1

Bainbridga Island Wa.

VOLUME 10, RUMBER 2 . . J U L Y 1986

OPENING COMMENTS

Morris dancing, in all its forms, has its beginnings in North America starting with the turn of this century. There are "rumors", as Jim Morrison refers to them, of single references to May dances occuring during colonial times and I have been sent leads of possible May celebrations at a few colleges in the late 1800's connected with Shakespearian/Elizabethan Festivals. However, these still are just rumors and, from this vantage point, appear to be isolated events. The focus of the 'History of Morris in North Americar Project begins with the events which have led to the full establishment of morris groups on an on going basis in Canada and the USA.

This special 10th Anniversary issue is to give readers a glimpse of the material which has already been gathered as well as the thoughts of some current researchers and dancers. The history project is not the simple endeavor I originally envisioned when I started out in the autumn of 1982. Par more work needs to be done in unearthing details that help to make a complete representation. The complexities of finding forgotten correspondance, forgotten peofile and interviewin9 the older dancers about times now decades past is a fulltime project - a job which I don't have and therefore gets squeezed into my "free" time.

So, again, this issue is to give you a glimpse at some of the wonderful material that does exist and has been revlewed. Hopefully, it will excite your give you a sense of perspective of how the morris has evolved in the two countries since around 1905. My goal as editor of this history project

, is to recount a set of events and to establish a geneology of morris across the two countries. Another goal is to encourage others to begin looking closely at the history of their own locale and where their original source material came from.

This issue includes a note fromrFred Breunig, the founding editor of Am; a brief summary of the events surrounding the introduction of morris dancing into North America; a look at the "mountain" region of the USA where morris has taken hold since Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles first traveled there in 1916, with special focus on Berea, Kentucky. AMN has invited Tony Barrand, one of the few active researchers and writers on the morris this side Of the

asked him t o s p e c i f i c a l l y examples of h i s work t k -- --- -_-

h l dona t i o n of - i s sue . A warm

Gsaham Baldwin Benbury Cross Morris ;

t

. ~i Sri%Q Poster i

- @+-eenwood Morris 9 . n . 1 B e a r t s O f Oak Morris - - A - . -

- Highland Mary '

dBwlan&or . t ranscribing much of the Kennedy in te rv iew from tape, ' 7 - *.,.- . D L P e t e r &k~seJry f o r t h e artwork. -

;:L>,. 4 8 % , jF- +iW S c h w w e t l s r Eor her typing ass i s tance . * . ?.-: - 1 i . .-*

. And to J o b av&@augh and Carol Broad f o r t h e loan of t h e i r computer f o r the dura t ion . ? & : J , . : ' t

Agairr, .thank you1 - - - J i m Brkkwe$de'aad %yynn M o w .Dennis, edktorP. ,.; . _ . I I .

*L -7 x < -' ,~&uT WE A R T I S T

7 .* ", . . - ,r

. P e t e r Klo.Skyrwas bor" % i n Elmira, . NY i n 1951. The l w i c a l culrninakion O& -a miespent- y k t h and ' e a r l y adul thos4 [f i rmly entrenched i n Po1ishlUkrainim-r- American t r a d i t i o n s ) occurred i n May 1976 when he abandoned mnday evening League Bowling f o r p r a c t i c e s with the Binghamton Morris Men. The r e s u l t a n t

I fa#atiizim.-.jt~lwer@. ko ,mls lay, ;l&geky has .sesyed..aa bagman# s q u i r e - and most

up the task." Even though I still felt very new to the morris scene, I had been inspired by KarP's efforts and thought that it would be a shame to see the newsletter die. So I wrote to him saying, "I don't know anything about putting out a newsletter, but if no one else wants to do it, I will." And thus began my offical involvement with the Pinewoods Morris Men's Newsletker.

During my "reignw as editor, I put the newsletter on a quarterly basis (previosly 2 or 3 issues per year) and opened up subscriptions to anyone interested hr . subscribing (previously only members of P.M.M. and contributors of articles). I felt that everyone would get encouragement from one another around the country in our efforts at striking out into new territory. P.M.M. business and growth pains dominated the newsletter naturally) the hot ite s were 1) whether or not the club should remain as it T had been or expand into a Ring-like umbrella organization) and 2) whether or not to admit women as members. Passionate letters from all sides were published on these topics as well as on women's morris, men's morris, mixed morris, rite and limit of repertoire, relationship with the Country Dance and Song Society, and so on. Through it all, I'tried to find out as much as possible about new clubs and other organizations using morris and sword dan~ing and to pass along that information to readers. And local clubs continued to form. - . <.A

BY Ithe time the January issue was due, 1 realized that my interest lay in a national focus and the the P.M.M. Newsletter was no longer the proper medium for .my work. Concerns that were only Pinewoods Morris Hen's were becoming less-relevant to the national picture. So in that January issue I wrote:

Afker nuoh thought. 1 have decided to resign as editor of the Sinswoods ,Morris Men Newsletter. I have worked for two years while an explosion of growth in Morris aand Sword dancing has taken place and now I feel it is time for me to move on.

When I took 9ver the task of PMM Newsletter editor, we were at the beginning qf a fantastic increase of interest in team dancing. $inee then there has rarely been an issue of this Newsletter without word of new teams forming. Last May there were twelve . olubs fr;qa-the N~rtheast alone which gathered for a Morris Ale in Marlmr~,.VerRlqnt. As,&ditor of this publication, I encouraged all teams and other grqupp using Morris and Sword dancing to subscribe to tbg Wewsletter in order to stay in touch with each other. Most groups Rave done so; currently,only about <our out of the foqty or so do not receive these pages.

One of my main selling points for the Newsletter ha6 been thak it f

is the only publication in-Mortb %xisa. Merris and Swgtd d2u~cing. la _pqagq and cornaeoeptary has.centered arolrn&.thw

- lbat local teams are so prevaleqt,, hbpp~ning and a need for a-n together. I am, herebpan* Morris Newslettefl tq.fi\l-$h

. in April ang ~ u b s e q y e n t ~ ~ o ~ ~ .., -'

In fact, the'only c h a + ~ ~

I name oE t h e Newsletter. I i n t e n d to cont inue i s su ing the same k i n d r df , p u b l i c a t i o n as I have been (1 was dqUghted by t h e vote of . ~ x e c i Q t i o n a& confidence t h e PWM gave at a t t h e hugust Ale]. k Non-PnX r e a d e r s who a r e s u b s c r i b e r s of t h i s Newsletter w i l l w n t i n ~ ka r e c e i v e -it as t h e " A ~ e r i c a n Morris Newsletter." I b o p t h a t members of t h e Pinewoods Morris Men w i l l agree t o cont inue r e a e i v i n g gy p u b l i c a t i o n a s t h e i r newsle t te r ( they have a proposal frorn me y i t h Qis i s o u e regdrding such a s u b s t i t u t i o n ) . Everyone should r e a l h e t h a t -thin .is merely t h e next s t e p i n t h e d i r e c t i o n

I thgg t h e PMM Newslet ter has heea moving s i n c e I have been e d i t o r . ! I t Jds e x c i t i n g t o -me t o n o t e t h a t the Morris is growing s t rong

enough t o make this decisi,on possible . I hope t h a t you w i l l suppor t my new e f f o r t and s h a r e t h a t excitement.

t i

(Note: t& P.M.M. decided n o t t o ac,cepL t h ; 2 ~ ~ a s t h e i r newsle t te r with a PUM Supplemept and Chris-Walker, then Sguarep. ..foek over the e d i t o r s h i p of t h a t ~ u b 1 f c a t i o o . l $ . - q .

I- ..- . .-

Add *so' tK'e'herid;n Morris Newsletter was born i n . ~ ~ r i l 1977. +he . i i r $ k

E

I n t h e a r e a of dance, Sharp c o l l e c t e d theJKen.tueky-Running S e t @ $ -+e and Maud Karpeles l e f t behind p a i n t e - i ~ e - e o l l n t ~ and t h e momis.

The following a r e dxcerpta fton d i i r + s , l e t t e r s , ma z i n e r e p o r t s f e t c . which descr ibe some 01 tlk 6 a m e a c t i v i t i e s of Ce% Sharp and Karpeles. ' th is col lect iot$ 'of "snap sho ts" s e r v e s a s a cbptw af o w reg len of the c6ontry wheke these' two ind iv idua ls t raveled. $hey hat3 a l o f q l a s t i n g e f f e c t on establ i_shing i n t e r e s t - i r r English dance. p a r t i c y l a r l y t?k mQtrY.8-

1 1 - 7 , -

The f i r s t joui-ney iri t h e n.e&nf&%?+eqan i n J u l y of 191b.j The purpase.of the t r a v e l s was t o c o l l e c t fo& gong$ h k - t h e y d i d s t o p t o dance along the way.

J u l y 23, Bun. - t r a i h " song c o l l e c t i n g journey. . July 31, Mon. - Sonewfiere nced Jockey. I played a piano d of tune." r

hug. 2, Wed. - near 'White R,* Afterward I p b e d adpa Mud danqed. * [ 11

Travel condi t ions were d i f f i c u l t a t bes t . Many letters from Ceci l Shar Helen Storrow, ~ n d e r w ~ i t ~ ~ a , f Sharp 's i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , a r e a g soufce of information regartting t h e i r successes , t r i a l s and t r i b u l a t i

6

a r p e l e s t rave led by t r a i n , mule, mail c a r t , by f o o t and by car . ko H r s , Bkorrow from Winaton-Salem, N w t h C a r o l b a on $egt?*r

a . $7 r' '-i i . ' ..

Then a & h we had s e t our expec ta t ion on t h e ~ e a d o w s of 'Dan, p a r t l y ( . b e e a w e * of i k s ,delbghDful ar)amer b u t ,mainly hpsagse.,of - i ts . ., extreme i s o l a t i o n and p l t i t u d e of 3500 f e e t . And i t was c e r t a i n l y one,: aE . hhy m @ e t atdugus .am$ daQqerousv jgrrrneys we .&have :eve%? un@er&keni.We motored+&o bhe QarjlaCy Seat, S t w r t + . a p Q the& a f t e b many refusals;. p rava i led om a d r i v e r . t M a k e us,wp ko khe Meadows in his motor, a makter of 1 7 miles. The road wh(ich) is o r d i n a r i l y a -very a teep , narrow c dangerous one was f a r worse t h a n - y s u a l , o p account of some r e c e n t thunderstorms which had washed i t c lean , riw down SooSRe native sock, ,*Sene-ptaces t h e i w l i e a t i o n of the car was.xso great. in.&wning,a ~ o r n e t e w i t h . + a sheez f a l a - g f 5 o r 6 : hundred i f e e t over - the . s ide , - t h a t , t h e . f l r i w r himsejg.suggested we.: - ehdgklcl nwt .. oat &ilehe. negotiaked i t 3 -bwhficl?) .we - d i d . w i t h - a l a w i f y ) How a ear could have beM dd~iygn-up, 4S. alii -I c a n ' t - . .imqgine.-J am s u r e nothing bu t a Perd w u l d have done i t . [21

J , \ - - l i - ' Both Sharp and Maw& suf fe red from i l l n e s s along t h e way. Sharp, i n

. P ~ : : - 7.. .-4A

Mar 12 - Fues - New York C i k g ~ ~ - ~ W e n b ta D r . Boynton &-got. hPm t o innocula te me...Dr. informs me I have 5000000 germs i n s i d e me. Lc&morns idea-. . i ~ . . fB I ,

h i s to ry i n t h = f o l k song

- - 2

1 4 ,. v R+<>' -;, t . - , . c

- There cam be._ ncr. .place- Amer.ica . yhebe yl;, Sharp 's wwk ha@ W n r lai& ma~,&:.apd .

