was that morris dancing should be seen and treated as a living, evolving tradition which of necessity reflects the society in which it plays a part. To try to preserve it exactly as it is at some arbitrary point in time would be to prevent it from taking its natural course, so fossilising it.

The Morris Federation thus began as an organisation for female sides only. In 1980, it opened its doors to mixed sides and in 1982 it became open to any morris side, regardless of gender. A year later, the word “Women’s” was dropped from the name.

The Morris Federation has always taken the view that the dances themselves are more important than the gender of the dancers who perform them. It seeks to encourage all who are interested to experience the pleasure of morris dancing and to strive for the highest standard of execution of which they are capable.

News

Shrewsbury Morris and their 102,000 twitter followers

26 February 2021

Appalachian Clogging Basics – USA style

26 February 2021

More online Talks & Workshops to April

23 February 2021

Upcoming Events

  1. Talk – Morris Music – a history – Taborers Society (LIVE on Zoom)

    Saturday 6 March @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
  2. Workshops – Clog Stepping for Intermediate – Melanie Barber (LIVE on Zoom)

    Sunday 7 March @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
  3. Talk – Sussex Bonfires – Keith & Heather Leech (LIVE on Zoom)

    Sunday 7 March @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
  4. Talk – Clogs in Britain & Beyond – Michael Jackson (LIVE on Zoom)

    Saturday 13 March @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
  5. Workshop – Fiddle Playing for Morris – Sarah Matthews (LIVE on Zoom)

    Sunday 14 March @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

View All Events

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Privacy Notice
Manage consent

Copyright ©2016 · The Morris Federation · Website by: Picablue

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Read More
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use other cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

CookieDurationDescription
_pk_id13 monthsUsed by Matomo Analytics to store a few details about the user such as the unique visitor ID. https://matomo.org/faq/general/faq_146/
_pk_ref6 monthsUsed by Matomo Analytics to used to store the attribution information, the referrer initially used to visit the website. https://matomo.org/faq/general/faq_146/
_pk_ses30 minutesShort lived cookies used by Matomo Analytics to temporarily store data for the visit. https://matomo.org/faq/general/faq_146/

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by