About this page
This page contains brief details about the video recording; the video (embedded in the page); an abstract for the talk; links to additional resources; a summary and a speaker biography.
Video recording of talk
Recording of a Morris Federation talk on “The Ancient Festival of Abram, called the Morris Dance” by Peter Bearon held on Zoom on 25 March 2023. The #MorrisFedvideo lasts for 1 hour 18 minutes.
Video
Abstract
Many teams across the country, and throughout the world, dance ‘The Abram Morris Dance’ often incorrectly referred to as the ‘Abram Circle Dance’. See more about Abram Morris Dancers at https://www.abram-morris-dancers.org.uk/
The dance was originally collected by Maud Karpeles and published in the Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society in 1932. The dance was last performed ‘traditionally’ in 1901 before being revived by Geoff Hughes in 1984. It is currently danced on the Morris Dancers’ Ground in Abram on the last Saturday of June each year followed by a tour of the area. 2023 will see the 40th annual performance since the revival, which will be on Saturday 24th June 2023, starting at the Morris Dancers’ Ground, Park Lane, Abram at 11:00. But check on the The Abram Morris Dancers website before travelling any distance.
The talk covers the known history of the dance, together with the significance of the Morris Dancers’ Ground in local folklore.
Additional resources
Links to related resources:
- Event details
- Review by Jameson Wooders of Berkshire Bedlam Morris, Hammersmith Morris, The Rumworth Morris, and Tyler’s Men
- Abram Morris Dancers website
Speaker biography
Peter Bearon has been a morris dancer since 1972. He was a founder member of The Rumworth Morris in 1976. He currently plays melodeon for The Rumworth Morris, Handsworth Traditional Sword Dancers and The Lymm Morris. Once a year he is to be found either playing or dancing for The Abram Morris Dancers.
Published Research and Talks
Abram Morris Dance
Peter had a paper published in the 2021 issue of the EFDSS Folk Music Journal on “The Abram Morris Dance and the Abram Morris Dancers’ Ground”, which this talk is based on.
Coconut Dances in Lancashire, Mallorca, Provence and on the Nineteenth-century Stage
Peter had a paper published by English Folk Dance and Song Society & Historical Dance Society in ‘The Histories of Morris’ following the successful conference held in Cecil Sharp House in 2017. See: https://media.efdss.org/docs/HOM/HOM%20Bearon%20Coconut%20Dances.pdf
He gave a talk on this for the Morris Federation via Zoom on 4 December 2021. The talk included the results of further research. It will be available on the Morris Federation website shortly.
New Year’s Eve Carol Singing in West Lancashire
A talk on this unusual carol singing tradition was given to the Traditional Song Forum (TSF) in November 2022 via Zoom. The talk can be seen as part of the ‘TSF Online 49 6 Nov 22’ on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaEduX43pGE
An essay based on this talk will be published by the TSF in the near future.
Traditional Customs mainly in Europe
Peter has videoed many traditional customs, some in this country, but mainly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These are published unedited on his Vimeo page, warts and all. See: https://vimeo.com/strawbearhunter/collections
Summary
- Title: The Ancient Festival of Abram, called the Morris Dance
- Speaker: Peter Bearon
- Facilitator: Pauline Woods-Wilson
- Type: talk
- Date of talk: 25 March 2023
- Date page published: 19 April 2023
- Video edited by: Brian Kelly
#MFvideo #MorrisFedvideo #MorrisFedvideos