3 t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r e o f the c h i l d r e n a s a b a s i s of conscious &=Yelpmeat r e , . 4Sharp) n o t only: BnCQpraged them t o &ng *is o m . mountqin songs and dance t h e i r own dances, bu t he gave v a r l e t y and : , - 1;.1-= - t o * q i n g i m w&-*oi~9 by.i,wrOLFcm.. the^. .fsw:t t&&k W ' 9 ~ ~ ~ 3 ~ q d im B ~ h d - Wd W$, PR1f W i& .&@

7

Smi t h u s raper t o i r e inc~iaded'kieadington, _ &%3 FbyWn. He had a f ine rappsr s t e p 'anb taught longswo&=- f avor i t e i n the ~outhWff m&tb'%%%. College dance program, John M. Ramsaq a member of Ptarfk Smith's,peri?tirmifigd l e f t Berea to 'become dance l ead i r s ti%?

I joihed the Country Dancers i n 1947 a few days af tex qrxfvbg a t Berea College a s a freshman. Prank -Smith was away at the time$ 3& Shaw I belie*=, and so a fr iend of mine, w i l l i s Wi1111~1, itid ~ ' ~ & i & - & & W u n t r y Dancers not knowing tha t ordinar i ly one must go througfi tryouts:' No one questioned u s bnd I remafned a Muntry Dancer during my four pear& Berea although W i l l i s dropped o u t a f t e r a year and a half . -. .1

r < f

Frank Smith was an a g i l e &rsonwith ra ther long f e e t , which 1 axways , admired as they flapped out the rapper r ~ c h m o r danced through the Ei0pt.q~

Frank promoted the idea of cooperative reefeation and encouraged u$ to enjoy dancing within our group but a l so by sharing i t with strangers. He had a f ine morris s ty l e , r a the r sho r t legs and a long back, which l e n t theeselvecr toward elegant capers. He and h i s wire Lei1.a ?re very warm, caring leaders and of ten invi ted groups t o ttieir"ho$e f o r lovely teas.

During my time i n the Country Dancers we par t ic ipa ted i n regional festivals a t Buckhorn in eas tern Kentucky, ht7Ani$vilre I n s t i t u t e , and probably i n &me other locations. I was occasionally asked ,to go out and lead a high school gl'oup, ana 'we a l l Iookea farward tg hha Rouhtain PaIR PeSttvaE held in the spring - whefi v&ll 'over two hunafed high scllo&T 9ITa coll'ege studetlta would eonvetde on B e r e a d A13 *re e ~ ~ r i e h c g & - d d n b e k ' ~ h ~ d had prabtfced dances frail a p ib i i shed list $fi-adbarfIse of 'Ch&*festi3fiis 4 h b the ++t six couples of 'each 'of- the-kwbntpbd~ ~ r o ~ p ' v h a - ~ t t ~ & S h.erh &~&&e& .tbd &present t h e i t - liomec communities. We hpd griibpk frgm &mcjia ta-mw; ' '.- , . I -

- ,r.... , -.

1 r e c a l l s e v e r a l "b igo t r i p s . One dance was a t t h e Pendennis Club i n L o u i s v i l l e and i t was t e l e v i s e d . I had on my t e n n i s shoes , which was r e g u l a r gear i n t h a t day, and my w h i t e socks which i d e n t i f i e d my f e e t . When I saw them d a n g l i n g on t h e moni tor d u r i n g r a p p e r , I immediately l o s t my s t e p 1 ~t was a l s o a t t h a t e v e n t t h a t I was p r i v i l e g e d t o have Mrs. Barry Bingham a s my p a r t n e r . She was wear ing a long gown w i t h a gauze t r a i n l y i n g ove r h e r mn . A s we swung t h e t r a i n wrapped comple te ly around us.

rhe Country Dancers had tou red to C a l i f o r n i a a few y e a r s b e f o r e I came t o Berea and t o u r e d L a t i n America a f t e r I l e f t . E the l Capps was d i r e c t o r du'ring t h e L a t i n American t o u r and i n v i t e d me to j o i n t h e t roupe . I was i n g r a d u a t e schoo l i n Iowa a t t h e time and unab le t o p a r t i c i p a t e .

S i n c e you mention Maud Karpeles I may r e c o u n t t h e exc i t emen t I had i n meet ing h e r i n 1975 when I took t h e Country Dancers on our f i r s t f o r e i g n tou r . We were i n v i t e d by E l l i o t t Richardson, t hen ambassador to England, t o a r e c e p t i o n f o r us a t Winf i e ld House i n London. Among t h e d i g n i t a r i e s whom we met, which inc luded Dennis Healy, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from S a d l e r Wel ls , e t c . we a l s o met Maud Karpeles . We danced Kentucky S e t Running f o r h e r and s h e was d e l i g h t e d w i t h t h e way we had c a r r i e d on wi th t h e dance.

3n o u r t r i p t o England i n 1979 we added our own morris dance, D ix ie , t o o u r r e p e r t o i r e . When t h e Monkseaton Men v i s i t e d Berea i n 1984 we added Bea t I t .

Our m o r r i s danc ing i n Kentucky i n t h e e a r l y days was o f t he B i l l y Kimber s o r t and r e l i e d h e a v i l y on t h e Headington s t y l e . Over t h e y e a r s v a r i o u s l e a d e r s from England came to t e a c h t h e dancing a t Chr is tmas Country Dance School . We began t o r e a l i z e t h a t each one had t h e i r own i d e a s abou t s t y l e and what was p rope r . Ron SmedIey was one of t h e e a r l y imported l e a d e r s . P r i o r t o t h a t people from CDSS, i n c l u d i n g May Gadd h e r s e l f , were t h e mor r i s t e a c h e r s . Some of us g o t i n s t r u c t i o n on t r i p s t o Pinewoods, where we were coached by A r t C o r n e l i u s and Renaldo C a j o l e t . I n t h e mid-sevent ies we r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e r e was no use t r y i n g t o a p e o t h e r groups . T r a d i t i o n s were changing too f a s t and were too numerous for u s t o t r y to keep up. I urged t h a t we become c o n f i d e n t ' w i t h o u r own s t y l e as worthy o f a t t e n t i o n and t h a t we also t r y t o d e v e l o p some o f our own dances .

I n t h e l a t e s e v e n t i e s t h e r e was c o n s i d e r a b l e p r e s s u r e from women t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n mor r i s and r appe r . Under Frank Smith t h e women had performed Twenty-ninth of May and Bacca-pipes J i g , which were s o r t o f i d e n t i f i e d as women's dances . W e d i d n o t have mixed s i d e s . During E the l Capps 's t ime the m a s c u l i n i t y of mor r i s was f e a t u r e d . During my t e n u r e t h e r e have been many long d i s c u s s i o n s of t h e r o l e of t h e s e x e s i n morris dancing. I p e r s o n a l l y f e e l t h a t t h e male physique and t h e female mystique c r e a t e two ve ry d i f f e r e n t dances and I h e l d f i r m l y t o s a v i n g mor r i s and sword f o r t h e men. P a r t of t h e r e a s o n i n g was t h a t dance of any s o r t a t t h e t ime was a l r e a d y c o n s i d e r e d an e f f e m i n a t e a c t i v i t y and t h a t we needed something obv ious ly male t o ho ld some of o u r s t u d e n t s . During our t o u r i n England i n 1979 we saw s e v e r a l women's s i d e s . The wbmen dancing Cotswold dances were r e a l l y awful , b u t t h e l a d i e s o f Green Willow i n Nuneaton c a p t u r e d o u r h e a r t s . They danced i n f emin ine costume and n o t i n a i x e d s i d e s . They l i m i t e d themselves to n o r t h c o u n t r y mor r i s . Following t h a t we in t roduced n o r t h coun t ry mor r i s i n t o o u r program as t h e dance f o r women, a l o n g w i t h Eng l i sh c l o g danc ing , and imported E l a i n e Ford a s a t e a c h e r a t Chr is tmas Country Dance School f o r t h e

next severa l years . I have . b u i l t up a ~ o n s i d e r a b l e video a rch ive of morzis dancing ,which we w i l l be happy foq anyom t o come and make use of. .We can even supply copi.es of s e l s o t e d tapes.

(ED. N o t e r The Berea Country Dancers, f o l l w ~ n g t h e i r tour of ~ a d n America, were i n v i t e d t o the White House a s ueg t &,then Pres iden t Kennedy. They performed on t h e White House lawn b o k morris dances a s w e l l a s t h e count ry dance. A t t h e ceremony t h e dancers presented Pres iden t Kennedy wi th b e l l s and . a baldr ick. .Those items are on d i s p l a y i n t h e Kennedy Libracy i n Doa&atex, Mqssachuse t t s ._~he p&tormanp took p lace on Apr i l 22,1963.) I

:.. L I

Pootnot-

[ I1 MS Diary of Sharp, h 1 6 , Box 7 , Miscr &palachain Diar ies 19&5-1918, R. VaugBm Williams Library, London, Englandhere in r e f e r r e d t o a s Sharp.

I21 MS L e t t e r , Sharp t o Storzow da ted @-&r-J, 1918, ~ tor l ;ow .:Sol lect-ion, private holding,. I & ' -

I31 MS Diary of Karpeles, Box 3, Maud Khrpeles Bequest, R. Vaughqq Williams Library, London, England, here in r e f e r r e d to as K a w l e s Bequest.

f41 Karpeles, ,Maud, *Folk manding I n A m e r i c a m , RP.D.S. N e w s , Pe~ruary '1928 , no. 16, pp. 70-71.

155 Wells, Evelyn K., c*uatrX Dancez, 1960 43-14. - - - .,v- .- 2..

[61 Sharp, 1917, o p - c i t . r <.

[71 Wells, o p . c i t . .- I S . . .

[81 Karpeles Bequest, 1917 - . I -

.-, 191 .Sharp, ,191,7, 0p.ci t .

[ l o ] *Our American V i s i t o r s a t Aldeburghm E.F.D.S. News November 1923, . A@. 6, pp. 155-156.

LlL) Wiles, Dorothy P., "E_nglish Folk Ds-ncinQ a t t h e Pine Maun Settlament-,Shhool. &entu~kp', fJ.P,Q,aS. Novgmber 1925, no. 142, ppLt. 319.

..i^ . <. - , , - L r.--

[I21 Sharp, 1918, op.ci t , - , - ..

[I31 MS Haud Karpeles autobiogfapby, p. 89 : C - * .

