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Music and dance notation
- Our Notation Library – mostly dance notation, some with accompanying music notation
- Morris Ring’s Morris Traditions and Tunes – music to accompany morris dances, in ABC and PDF formats and Audio files
- Folk Tune Finder – a search engine which trawls the web for tunes in ABC notation format.
- The Village Music Project – the Tune Detectives – traditional social dance music of England – where it came from, where it went to, who it travelled with and where it is now
Morris, sword dance, and folk organisations
In the UK:
- The Morris Ring
- Open Morris
- Sword Dance Union (SDU)
- Illustrious Order of Fools and Beasts
- English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS)
- Pipe & Tabor – The Taborers Society
- Folk Play Research – Traditional Drama Research Group (TDRG)
- Association of Festival Organisers (AFO)
Outside the UK
Information about morris, sword, clog, and folk dance
- Map of the Morris Teams of the world
- Morris Dances and Teams Database (MDDB) – all teams who dance, or danced, Morris and related dance styles such as sword and Molly, and which dances each team does/did
- Morris Census in the 21st Century – a survey of all morris, sword, step and mumming sides in the UK and around the world, to describe dancing and performance in the 21st century. Run in 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2023. See also Morris Census 2020 Findings [PDF]
- Mainly Morris Dancing – NB: domain no longer in use
- Rapper Online
- All About Clog – resources for clog dancers
- Morris Dancing Discussion List (MDDL) – email discussion group
- Morris to Carnival
- Folk North West
- Devonshire Folklore Collection
- Street Swing Dance History Archives
- Folklore and Mythology Resource Guide
- Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (EFDSS)
- Cecil Sharp’s People – all the singers, musicians and dancers who met Cecil Sharp as he travelled around England collecting folk music and dance between 1903-23
- Dancilla – dances from all over the world with a focus on folk dances that are danced in Austria and Germany.
- The Internet Archive – a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more
Mummers & Folk Plays
- Folk Play Archive by Ron Shuttleworth (The Morris Ring), 8,200+ items
- Folk Play Research by the TDRG (Traditional Drama Research Group)
- International Mummers Festival by Stephen Rowley
- Master Mummers by Peter Millington
Calendar Customs
Regular folk customs:
- Calendar Customs – British calendar customs and local traditions
Videos and DVDs
- Morris Federation’s YouTube channel
- Morris Hub – YouTube channel
- John Gasson Jig Competition – YouTube channel
- Morris Dancers of England (DVDs)
- The Digital Video Research Archive (DVRA) of Morris, Sword, and Clog Dancing
at Boston University – can search by performance groups, genres etc. - BFI (search results for “morris dancing”)
- The Kinora Films (5.5 mins, YouTube). Filmed on a Kinora machine in 1912, these are the earliest known examples of English folk dance on film. They feature sisters Maud and Helen Karpeles and Cecil Sharp, co-founders of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, and George Butterworth.
Films
- Short – The Last of the Rapper Sword Makers (2024) [YouTube] (2.5 mins) – documentary by Lonely Tower Film & Media, featuring Frank Lee
- Film – Morris Men (2022) [IMDB] – morris meets martial arts
- Film – Hell’s Bells (2016) (14 min) – community film by Wandering Tiger, featuring Dartington Morris, Devon
- Film – The Way of the Morris (2011) [IMDB] (1hr 4 min) – Tim Plester & Adderbury Morris
- Film – Morris: A Life with Bells On (2009) [IMDB] (1hr 40min) – mockumentary
Where to see traditional dance displays
There are many folk festivals featuring morris and traditional dance displays. Here are some of the festivals and other events where you can see a lot of morris, sword and clog dancing, in England:
January – April
- Whittlesea Straw Bear – a weekend in mid January
- Dancing England Rapper Tournament (DERT) – a Saturday of rapper sword competition usually in March or April
- Joint Morris Organisations’ (JMO) Day of Dance – a Saturday in March or April see our events
May
- 1st May – lots of morris dancing all over the country, some at sunrise
- Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green – a long weekend over the May day bank holiday
- Rochester Sweeps Festival – a long weekend over the May day bank holiday
- Upton Folk Festival – a long weekend over the May day bank holiday
- Bampton on Whit Monday – a full day of dance into the evening
June
- Vale of Evesham National Morris Weekend – a weekend in mid June
July
- Gate to Southwell Festival (GTSF) – a weekend in July
- Warwick Folk Festival – a weekend at the end of July
August
- Sidmouth Folk Festival – a full week – first week in August. Including the John Gasson Jig Competition
- Broadstairs Folk Week – a full week in the middle of August
- Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance – a full week in the middle of August
- Whitby Folk Week – a full week – the week running up to the August bank holiday. Including the Cliff Barstow Jig Competition
September
- Lincoln Big Morris – one day – first Saturday in September
- Abbots Bromley Horn Dance – on Wakes Monday in early September
- Bromyard Folk Festival – a weekend in mid September
- Clog Comp – Lancashire & Cheshire Clog Dance Competitions – a weekend in mid September
- Morris Federation Day of Dance and AGM – usually the last Saturday in September, see our events
October – December
- Hartlepool Folk Festival – a weekend in early October
- Derby Folk Festival – a weekend in mid October
- Sword Dance Union (SDU) Longsword Competition – a Saturday in October or November
- Boxing Day – many teams dance out on Boxing Day
Throughout the year – mostly in the summer:
- Folk Camps – a suite of week-long and weekend events where you can help out with teaching and running the event
Overseas Folk Festivals
- CIOFF (International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts) has a large number of major international festivals that your team may be able to perform at if you become a member. See also CIOFF (UK) and Billingham International Folklore Festival (BIFF).
Equipment and instruments
- Instruments (folk and acoustic) – Hobgoblin Music (branches across England)
- Melodeon and Concertina repairs and refurbished instruments – The Box Place (Newcastle)
- Melodeon tuning, repairs and sales: Martyn White’s Melodeon Repairs (Essex)
- Clogs – Simon Brock Clog Maker and Leatherworker in Sheffield
- Clogs – Phil Howard Clogs and Leatherwork in Otley, West Yorkshire
- Morris equipment – The One Stop Morris Shop
- Morris Bells – from us at Merchandise
- Badges – leather & vegan leather – The Badgesmith (FB site)
- Badges – metal & enamel – One Stop Badges
- Event furniture and woodware – Creativity Design and Production (Lincoln)
All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) in the UK
APPGs are informal cross-party groups run by and for Members of the Commons and Lords, to discuss key issues and developments to be then raised amongst decision-makers and useful recommendations can be given to the government.
- Folk Arts APPG – To bring together parliamentarians who have an interest in and wish to further the appreciation of folk music and dance. This APPG is no longer registered (as at June 2025).
- Dance APPG – To promote dance as an art form and physical activity amongst Parliamentarians and policy makers and the unique and important role it has to play in education, health and wellbeing, community cohesion, social mobility and diversity. To support and build resilience for the sector and its workforce for the long term, including in particular for freelancers and independent artists. This APPG is no longer registered (as at June 2025).
Last updated: June 2025