M O R R I S

.. - m I . 5,

THE BINGHAMTON MORRIS MEN . . -,. A AND THEIR GUESTS

1 ' 7 r

+ THE KINGSESSING MORRIS MEN > OF PHILADELPHIA

.- - OR ENGLISH MORRIS IN AMERICA? ' Implications of i n American May Day

by Anthony G. Barrand, Ph.D Boston University

July, 1986 . ,

svige Bernard Shar once commented that although he had heard -.,.., kmerican Congress had passed a law declaring English to be the oEfiGiaJ

- language of the United States, he was not sure why that law had not heen put -into effect. The dioparaging tone ~f Shaw's remark is pure English snobbqiy

- based, as always, on ignorance; the truth of the central issue in .Ms 3bservation is, by now, well-knbwn. We speak American and.it is a riChp expressive, and inventive language in its own right. Eveh Shaw, I berfevdr would have rejoiced In its richness as reflected in the recently pubflshed f i r s t volume of the Dictionary - of American Regional English. - -- - + - - - -- --- - 31. I As it is with the language, so it. i s with the English ballads which mi'ga&k to Kentucky, the Ozarks, and Vermont. And so it is-with the Morris we %ante.- I am an Englishman by birth, but I am an-Mberican morris dancer. The locations. the occasions, the climate, and tbe people for whom I dance ar& a l l American, as are the costumes, the musIc, and the aance pe1;fbrmerS I thsnrse lves . -T> -- _ :. - --.- -- -4

--- ~ b l s essay was inspired by the glaring and somewhat insecure% reflected in the relationship between the front and baek covers newsletter which proudly completes its 10th year of life. T h E frbnt declary it to be the "American Morris Newsletter" while the back claim it -is A Puhlicatian of English Ceremonial Dance.' This discrepancy, I sugqelk, can best be removed to the repository for discarded romanticisms. There, I hope, it can join twa other pieces of misleading information with, at best, trnuor;Es.his~orical validity. The first is the cry of the,'F~oin-LRe. -Ykllage r_ af. .;, .-., . . . (fill in the appropriate Cotswold name). To be4i.n withr, .very L

this a t-length pl

" ..- - .&I

- - and f u n d r a i s i n g than r i t u a

We can a n d should acknowledge l i n k s 4 t o h i s t o bu t t h e f a c t e a b o u t t h e h i a t o r y of t h e Morris i n d i c a t e t h a t it was a s much and perhaps mote about a r~e&qqse to, J o ~ a . 1 p.sycholog+al and communit needs as it was t o a l l - e n c ~ p a s s l n g a r c k c t y p a l i s sues . I t is i n t h i s f i g ~ t t h a t we mast se6 our Mords a s American.

During. t h e onceyto-yourself before t h e i r recess iona l dance, t o ' a tune,used b ~ ~ r n o r e i s dancer- a l l qxeGbnqland, f ror .Wfnater i n Derbyshire to H e l s t 0 ~ i n Cornwall, thq men f,qom Loqgbgrough

This is t h i s and t h a t is tha And f h t s is morris dancing.

~ u t mar r i s 'dancing; f o r me, Yermonk when. 1. dpsce ar tbe u ~ s r l b o r o Hhy m y u 'Che dancers it ?a, gIs7 iS . . tha t t im Q£ y e a r the season i n t o what is always There have been ocuasiogal warm t h e dancers grumbled. about t s l e e v e s bu t t h e r e h a ~ e l & s p P b e e n days with p i l e s of snow l e f t , f r o m the work 3f the plows i n t h e driveways. I t seems t o begin on t h e Thursday before when de g e t our f i r s t outdoor p r a c t i c e , made p o s s i b l e by the "spring forwardm of t h e clocks. New dancers g e t t h e i r f i r s t look a t the 'Bower" processional dance, a borrowing, no t t h a t it mat te r s anymore, from a May 1st custom i n the C i t y of L i c h f i e l d , S t a f f o r d s h i r e , England. I t w i l l no longer be unfami l ia r a f t e r they.have danced between every house along the two miles of South Ropd Erom Marlboro College t o t h e Post Off ice. The more e ~ p e r i e n c e d Bancers smile knowingly and make t h e i r customary complaints a s they remember each h i l l and long s t r e t c h of pavement. w i l l d e f i n i t e l y keep tho l i n e s s t r a i g h t everyone ~ L e s a whple. t u r n ta .the r i g h t .

most ~ o p l e get tb l y on Saturday, t o c e fbk rides a t t h e t h e team's foupder tarts on ~ a y Bay.

and a small , t h a t hce 7 b.m* pun$ing

Wisdom came l a t e a f t e r s e v e r a l y e a r s of r a i s i n g the beacon of white and yellow ribbons on a

a s i g n t h a t today is t h e day t h e dancers a r e o u t and, a a t h e procession enters the l a s t s t r e t c h , i t can be seen on t h e hill .gQove t h e Whetstone Inn and infuses, a touch ~f l i g h t n e s s i n t o t i r e d feet: < -

-

x t use@ t o t a k e 'abdut f i v e h o u ~ s t o v i s i t each hou+ SUZ new it needs almost twice t h a t as people g i v e d s 'refreshments, c a t & up 'on g&ip w i t h f r i e n d s they haven' t seen s i n c e l a s t year , and meet new m e m b e r & 05 t h e team. Sometimes people a r e not home b u t - t h e memories o f dancinq t h e r e i n pas t y e a r s are po f r e s h t h a t ' ta lking those thr&gh'ie ' i lm?st Bs - good a s the dancing t t s e l f . I l i k e i t that t h h - r e s i d e n t s can'"gat OF k i t h t h e i r l i v e s knowing t h a t i f they miss Us ghhis ye'ar, w e ' l l b e lS&k n d l : &p?ing.

Each p a r t of t h e road h s i n c i d e n t s from formkrJyea$& wa~Eiiig perched on the s tone w a l l s and hung %ut l o r d i s p l a y on t h e b ladkbe i ry brambles and low, bare maple branches. Every house has a d i f f e r e n t s y r f a e e t o cha l lenge the dancing. I n mgst s p o t s i t 15 a halrd say@ drivecraj o r a f r o n t lawn. One f r i e n d o f t h e Morris has "8 smOo,tbl welI&~a & a i d t~r-rtn~c $awing f l o o r i n f r o n t of h i s g l tage . M e r e t h e r e i l no. led el@& Y e u s e the read and make t h e c a r s waik f o r gaps bet*een t h e set dahces. ~ e r t a i n . i l 8 n c e s a r e always performed a t p a r t i c u l a r locd t idhsf t h e time gf dBy, t h e p re fe rences of the s p c t a t o t c i , and the t rus twor th iness of Bhe fo.oting. a11 Gake t h e tour cap,kainVs chOit8 inev i tab le . A few dances, a j i g , a chat abnl a g l a s s of beer or f r u i t punch and, wi th a l i t t l e bu l ly ing from "~other;~:&?yes a r e s a i d a s the company £ o m s up i n two l i n e s f o r t h e pr&esSioh t o t tr next home or "stand. * Along t h e road, between t h e houses, "Mother" antl tne "Xo&byn chase t h e k i d s who have come o u t r i d i n g b i k e s decorated with r ibbons and c repe paper, They also c o n t r o l t h e t r a f f i c which is sometimes impatient to get by and more o f t e n conten t t o d r i v e slowly along behind o r wait and watch while t h e parade passes. he Hobby Deer is another experienced dancer aha wears a frame which has a red wooden head wi th l a r g e beribboned a n t l e r s and a s k i r t appliqued wi th a seasons round view of Marlboro. The o r i g i n a l idea , I th ink , was f o r something l i k e t h e o l d "tourney horsesm but wi th locl i l Vermont reference. Ins tead o f a ~nan on a horse, w e wanted a pan r i d i n g a very p ic turesque deer . Now r am,sot s u r e what i t looks l i k e . I t is the "Hobbynr man, deer and a n t i c s a r e inseparab le and an indispensable companion f o r t h e mlm/woman wearing t h e s k i r t and s h w l who wie lds a square-headed broom l i k e a club. Sometimes a l l i e s , 4o'&tinee pxs#@ters, a t each o t h e t l s expense, the c h a r a c t e r s h e l p each o t h e r e n t e r t a i n a* $aj.k to- t h e crowd o r t h e p a i r of spec ta tors . They f i l l t h e gaps between S e t dances by making announcemeiStp and pronouncementa, and W a w support Ei-am p&h other t o overcome t h e occasional lonely moments bf t h e foo l *hen one lungs ta be dancing i n t h e s e t .

The middle of t h e a f te rnoon comes and wi th i t t h e house of John B a r t l e t t . Along wi th t h e v i s i t s t h e nex t day t o t h e house o f Vermonters Hugh and Joyce Whitney, the dancing a t M r . B a r t l e t t ' s home has become a v i t a l p a r t o f the i d e n t i t y of the Marlboro team. An e x i l e d English gentleman, h e has become a s o r t of patrop, a connoisseur of the l o c a l dancing. He n o t i c e s new dancers and dances; he t h e performance a s compared with o t h e r years; he always apologiz lawn which seems t o be a breeding ground f o r moles; he make t h a t t h e dancing belongs a t h i s house. On t h e evening before Day we ever held, h i s daughter-in-law c a l l e d -?s*:r-&':".~us %aCeJ:wm:*.b-iB&- &cumxmt.h-.* -

-+eve beer and food ready f o r them. I6 t h a t - r igh t?" W.; B a r t l e t t ' s wi fe Sad seen Cec i l Sharp playing t h e piano f o r morris aM c o r n y dancing wKen she w& i n t e a c h e r ' s c o l l e g e as a young womaa i n ~ n g l a n q G ~ a n d ; be£ore she d i e d , provided a s o r t of third-hand bridge f o r us betwe- t h e 19th c d n t u r y dancefs and o w Wrrowings from them. The men dance Vohn B a r t l e t t J s Fancy,' c r e a t e d i r ) ~ . h i s honor.. - . .

The las t stretc i n t o Har lbora town proper, a auster of s i x houses, 9 pos t o f f i c e , a churkh, a m e t i n g house, and t h e Whetstone Inn with t h e Maypole now v i s i b l e ap Qn tbe.Thkdl-. a b w e i t . The day is a l & s t f u l l cirele s i n c e - the l a s t a s wel l a s t h e - f i r s t p a r t of t h e day is a gmhes ing a t t h e Maypole o r "Maplem a s the l o c a l k i d s c a l l it.

A t about 5 o l c J &, ,&.weary-lqokipg aoup ef d a q e t q c a p e r s g r a t e f u l l y i n t o t h e l a s t note d %he @~sess iona l - . - A h ~ d ~ ~ ~ R g - - m 5 s ~ for small groups of homeowners a l l d a y , a l a r g e fol lowtng has g radua l ly accUmCllated t o join the I n b ~ e p f a and i n c r e a s i n g l y f e a r l e s e g r o u p of c h i l d r e n who have bicycled a l l

o u t of range a s t h e horns o r t h e dreaded bruaw- . 'Ehere a r e no* townspsople who have

nd of tae day and cur ious ons, who gat o u t of t h e i r c a r

t o examine t h i s A&xpected dfsplay. The F i n d reward , fa r t h e dancere% labors a s brought o u t behgtld &IS Whtitstone Fnn: "Jean Boardmants Cakeen i s danced t o c e l z b r a t e the j.usUy famous lemon and chocolate wonders whi& t h e h o s t e s s provides. . . - I t is quite c o l d naw and most of t h e audience and the dancers go home. A few ,

s t a y t o h e l p a group of c h i l d r e n and t h e i r pareh ts a t k e n p t a few e n t h u s i a s t i c b u t o f t e n unpicturesque rounds of wiqding t h e Maypale ribbons. Bypica l ly it is some o f t h e same few who p u t it up i n t h e e a r b mwhing,..

Then it is home tv .soak f e e t and limbs bad?y &qsed by genera l ly u n p r e d i c a t b l e s u r f a c e s an8 a r i d i c u f o u s m o u n t of a a n d n g f g r one dayc _,p e s p e c i a l l y t h e first b y . Frobably t h e ,wQC@&CPy+ hiIS &wbe. lit, :a k e t t l e p u v q on f o r t e b or, c6f fee , end t h e . e l ~ $ s f c ~ & k a k , - & & en . W £ a m a a y p n ~ _ ~ ~ wAllm f e e l ready t o spend t h e sureLy fash ion v i s i tin+.* ~ s e l e c ~ ~ h o w s s p ;W tke pv&&i Itroyo:-;'Scbaeff a r v i l l e , C;3' -But-terSi&& ma&).: .*& MacArthw ' & A 9y-&gii a&. Perhaps. a t Margare

"Blaqk Bake* which va used by. a E&& +p g abp* the: %arLbor Merchants.. ~R'ks :wo'r:* piece ' Margaret years & f a r e sM knew i .Was a noxsie dance tune '@d *t always has seemed anotheE ,of .those tenwu '6ql powerful h i n t s t h a t what we do n o t o n l y h a s a p lace but a h k e h s ~ y .

"Ah, yea,' the schola r asks , "But is i t thereby a t r a d i t i o n ? 1% it e v e a American?*

1 S e t t i n g , o u t of t h e car, a t o u r i s t appsoacheo "Motherw ssmeruhiht .,&rily' a .m*e,w g a i l y a t t i r e d . i n a kaee length red and yellow p a i s l e y @lJiX?t, wo.le lshawl and* bactered f loppy s u n h a t i s .abou,t t o dash, br,bdm,held. high, . jo t

get bells like t h a t ? "

stir up uncomfortable f e e l i n g s of th ings which we geneaal ly lose touch with i n our air-condit ioned and central ly-heated homes, o f f i c e s , and schools. More spec i f i&l ly ; it 8Rould speak to 18s O f t i m e , p lace* family a n d t h e seasons 3fid of our h x t r i c a b l e t i e 6 to them. Henry G l a s s i e wrote abouk t h e meanina bf a n appaMariCe by t h e CltrtistmaS mummers i n Ballymenone a s *the performance of .th* seasons." I love t h i s expression. H i s account of t h e s e summers i n s small . It ish rural o o m n i ty, A l - 1 Si lVet ,and No Brass; has been very i n f l u e n t i a l n t h e development of my sense of w m t h e Morris means. Oue likes. I1ke thk lhes of th ~ o p 1 e of BaIlymenone, a r e a t i l l - m a r k e d by the sbasonal -roetn'dr T6o o f t e n , thougW o u r . emotions a r e deaf , caged cleAEures 'whor i f o h l p t k s r c o u l d hear , would respond t o the c a l l of. the year ly changgs'a;' To e x p l a i n th8"- orris is td perpetuate t h e - deafness; The seasonal meaning t'8 i n &e perforlnance o f t h e Marris; it cen be shown and does n d t Wed- t6 be s a i d , . - - _ One func t ion of t h e Morris, ' then, Is t o provide v i s i b l e expssssion of 'the. changeiW. mod i n the environ6erit which mdst pcople only n o t i c e a f t e r it bas happeried. %a1 Borland, Wri t ing i n the New York Tines Outdoor E d i t o r i a l s captured i t r , -

% . "

This 16 the Minentr that ~lromebt'which may l a s t f o r o day o r a week, - depending %I+ w&d&Wnd'-weather. I t is the' time when t r e e graen t t M b P a s'Ybt&&3rafp btid and o w n i n g l e a f , when a few hours of ~onded$raddd~nrmtghe c&Ed :almost mange t h e f a c e of the land.' . The &6pf t h a t wLl1 be S u m d r shade and nest- Autumn's v i v i d Cdbr %s t h e r e 'dn twig and branch, ready t o unfiirl...3ut Ph is i e ehe -

'*' moment' %?hen i t is beqinnfng t o h a p e n , one p lace and a n o t h e r , that ' ' b r e r r t h k s s moment when new greea leaves f i r s t open-toward the sun. (Stmdial 0f"the'Seasons: A Selec t ion of Outdoor E d i t o r i a l s from t-ydB mes; ~ h f f a d s l p h * a and 6 ~ J . B . f i i p p i n o o x rn~,~44-~~ .

Uhti l lomeone p o i n t s it out,. Spring i-s r a t e l y s r e l l e d coming e n t h e wind-WE seen-ir i the h i n t - o f redness i n t h e twigs o r an t fc ipa ted i n t h a t immeasurable a 1 t e r a t i o n i n the q u a l i t y of l i g h t . Spring 4s n o t i c e d whel- kbe' .dramatic c o l o r s of t h e magnolicts, dogwoods. c rocuses or d a f f o d i l s a r e ou t and i n f u l l view. I- f i r8 t7 loPl&'Spt ing i n V&r~Wnt Wtemthe huge.pdEches of d a f f o d i l s in Befsy ~ a 6 ~ r t h t t r ~ s f ro r i t gbtd b t ~ a k tPlforf 'h I d 3 ~ t b u n d . Some yearte they a r e beginnfng t Q fdda by t h e : t i ~ & w c dance $ti th& on South Road; o t h s t times t % q ' ha$e W e n ~ ~ & ~ & % a & r b ~ W # Wi&g Severe f r o s t i n t h e ground add only a fPw df t?@~'cS@ ;&&'%106rn t o mana4e a welcoming smile a s t h e drums, hahahi-chiefs and~bei?l8~?qa *by. Their b r i e f b laze l e t s you know t h a t spr ing has a r r i v e d and f o r c e r you t o take n o t i c e ahd partake f n t h e cont inuing ~ e l e b r a t i o n of t h e year ly cycle .

L i ,

I I iddfikify t h e M6rris with those f lowers , Like Apri l and May. St comes onoe a y e a r - t o mark a time and 115 gone. "Apfi l ID Ral BorEanB wrote, " i s a promise t h a t *y 2s bound t o keep, and we know i t . * (p. 19) The Morris is a reminder t h a t something v i t a l i d happening a l l t h e time under and over the r o u t i n e and t h e humdrum. Like the n W 1Baves ' that suddenly b u r s t o w n and the bells

I on Sabbath motning c a l l i n g t h e congregation to worship, it-demands t h a t you t a k e noCice of 14fe. . ? . . . . I Persuading people t o take n o t i c e i e never d i f f i c u l t a s t h e winter g ives way

t o summer. The garden and t h e park eall us ; . the season says it I s k i W . t o )re

Apri l is a n opening up, n o t on ly a f t h e bud

his is p a r t of why I answer, m l t g ~ Americanm to t h e t o u r i s t ' s ques t ions ' ' The Spring we experience is not English i n any sense and, except f o r t h a h i s t o r i c a l l i n k s , n e i t h e r is our Morris. Te l l ing someone i t is English would be very decep t ive because, t o the experienced observer , many aspec t s of t h e p resen ta t ion , from t h e accen ts t o the movement q u a l i t i e s , a r e d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r e n t f ron En l i s h morris dancing. It would a l s o emphasize a l imited and very s te reo typed $Sew of t h e morris i n an h i s t o r i c a l con tex t and hinder the audience member from seeing i t f o r how it makes him or her f e e l a t t h a t e x b t e n t i a l moraent. The Morris would be c l a s s e d as something o ther people dc i n a f a r o f f p l a c e and not necessaxi ly something one has t o acknowledge here and now. I am eager f o r people t o make i t p a r t of r a t h e r than see it as i n any way removed from t h e i r lives. This is a l s o the. reason I an unenthus ias t i c about s t a g e performances of f o l k music and dance where the players d r e s s up i n t h e costuncs and speak i n t h e accen ts of people fron some o ther time and place. The audience buys a t i c k e t t o g e t i n t o the thea te r , they watch this spec tac le , and then go home with t h e i r ordinary ex is tence r e l a t i v e l y unscathed. The t h e a t e r is a n escape, a fan tasy about what l i f e could be l i k e . The performance has not touched t h e daily round? the shoppin-ter, t h e s t r e e t i n fronb of t h e house, t h e mt o f f i c e , t h e parking l o t and t h e T m Ha11 have no t been enriched i n t o evoking pleasant memories l i k e s "Wasn't i t n i c e l a s t week when t h e morris dancers were here!' A 1 1 you a r e l e f t with is a f o r l o r n wish: 'It must be n i c e f o r those people i n t h a t far-off place t o be a b l e t o s e e t h a t a l l t h e time..

The Uorris can be a source of good f e e l i n g s and musical s i g h t s and sounds you d i d n ' t have t o purchasq wi th t h e p r i c e o f a t i c k e t . You j u s t have t about your business and i t comes to,you.

In t h e s t r e e t , catching you when you were on your way t o t h e s t o r e , d r iv ing over t o a f r i e n d ' s house o r go- to t h e doctor with t h e kids, t h e co lors ; the throb of t h e music and t h e b e l l s , t h e f l a s h o f t h e "hankies,. and t h e se r iousness of purpose in fused with joy can c a t c h you o f f your guard. I t can s e t emotional machinery a t ~ 0 t h Which l i e s l i k e a dormant monster wai t ing to r e v i t a l i z e one ' s normal exis tenee. Eyqn dancing oan do h a t vhen it comes a t you unexpectedly.

This may sound corny and, perhaps, a t r i f l e melodramatic t o i n s t i n c t s sophis t i ca ted by a fac t -or ien ted education and jaded by commercial media's i n s i s t e n c e on t h e new and t h e exci t ing. But, then, it is no t uncommon f o r a l l f o l k l i f e t o seem corny and t o be disparaged as e t h n i c a l l y qua in t and a e s t h e t i c a l l y pr imit ive. I be l ieve t h a t f o l k music, song and dance is t r e a t e d a s such because it is threatening, I t can be threatening p o l i t i c a l l y ; the power of song t o a l e r t communities t o t h e i r r i g h t s and s t r e n g t h s i f they worked together a g a i n s t oppressive s o c i a l and economic condit ions is well known.

Most s i g n i f i c a n t l y f o r t h e Morris, sqngs, t a l e s and dances c rea ted by and

bones of one8s.nature. T h e m o t i f s are n o t invented by t h e a r t i s t s : they a r e the s tu f j? of what. J g c a l l e d t h e narchetypes* which a r e to be found i n the gayings, act+&. a 6 makings' of a l l people a t a l l times. This kind of music o r dance i s a t its q o s t p o w r f u l when t h e audience 1s one with t h e performet as.boch s h a r e t h e game valuea and condi t ions i n which bhey must l i v e . I t cah a l s o work e f f e c t i v e l y i n c c i n m u n i ~ e s which a r e not s o narrowly defined i n p a r t because t h e rnode of the p resen ta t ion t y p i c a l l y de-emphasizes t h e Reriormer and expqses the theme. The ba l lad s inger n a r r a t e s i n the t h i r d person focusing the audience on t h e even ts i n the s t o r y r a t h e r than on the per faq ies r t h e morris darraer dreeqes:and gesture& uniformly, +&omi anonymoh a s he or she seeks t o make t h e l a r g e r u n i t of t h e set v j s i b l e ; the c o n t r a dance f i d d l e r s t r i v e s f o r t h e optimal i n t e r a c t i o n between room, the time of the qvening, the dance, t h e dancer& and t h e tune. If s t o p t o look and ltsten_t$ pgrhmere who draw your a t t e n t i o n not themselves b u t t o t h e meaning d f k h e Zhi'rigs expressed, you can f i n d youxse dea l ing unexpectedly with t h e s e deep issues which a r e noramlly dormant. The egn. .be a s .uscomplicaked a s snmetl&g which l a j u s t p l a i n f u n o r they can b a s deep es khe mewl+ag ,of one ' s l i f e o r t h e n a t u r e of t h e universe.

%neU a r t s aa .khey a);e somewhat p r e t e n t i o u s l y c a l l e d .ih oppos i t io wpqpular? and ,*foIRn a r t s , a l s o dea l wi th emotions b u t depend heavi ly % express ive s ta tements made by..the performer a s a unique person r a t h e r t as a repre,sentat&ye of a.community. It i a perhaps a more re f ined o r .hiqhe grade o f engkion, one connecked t o t h e i n t e l l e c t more than the gut. Th ~ o p q l a r arts. &b?rt..out i,n €he . r i g h t place, i n t h e h e a r t and the g u t , s t r a x by t h e e a s x e s t r o u t e towards the 'wal le t ~r poclptbook. The kine a r t s and pppvfar a r t s a r e ~ o t unkon6erngd Vith t h e themes .of psycpe, soc ie ty , aha theAuman and envir;~nm~enJpl $2 ' l ee , b u t the f o l k a r t s deal with l i t t l e ' h e and in very dixecb ways. % x r h ( l g c b g . is a W u r t h e fun %nd joy of ce&ebrath& t h e seasanal t r a n s i t i o n s . l i t h o u t t h a t context , I t fC "ot nahmgaliy good . q k r e e t thea te r , - 'wit?',&#at cpntexi , i t can leave people f e e l i n g very good about Life . *,, .:

- . . . --- --.

b l e t eachers and dancers who haye seen dance groups, t h e complex movemshts of es, b e t t e r executed'by g c t i v e 6foaps of tes than they a r e c u r r e n t l y i n Bngland.

The next t e q t y yqarq; it Jieems, w i l l r e s J l L i n t h e ex i s tence of t h e b e s t dancing Lh* l$dwfs has eve* seen and a s t ronger community acceptance of t h e Spring cust$qy "tb a perhaps was poss ib le i n t h e moralfy ree t r ic t i - t e and c u l tur?:~ yoBlefvaf l!t E q ; p h cpunt<y*ice Egf >he< 2 0 9 +p:z. _ =. * ,

h s l e wrformance. I t has t o have aelieraiea a t r u s t t h a t . i f ~'ids$~'ft?"t w i l i b;! t h e r e next year. My two moit t reasured comments on the dan&ngg' ;$ the Barlboro team a r e , f i r s t , the observat ion t h a t the performance. gee&& *old9 i n t h e sense t h a t it looked a s i f i t had been around f o r a very long time and, second, t h a t ( a f t e r only a couple of years of the team's ex i s tence) a town event would seem very s t range without the Morris dancers.

The proof t h a t t h i s seose of what c o n s t i t u t e s a t r a d i t i o n is t h e c o r r e c t one swel l i e s i n tlie a n t i c i p a t i o n of what the dancing and t h e supporting. o c c a 8 h ~ k a n s ' t o our ,children and to t h e young dancers who join t h e team on moyingr ' h t b t h e grea. ~ f i e y a r e ' insp i red t o learn t o dance a f t e r seeing our pkrfprmanees. They do not get t o c h o s e from among the dozens of a v a i l a b l e t d p e r t o i r e s 'publish.ed ' i n c o l l e c t i o n s of nota t fonsr they do not g e t t o express ogin+ons' on.the'coloxe t h e team should'wear o r t h e &ays on which t h e &pm habcee. They a r e adopted by.an d ~ i a t J n g s t r u c t u r e which is no longer golgly. under . the ~ 0 h t r 0 J QE tneYP& people whb provide the r a i n d r iv ing energy o f the tgam. When oh& addid t h a t the' s t y l e of aancinq has deve'loped s o t?@t i t i s FepresehtaZiye o f 'the $ndividuals and of the region i n mu& the samg. * ~ a y t h a t a t r a h ~ g - j o n a l n performances had t h e i r own i d e n t i f i a b l e p@li,aF;tieq, one' hbs q,~, btsp4ccg::pf t r a d i t i o n .

- , - -,

I ad, theh, op t imis t fb a b u t tlie eventual reg iona l iz ing of dance forme s f t p r we c u r r e n t ~ x p j o s i o n of i n t e r e s t i n v a r i e t i e s of thq d a n c e l e t t l e s down. h v o r Stone, i b h i 8 pdmirable and p r w o c a t i v e pamphlet ori t h e Yotksl i re m Y s ~ r ' d trad%ts&m, a a t t l e p MJ 'w, . s k a t e . a pbs i t ion w i ~ h r y h i c h - i 9 r k strong!y 'agree r ~ h e m r t&:

< - 4 . *

I welcome t h e i n i t i a t i v e o f t h e men from Kirkbur ton, n e a r Hudder s f i e ld , who found t h e eyidence t h a t t h e tongsword dance, known l o c a l l y a s t h e "Rapier" dance, w a s once performed i n t h e i r v i l l a g e . They d id n o t Qave a d e t a k l e d dance n o t a t i o n b u t t hey s e t o u t t o create a new Kirkbur ton dance. I f t hey and f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s p e r s i s t and develop t h e i r dance i t w i l l obv ious ly T--

become an accep ted l o c a l custom, a p a r t of t h e changing and deve lop ing Longsword t r a d i t i o n . Such p r o g r e s s i v e thought may s t i c k i n the t h r o a t s of soma COnscrVative and ro rnah t i c - fo lk f a n s b u t i t is much c l o s e r t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l p rocess than t h e f a n t a s y o f t e n p r a c t i c e d today. (p. 31)

M r . S tone is, however, concerned t h a t t h e Longsword be p rese rved i n m Yorkshire i n o r d e r t\o r e t a i n " r e q i o n a l id iosyncrac?es t o c o u n t e r t h e t r end tova rds the day o f t h e . ' & i t i s h s t a n d a r d ~ n ~ l i s h m a n ' . " lp. 6 ) There are two i d e a s here: f i r s t , the n o t i o n o f t r a d i t i o n i s l a r g e enough t o i n c l u d e new development as def ined i n a l o c a l and con tempwary colSCext and, second, t h e importance and i n e v i t a b l e pr6sence of r e g i o n a l identity i n e x p r e s s i v e movement. Both must b e suppor t ed i f one is to be p rep i i r ed - fo r t h e v i t a l i t y and h e a l t h of many of the f o l k a r t s i n t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n as w e l l a s i n t h i s one, even though t h e customs may be r e l o c a t e d . I m u l d go even f u r t h e r than Mr. S tone , however, w i th bo th f a c t o r s . l e t u s take them one a t a time.

T r a d i t i o n d e f i n e d i n t h e l o c a l c o n t e x t

In encouraging development i n the Longsword t r a d i t i o n s , M r . S tone is concerned to i n c l u d e a l t e r n a t i v e shapes f o r t h e c l i m q q t i c "lock" of swords, t h e c r e a t i o n of new dances , and t h e freedom t o a d a p t and change pub l i shed d e t a i l s o f a c o l l e c t e d dance w i t h i n t h e r u b r i c of wh'dt i s accep ted as * t r a d i t i o n a l . " These a r e major i s s u e s w i t h i n t h e f o l k dance movement i n England. Would HE. Stone be a s e a g e r t o i n c l u d e , £o r example, t h e perzormance of sword dance by women or t h e a t t e m p t to make u s e of dance m a t e r i a l s c o l l e c t e d from Eng l i sh v i l l a g e s i n an Xmerican c o n t e x t as l e g i t i m a t e d e v e l o g m h t ? I t ,is r e l a t i v e l y s a f e t o enc4ourage t h e men f r o h Kirkbur ton who are f o r t u n a t e e m u g h ko have found ev idence of a long l o s t sword dance t r a d i t i o n i n t h e i r v i l l a g e . What of those of u s who wish t o have a sword dance tradit ion wi thou t t h a t t enuous l i n k t o a l o c a t i o n ?

The performance o f t h e orr ria i n the united S f a t 3 6 has meaning i p t h e l i v e s of t he d a n c e r s and t h e s p e c t a k h r s bnd t h i s f a c t must be t aken i n t o cons ide rak ion of a n y d e f i n i t i o n of " t r a d i t i o n . " , T h e meaning i s , I sugges t , t he same now as i t always was i n v i l l a g ~ s where t h e danc ing h a s been p r a c t i c e d For many yea r s . The tongsword dance was brough t i n t o Yorkshire* Roy Dommett suggests, by German mCning e n g i n e e r s i n t h e l a t e Medieval p e r i o d when they S t a r t e d t h e mines which have been a n i n t r i n s i c p a r t o f Yorkshire f o l k l i f e e v e r s i n c e . Morr is and sword dances were brought i n t o America by f o l k l o r i s t s and dance e n t h u s i a s t s bu t a t e now performed by o r d i n a r y working people w i t h no r e a l i n t e r e s t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e customs. They.get caught up i n t h e basic power o f t h e dance form and look f o r a l l t h e world a s i f they had s tepped o u t of a snapsho t taken a t a lmos t any p o i n t i n t h e p a s t few hundred yea r s . But is i t American, o r is i t j u s t a copy o f something Engl ish?

One w r i t e r on the Morris ( see For res t , 1985) has exp publicat ion of notated dances has led t o f o s s i l i z a t i o n o b d a n e e forms. I t seems t o me t h a t f o s s i l i z a t i o n of express ive movement is no t possible . Change may happen more slowly, but i f the dancer is a c t u a l l y a l i v e and movement - is communioation about life? , then a l l a s p e c t s of -a dancer ' s l i f e m u s t wt expressed i n the dasae.,DP oougse, i f your Life i s h l a m d , mt very i n t e r e s t i n g and changes very l i t t i e , t h e w wonpt be m w h b & a y through the dance,-$hat-may l a v e .bean a major problem w i t h , khe*-folk ,dance movement e a r l y i n t h i s century. I t was winbafned hy a g e m r a t i o n who were cau t ious e m t & n a l l y and proieasional ly. -and ueEe l i p i t e d in- t h e i r a v a i l a b l e r e p e r t o i r e of responses t o l i f e . .

In su&kry, \he major. souzre%i ~ ~ i o s & = a o y : h movement which can ' be ideqki f ied as indiwidpbl,. team,:og f e g i ~ ~ ? & - s t y I e + , i s i n l i v i n g . n n e l s . l i f e a s f u 4 y .as - . poss ib le withig;pnrIs. . i n M i a te o s n ~ u n i ty. The values whicb regula te and order one 's l i f e I n a famliy or, c u l t u r a l con tex t w i l l g e t represented i n - m e m e n t - i f o n a p e r s i s t s withha..daage fqgm. Z t w i l l happen m o ~ t quiekly i f .one limits t h e range of dance f a p a ~f gentes one,has to g e t be , .maerstand. Each Perm br ings a new,set a f dsm+n@s whkh w i l l &end to dornina8.e untiX they a r e s o f a m i l i a r t h a t o t h e r f o r c e s Can gek a chance to have" t h e i r say. Tn t h i s sense, :Trevor Stone 's encouragement of YorkshCrc t e s i d e n t s damang t b e Longswprd .is- l i k e l y . to produce t h e f a s t e s t xesponse t o a need f o r p reserys t ion of l m a l movoment.rtyle. The Lougsword dances and the? .Yorkshire . temperament have i n t e r a c t e d f o r q ; long kime* 4 suggest thab eyen dances ,o r ig ipa t ing i n ~ t h e C o t s y ~ l d s wou&l.evenulally lead t o a d i s t inc- t X~rRqhise styte..-iP,they we~e:pe~&t+ed.La b e c ~ m e , a s e s s e n t i a l a p a r t of I f f e ' s f a b t i c a s a f a v o r i t e p iece of cloLping, a f a w r i t e chasr , o r a well- loved spo t on a h i l l s i d e .

- , * t 4 . - I .

FOE hneriiian dancers; th i* news means ~ b a t . e & does no t have to keep t e l l i n g people t h a t these a r e English &oces. -One c g n . t r u s t t h a t t h e y a r e American,. and le&.Lhem serve ng-g m e a e a . o # . ~ e p e s f t ~ t i n g and expressing one'^ l i f e and the 16fe of one 's commpnity. I t is-!@e;sj.aanssnd we a r e American Morris dancers. - . - . i t - ,

. A - , . , . . I 5 .A . .A

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".. , - * - I - . 3 .- . - . - . - , - - , .

-7 *' . . I * - -, - I 1, .- ., .

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( . :. . ...5 ._ r I - .

( . , - . * 4 . . , . - - - . . . 9 ' 2 ' ,-.. .. . . _ - -

-_ I . ,;. ' .=, .. - & t e r nqch.kqgkgr&& ~remarch,and biiny letters 'of inquiry, a clkr enour@ p i c t u r e of what t h a t h i s t o r y involved began t o emerge. Enough so, t h a t on a r e t u r n t q i p to.gnqkmd .in the aurmner.of .-1964, . I took a. side krip .aww f l ; ~

t.Be-mrcis ~ r i & a J m ~ c e ~ k o u r - & ~ ~ w ~ arr bo fewrney to Ease SuffoIR-to i n t e r p i e y 4s. , Kennee; a - l e a v k g Wndon.&y l t m i n - . t q Ip$wicbu I gented q car-md:drov& &he- remcining ; ~ i ~ t r a c e t ~ t o . ~ ~ ~ a e e b h 0 ~ 1 8 e ~ ; - kQme e f Douglas and ELizabeOla Kennedy. . y l s~ 5 - 2 -.*aa:.- ., . Y . . - , ,

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Douglas, n ~ w ~ 9 8 ~ g e a s q ~ ~ l d , r e w a L n $ ~ e t i v e i n a o m p i l i n g notes concerning p a s t events . I t was'an extreme Pleasure t o cha t with him f o r a t o t a l of th ree

.--. -*

JCB: Yes1 -She toured fh 2911. She an&'EhSi?hL%%e&lkent over. One of ( f a c t s ) t h a t I have j u s t learned M e 6-c d a y is t h a t F l o r r i e Warren married an4 s tayed i n Americar sa 1% culiwa t@ know i f she remained i n - contac t with them* York' peoplZ or the EtoerPoH peme ascher name would have been Mrs Arthur" Bfuwnt t h a t was t h e gentleman she mtxried... . . .- DK: f knew ~ h e a d married someone i n America and stayed. T h a t a s f a r -

1 we-ware.doaaerneU i n angland she disa'ppeared from t h e scetre be&use we P&% t o see hef a l e e when t h e Bsgarance fir%% atenb orP& adtake. P l o r r i e Warren, af r o u r s e , was t h e i r 8 0 r E of tra*fierWiid sKe was a very good teacher bu t she suddenly disappeared and then we r e a l i z e d t h a t she had been Over i n t h e S t a t e s and be married, but I d i d n ' t r e a l i z e t h a t she had gone with Mary NC%l or t h a t & * F a t had any s6rt of p rogra l a t t h a t t i m e o u t t M r e . . .. J C B ~ W e -had (Mary Neal) the re a c t i v e l y l e c t u r i n g and F l o r r i e Warren was sckisally daing t g e heachfngr-I have come &cross some newspaper a r t i c l e s notbg tkeM'work to t h a t ebfect. . Them i n 1.912, you have the f i r s t group of Almeef&&n v i s i t o W %mifig 6ver t o t h e StMtfHd School; one of which was Helen Storroar and George Baker, the p rofessor , and Mary...

Drr- 9Mf r do rem&mbez. of oourl8. be&use'l was a t S t r a t f o r d t h e & - s - - - 3 - *- . JCB: ... do you r e c a l l t h a t group.6f

DK: Well Baker I think had been s t imulated by Claude Wright. n Storrow a l s o had some i i p t r u c t i o h ftbm Claude Wright. . r - 5 - - . . - . f . .?. - ..- JCB? wcrll .>this w6uld bO before eP~ep.~%e€ Claa& m a a h t . "- "3 .. - -- - -

JCB: Yes, because they m e t Claude Wright i n 1912 and then i n v i t e d him over.

DK: Sorry, I g o t t h e th ing upside down. That 's r i g h t , yes. Well now, I - a 0 not know what r e a l l y , the only th ing I could th ink of t h a t could brought thtm b e f M e thhQcwoUld be tile kaowlL&# tha t ' this'EhiWg was goin i W S t r a t f w d and the* bus t have bBAe*WiUr d mete gemka? idea- O r get fkbfa*Mli&ni . . . >& - - < * 1 6 , - . - -

JCB: So I was wondeliRg iC tb8 $a$letfr a t - t h a t p d n t ~ h d & c d a o t & alkeady aWr i n America, i f t h e r e had b e m .some Uor't=%f 'n&twy%k ming 'an- whio-h' 1 was ne t aware of . . L I I . ,- , ..- . - '_

u n i v e r s i t i e s l i k e Baker, f o r instance, who was an a u t h o r i t y on Bizabethian--he wa* an au thorkyo-m :.,he rn a d r a m person--then h i s m e t was then' t h e theatre; ahd-.Bq far .ar%'*.;f_436~ muaie, f o l k dance who41 w e Concerned that mu-ld be a SeCOnda~p %tf;tnS.mQ R O ~ s o Appoxtan t p ~ v b a b l y In t h e i r eyes a& coming a c r o s s f o r the theatre.Buk we were very impressed Hth t h e srouD because I think i t was bv f i r s t i h w e s s i o n of inke l lec tua l Rmericans -baking en i n t w e k k i n eomething abwb inrch they. obvicus lb in& & l o t already. We we e q u i t e accustomed t o meeting Americans who knew nothihg isl-mm t aad *h& ware q u i t e Brepar&-and w i l l i n g to aocept any CMng you see,

were peoplw w h o ~ k n e r whab they were. looking f o r and recognized i t w k r b & e s a w i t : r : s . . ' : * - + I -1. . - 7. . . * . -i , I 1..

: r Y a u s a i d i n ~ne-of-ydr:-le.t~ers~ s e n t t o me that-.you ended up having a W l a r -c&rrMp15Y18d6ce me2 tPh& w i t h George Baker. Do you remember whir t he Xi,+ b ' l i k e or... . " . . , . . . . - - -

F.--. 1 * - , p " i.. - I remember % i n -a perart weQz.weli indeed, yes , because when us yere 6veei L&re r i g h t up t o , e txes(itthing-of-th second war i t =was f a i ~ l y elose @F-naTytobtaCt wMh,.nhat b%% the-nme:,i*f.tw.dr%.Wni~ersity a w i n ? -c z "~ , f ; A . , :. 2- : . .+,,. . &8: HarvaM, he'.tPas at 13alvard 'd = ' - , *, . .. < - " .. 5 -- Dke . I mix ~ p * ~ % a r v a r d - and: Yale, Yes. - * -+ a ~ : * ' H a S r v a t d &s t h e one o u t s i d e Boston - _ _ , - - - WX.: That 's r i g h t . Now Yale--who was the person a t Yale who was very Wvterested i n , who was t h e Yale con tac t I can remember? - :-. w?=. I h a m 1 ~ 0 4 5 h a d ~ a ~ r e g u l a r con tac t a t Yale 0% come across one. I . know

harp had t r i e d t o do work a t Yale which f e l l through while he was over b e .

' . -ir '. r 2 . _ / . . - *. . , Yef: &: Well t h e r e was somebody who used t o come over from Yale with an i n t e r e s t

f . r . - - , LC - .

> - WB: I n ChpcW! r: b e l i e v e i n New 'ffamp~hire. -> - _ 3-

very important p a r t t o pJay and they had been s o h t e r w w e n f o r s o 10m his t tmica l ly . But Baker impressedime very much with h i s crr~husSasa f o r evpry l i n e t h a t turned.up. He got: exa l ted about i t a l l , whf& I aga in 1-iRed very &el?.

I ' ' .- JCBI Was h e a dancer himself? - A

. . , ,. . DLt H e damed.couatry dancing. H e wasn't good fa r~norzdbi dancing. He was r a t h e r on t h e s t o u t s ide. H e got auk o f .breabh. B u t he loved &$rig c o w t r y dancing and he could apprec ip te hhe.Morri6. He l iked watching it and i n Choeura one of t h e n i c e r th ings t h a t happened i n t h e evening was they would get t h e c a r s a l l . round i n a circle -space, you know< and sh ine . t h e headlxghts down on t & m and d a n c e i n t h e middle of. *he f laod l i g h t and t h e evening no ises of a l l t h e c r i c k e t s would be around. I t would be quite fasc ina t ing . Fie l i k e d t h a t s o r t of dramatic p ~ e s e n t a t i o n but i t was e s s e ~ t i a l l y the 'dramatic element of t h e dancing igt attracted him then. B q t 1 . do remember t h a t S t r g t f o r d when he f i r s t r r a m e t h e r e t h t these wece vezy i n t e r e s t i n 9 bunch of people and t h e r e w a s o t h e r people who came w e z - wkkh tha t , not always with t h e same leaderghip, b u t coming e s s e n t i a l l y following i n t h e f o o t s t e p s of t h e Harvard people. There was s o r t of a Haryard t r a i l t h a t went on and then a f t e r Sharp had done t h e s e v i s i t s i n t h e Appalachians and come i n touch with the Pine Mountain-Settlement people and so on khen we es tab l i shed a r e a u l a r t r a i l of these d i f f e r e n t kind from t h e mountains who cane t o ~ t r a t f o ; d every erummer d f a i r l y recently--what was her name...

1 "

3CB: Evelyn Wells? I ,

DKr Eveyln We19s, yes , and, o f ' c o u r s e , t h e t h r e e people r e g u l a r l y teaching eame over too , t h e Boston g i r l who died.&. - JCB:' Dorothy Bolles was one who taught e a r l y on a t Pine Mountain and a l sc d ied very young. . . DU: She died,young, yes, scr I den'& khow why.her name came t o me f i r s t . I think she was t h e . f i w t person I n o t i c e d - a t S t r a t f ~ r d &s being one of thb Pine WEI t a h peqple b u t I: g9,t LeGIcmw-~ D e r ~ t h y ~ . Emlaes an& of course the g i r l t h a t taught f o r u s af terward& at.Beslom-#or-msw years .* .Loui~eChapin , yes. She was an es rJy one. 2 d i d n ' t dheIsg~&& between her and. t h e Pine M~unta ig people a t &he time ap4 then I r e a l i e e d she was sf Q d i f f e r e n t ca&gpzy.+ - @pt a t S t r a t f o r d they were t h e Americans and they had a p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t fox a l l of us because they were s o e n t h u s i a e t i c and vary goo& too. % , .

E B a . One o f the ques t ions I had f o r youabotGt Claude Wright, ~ b e c a u g e ygu had w r i t t e n q u i t e a bit about hi* alrea?y,<.,was do you remember h $ m g a d k b g a t al l &out what he d id when he. came back Ezlom 3nteri~a.P Ife wa5 ovex thgxe fax ,two s u m e r o , 1913 and 1914, do you remembez him ta1k;lng about what he d i d or...

1 I

DXI Mot a l o t , no. H e d i d n 9 t t a l k an awful lo t abouk it b r t i y I t h i n k because we d i 0 n ' t prompt him enough. We -1% all a b i t j ea lous of t h e f a c t t h a t Ire g o t t h i s and he wasn't e boas te r a t a l l s o . h e d i d n ' t boast and w we d i d n L t p ick . u p t h e odd information t h a t come$ "from boas t ing byt he obviously enjoyed it and f th ink he f e l t t h a t It was good r e s w n s e and i t was going t o be good ground f o r us to work on, I mean there was a tremendous

. ,

.,,.

T Morris but t h e r e were o t h e r s $&cv .Ljoined -13k the names I csn9t.z%member now but I@O 1 were 'f rm-Wxe-*sa n% &BOW lmmh about t h e men8s PT SpH60l -+but I knew tMe qirla' PT school because my ' Hster ,Qs owe Qf

o r somewhere Swedish. And t h e same X suppose was t r u e , might have been t r u e of t h e men's team. I don' t know enough about t h a t . There was one element ' which was recognizably d i f f e r e n t and t h a t was t h e YHCA r i g h t a t t h e very beginning. O f course, they had always done PI, they were always were very keen on PT and s p o r t s and so on, but they took up dancing too and s o I knew a b i t about t h e YMCA element and t h e r e was some men t h e r e WOO danced who 4 came from there. But Paterson and Wright were our two i n the team. Now we had those two men, the two Karpeles s i s t e r s had a l ready been canvassing some of t h e i r boyfriends who never came i n a s morris dancers bu t d i 4 come i n a s country dancers. Through Sharp himself , Sharp brought i n Butterworth and Wilkinson because they were both musician* who were teacbing a t boys' prep school. In f a c t , Wilkinson succeeded when Sharp himself gave up teaching a t two boys' prep scRQols Wilkinson took on h i s place, on h i s work. Butterworth, I don ' t think was teaching a t any p a r t i c u l a r school bu t he was a musician and he came i n through Sharp himself. So i t was t h e four of them, Lucus came i n through h i s b ro ther Ebby. Lucus wals a l i t e r a r y bloke and Perceval, he came i n because h i s b ro ther d i d , t h J s with Sharp and t h a t was h i s personal connection with Sharp, nothing to do with PT and Tiddy war a don a t Oxford and he was i n t e r e s t e d i n , c u r i o u s enough, on t h e r i t u a l s ide . He knew a l l about Baker because he w a 9 a Shakespeare e n t h u s i a s l i c and he has . a book on the mummers play, he d i d n ' t w r i t e i t , he coJ lec ted mummers plays, somebody e l s e wrote a book, you know a l l about t h a t too, I expect , s o those people were brought i n no t through t h e PT. The only people brought i n through PT were Paterson and Wright.

JCB: So you were brought i n b a s i c a l l y through your s i s t e r .

k : I was brought i n b a s i c a l l y through my s i s t e r . I subsequently d i d do some c l a s s e s a t Chelsea but t h a t was on Biology and t h a t had nothing t o do with the dancing.

JCB: One of the th ings I had asked you before and you had mentioned i n a l e t t e r was t h a t Sharp wrote about t h e physical cu l tu re . There was a l s o about a e s t h e t i c dancing which was based on the Delcroze a e s t h e t i c dancing. I have been t r y i n g to d o some reading t h i s p a s t v i s i t about what i t meant by the physical c u l t u r e and what the Swedish and t h e German and Danish approach was. Wright seemed t o be q u i t e involved i n a l l that . When i t came t o h i s ' dancing and the way he would teach, how was the way he taught morris o r danced morris d i f f e r e n t than say you who was genuinely a pupi l of Sharp?

D : W e were a l l pup i l s of Sharp. I think we were a l l imagining t h a t whaC we were doing was what Sharp was doing and what w e d id was what he wanted us t o do. No one does when they a r e young e s p e c i a l l y , b u t I was q u i t e c e r t a i n there was cons iderab le d i f f e r e n c e i n presentat ion. Wright had the g r e a t b e n e f i t of being a superb gymnast himself and he was r e a l l y a c r o b a t i c and s o when he l e a p t o u t and up and down i n capers they were darn good capers. were t e r i f f i c . He r a t h e r , he annoyed some of u s because, like young people who were jealous of somebo6y doing b e t t e r than themselves, we s a i d he was a show o f f . That was about the worst thing you could say. While seeing the morris j i g f o r ins tance was meant, i s meant t o be a showoff s o it 's hard on the man who does i t espec ia l ly , who does i t very wel l and so he was a b i t o a showoff and I think i n teaching rhythmical movement he would be more keen on physical bombast than t h e rhythmical mueical re la t ionsh ip . We r a t h e r fancied ourse lves a s dancers more musical whore h i s was more physical . I mean you would f i n d some excuse f o r your own being d i f f e r e n t .

MORRIS DANCING $KEY&

JCB: Because actclal ly a good p a r t on you of the demonstration s i d e were i n f a c t musicians o r had good musical t ra in ing? - ,

DK: That 's r i g h t . Yes ate were r e a l l y more musicians than physical people and paterson and R i g h t they were i n a way stood o u t l i k e s o r e t e e t h i n our eyes because they were doing th ings ffom a physical po in t of view. Now t h i s was t r u e you could s a y t h i s was general c r i t i c i s m of much of the f o l k dancing of t h i s period t h a t was d i r e c t e d by people Who had been physical conscience s tudents themselves. There was something about t h a t per iod o f physical c u l t u r e which waa a hang over I suppose o f t h e o ld d r i l l Pays where your s t r a i g h t l i n e s were very important and everything being t i e d i n and boxed In and SO on1 YOU c o u l d n ' t be ou t of l i n e . I f you w r e ou t of l i n e t h a t was dreadful . But they d i d n ' t make a d i s t i n c t i o n about being i n t i n e because you were a l l a t one with one another o r being i n l i n e becausd you were dress ing by t h e r i g h t o r l e f t you see. We11 t h a t t o u s meant something fundamental. I f you dressed by the r i g h t o r l e f t . then t h i s was not f ro@ our point of view the r e a l a r t i s t i c dance rhythmical. So t h e r e was two fundamental p r i n c i p l e s involved which I can r e c o l l e c t i n t h e very beginning t h a t caused a c e r t a i n amount of d i s t o r t i o n of dance and I th ink most people who see a production now by a physical t r a i n i n g school wwld f i n d i t -very hard t o s a y t h i s was d i f f e r e n t because physical educat ion Maple have benefi ted s o much from t h e impact of t h e dance a s an a r t over the l as t half century in every country t h a t I have been i n con tac t with. -- -. - ---

s o m th ing t h a t I f i n d q u i t e i n t e r e s t i n g i s - t h a t a n terms of&e ih t ro&ct ion of Americans t o the whole English country dahce and d f l i s dance t h e i r f i r s t exposure was with Mary Neal and Florence Warren who was from more of the sheer r e c r e a t i v e end of the spectrum and then they had Claude Wright who was from the o t h e r end of t h e spectrum of j u ~ t t h e phqer a t h l e t i c i s m of i t and then f i n a l l y they l a i d the groundwork f o r C e t i l S h a ~ p t o c o w over and bu i ld i n f a c t t h e organizat ion which it grew i n t o i n terms of Country Dance Society and s o I have been t r y i n g t o understand *hat - t h e background of both the recrea t ion and the phys ica l Cul tu re process w$s because they d i d lay groundwork f o r h l a and...

Dar They d id indeed. Yes what was n i c e about him was t h a t people lik&-Woed Hinman, f u r ins tance , appreciated t h a t what Sharp was t ry ing ko \do Tias Something d i f f e r e n t from what she had f i r s t envisaged s o she was prepared t o modify and M r s . Storrow, of course, very much s o Mrs. Storrow a t once BdW t h a t he had something and it was an approach t h a t was d i f f e r e n t from anything she had encountered before and they were awfully ready t o say, "We11 now, Mr. Sharp now obviously was the man f o r us because he go t something e l s e a s well.* It was h i s musical knowledge, musical c a p a b i l i t y and s o on. But Sharp had no knowledge of dance a s such when he-s ta r ted . He c a m t o t h i s l i k e a new boy l i k e the r e s t of us.

JCB: Who d i d the teaching f o r the Chelsea demonstration group? Wh; d i d t h e teaching?

D l : Nar t h i s was very i n t e r e s t i n g be experience with teaching t h i s kind of method of teaching anything was t o s i t was dance movement he would t r y t o - - r t i c u l a r melody o r music the kind of

nOl

- . - - - - - . .

was eltZcTw t h e - s d n e ' a t h t h e f o r k songs. Re d i d n ' t t a l k ' much except t o say how it was c o l l e c t e d and t h e kind of it from b u t when he s t a r t e d playing and then you began t f e e l i n s of t h e whole rhythm and the t o n a l i t v and everv t method; So when i t c a b t o dancing on the- f l o o r s a s - i t w&e he was a t a loss . So what h e , d i d was r a t h e r , i n an elementary form, g o t people i n t o movements and l i k e t h i s and l i k e t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s around about t h e s t a f f of the co l tege , some whom who were very quick and keen on dance element, became a s i t were h i s voice and they would then say ONOW, M r . Sharp wants u s t o do s o and soR and it was very much M r . Sharp and us with through an i n t e r p r e t e r and the i n t e r p r e t e r was f i r s t the s t a f f and then subsequently s t u d e n t s and my s i s t e r and Marjorie S i n c l a i r was one of our s t a f f l a t e r on...and o ther people of t h a t p a r t i c u l a r year i n the co l lege were e i t h e r good a t t h i s o r no t s o good a t t h i s and t h e people who were good a t t h i s i d e n t i f i e d themselves with Sharp and q u i t e a number of them came on t o h i s s t a f f i n t h e f i r s t t e n years of t h e Soc ie ty ' s ex i s tence , s o r t of a mass s t a f f , coming i n the same way a s being h i s foreman a s i t were when it comes t o l ay ing down t h e na ture of t h e work t h a t had t o be done. I t ' s no t teaching s o much a s j u s t g e t t i n g people going. Sharp depended very much a f t e r t h a t on them f e e l i n g t h e music and coming ou t with them and i f they d i d n ' t g e t the hang of i t i n t h e r i g h t way, well he d i d n ' t want t o waste time t ry ing t o pu them r i g h t because he d i d n ' t even know how t o g e t them r i g h t . H e would r a t h e r g e t r i d of them than t r y t o g e t them r i g h t , i n f a c t . But he knew when somebody was doing i t and he used t o g e t every now and then g e t a f e e l i n g t h a t t h e PT people were a l i t t l e b i t of a danger and a s - h e was very overwhelmed by PT people t o s t a r t with, he was more exposed t o comparison with Mary Nea l ' s f r e e f o r a l l s o r t of thing than he would have been i f he had no t s o many PT people i n the s e t up t o s t a r t with. On the o ther hand he couldn ' t have g o t t e n on without them a t t h e beginning because t h a t was h i s only method r e a l l y of doing it.

JCB: I remember reading l e t t e r s t h a t he wrote t o Maud (Karpeles) about being i n America and suddenly having t o teach...

DR: Yes, without anybody t o h e l p him. .-c : c

JCB: And a l s o when he f i n a l l y had t o break d a c t u a l l y i t wasn't a j i g , he danced i n on Trun about how he did i t j o l l y well good. So I hadn' t those l e t t e r s t h a t he r e a l l y wasn't a teacher , pr imari ly , he was simply c o l l e c t o r .

DK: Well he was a teacher i n t h e sense t h a t he taught boys i n school. H could teach music and you s e e they wouldn't have made him t h e head of t h Hampstead Conservatory School of Music, the royal family wouldn't have ha him a s t h e i r musical coach i f he wasn't a b l e t o teach. He could teach you t s ing and he could teach you t o p lay the piano and he could teach you wha elements of music were b u t i t was musical r a t h e r than dance t h a t he was go a t . So when i t came t o dancb, a s such, he rea powerless i f he hadn ' t had t h i s group of people t t o a c t a s his...people say t h a t he went t o Chelsea College, i n f a c t I th in I used t o say t h i s myself, he went to'chelsea College because he had t o hav some kind of i n s t i t u t i o n t o l a y down t h e elements of grammar, dance gramma es it were, s o t h a t you could teach t h e vocabul t u l e s and then you g ive a c e r t i f i c a t e a t t h e end having reached a c e r t a i n

tandard, t h a t s o r t of thing, depended on having some kind of i n s t i t u t i o n t o t a r t with, That was what Chelsea College I thought played t h e par t . But h e r e was more t o it because I th ink he would have been allnost unable t o put t across a t a l l i f he hadn't had those a s s i s k a n t s who were t r y i n g ; espera te ly and s i n c e r e l y and hard t o f i n d ou t what i t was t h a t he wanted hen t o do. And he gave a very good p i c t u r e I th ink up t o t r y i n g and f a i l i n g nd t ry ing and succeeding. Very much a s we had a wonderful team of g i r l s i n r i s t o l , I thought X t o l d you t h i s , when Sharp was no t teaching s o much imself but depending on guiding the things through performances which he ould c r i t i c i z e o r t h e musical f e s t i v a l movement where he used t o go and - udge and teams would come and dance and he would mark them and he would say hev were aood a t ~ t h i s and aood a t t h a t and s o on and t h a t gave him another

o p p h u n i t y - o f puttkng across h i s ideas. And one p a r t i c u l a r place i n B r i s t o l had a r e g u l a r annual f e s t i v a l and t h e r e was a school t h a t s p e c i a l i z e d i n mentally d e f i c i e n t g i r l s . Well you couldn ' t have thought anything more unsui table . But the team t h a t came i n from t h i s p a r t i c u l a r school of mentally d e f i c i e n t g i r l s had been taught by someone, r a t h e r l i k e Sharp himself, who s a t i n a c h a i r and watched t h e g i r l ' s dancing. The g i r l s knew what they had t o do i n terms of f i g u r e s and movements and s o on and combining and when they performed they would t u r n t o t h e teacher and say "how was t h a t n you s e e and she would smile a t them and say " t h a t was very lovely, t h a t was love lyn o r e l s e say *NO, t h a t ' s not r i g h t g . I f s h e d i d n ' t l i k e what they d id s t raightaway then they went back and t r i e d again and t h i s was t h e method. And Sharp s a i d , "How do you do t h i s marvelous teaching when these g i r l s dance with much more sense of f e e l i n g and mus ica l i ty than the o ther teamsn, and then t h e o t h e r teams g o t s o fed up wi th these mentally d e f i c i e n t c h i l d r e n beat ing them. So Sharp used t o p u l l t h e i r l e g s and say, "There you a r e you see, t h e y were supposed t o be b e t t e r bu t look what they can do". And then he asked teacher one day how she d i d i t and she described herse l f s i t t i n g i n a c h a i r and the c h i l d r e n coming up and saying * well was t h i s a l l r igh t?" and she was saying *no go do i t againw and they went on and then *was t h i s a l l r i g h t ? " "no go d o i t again" and t h i s was her method and when she had Sharp say "well how would you descr ibe your method?" she s a i d , "I d id it a l l by loven. Well I mean t h e r e you a r e t h a t is exgc t ly what t h e d i d do. She j u s t a f f e c t e d them and in fec ted them too: ? L * ~ " ~ . m y +

JCB: A l l of you on t h e demonstration team, a s well a s Maud i n t h e p i c t u r e s t h a t I ' v e seen while she was dancing, were always s o much o f f the ground. You were a l l q u i t e vigorous dancers. There's s o r t Of a sharp c o n t r a s t between t h a t and where e l s e i t d r i f t e d towards through the 30 ' s and 40's. Was t h e idea of how you taught t h e morris i n the second generat ion of morris dancers, i f you w i l l , i n the r e v i v a l , was t h e r e l e s s emphasis on t h a t vigorous height or...?

Df: Y e s , I think you have something there. There was l e s s emphasis on t h e Eorceful...Old Kimber there , he was very i n s i s t e n t on, he d i d a l o t of coaching you s e e and without him i t would have been much harder t o do what we did do and he coached us, of course, and he was i n s i s t e n t on vigor. H i s v igor was the v igor of rhythm. We couldn ' t make a t t h a t s t a g e of our development, w e hadn' t g o t c l e a r enough d i s t i n c t i o n with t h e v igor of rhythm and the v igor of push, of pulse, o r bea t and s o we were i n c l i n e d t o emphasize t h e bea t and miss t h e l i f t and w e d i d them i n a way, I think, we held back you might say, t h e development of morris dancing f o r a b i t through t h i s detetfqinat ion t o get...not understanding r e a l l y what w e were doing we missed the importance o f t h e l i f t . And, i n f a c t , we went on f o r q u i t e a long

lift of fourn. Well you understand that of course. i 1

JCB: 1 can remember reading many years ago a book you had written talking about the anacrhsis and getting that lift.

DK: That's right, well I called this the anacrusis you see try bring it',to-- people laughed at my word. W e had great jokes at the time but in fact ibhas had quite an effect because it immediately shifts your concentration from one point to another point and even if isn't quite the whole story it's a very good corrective and at that time you could say for a period we (had) Tar to much insistence on the keeping in time and marking the beat..,.

JCB: When you went to America in 1927 you would have seen the dancing going on largely in the absence of any, well any con'tinual contact with England. There was a large group of Americans which came over in 1926 to the Cambridge School but in between that time I don't have much xecollection of

'

individuals coming across.(3) How did the dancing look? They of course had Lily Roberts and they had Marjorie Barnett in America. They didn't have May gadd yet.

DX: No, she came out with us that year in 1927.

JCB: How did the dancing look if you will in that isolation period by the time you saw it in 19271

DK: I think we were pretty impressed with how extraordinary accurate it all was. I gave great credit to Mrs. Conant and Marjorie Barnett and anybody else who had beg..-but t h ~ r e had been of course those Appalachian Pine W ~ u n t a b people coming over jbsb, oh that was after Sharp's death, oh you were quite right

JCB: Actually, I take that back, Charles Rabold came over...

Pk: Ahll Rabold he had a very good influence too because he was very particular about getting everything just right. Meticulous he was and but he of course was also very keen on this firm...he was a very male character and his criticism of our morris was a bit just a bit feminine because ue were &aught by w n e n and people were awfully apt to see this if they thought if &hay knew we had to learn a great deal of our skill and knowledge from =men, which we had done, of course. My sister taught me a lot of what I <&*w, Rabold was v'sry good and it was a.tragedy that he was killed because

was a splendid link during the time he was alive between the Americans dm(! the British.

aB: So he was a fairly vigor~ua dancer.

,a: Vigorous da & - ;~<~uasn' t a very good Morris dancer becaus learned it too ~ a t h - - l ~ e andAhe was already rather wooden and stiff.

L'-, - A r - q-. - ,P? - . I - . - ;-; ?-A .A JOB: Sm&ld:%m he.&& ~hhe-time.,,

-- ..,, r).: yx> .% . - . =. -

K : f d i d n ' t , he was over j u s t about two y e a r s before Sharp t h r e e years - 'Vbefore Sharp d ied - 1922 i t must have been he danced wi th us a t . ..Sharp

played a t Royal Holloway College. Rabold was over f o r a mat te r of two o r t h r e e months, I t h i n k , i n England, and while he was here he was very keen t o do a s much a s p o s s i b l e with Sharp, s o Sharp was l e c t u r i h g still, al though he was a s i c k man, and every now and then he would l e c t u r e a t some b i g c o l l e g e and we would take a Morris team o r t a k e a team along and do t h e whole thing. And we pu t Rabold i n t h e team s o t h a t he could g e t what i t was l i k e t o f e e l - t o f e e l what i t was l i k e t o take p a r t i n those t h i n g s and he might have been - he might have been one of - i n England nobody would recognize him a s y e t being very much d i f f e r e n t except when it came t o t h e Morris who looked l i k e - .Who was the o l d man,. they would say. "Who's t h e o l d man ddncinq with you i n t h e Worrlh.w And (Sharp) would say, "well, he ' s not an o ld man, h e ' s an American.. So it wouldn't be heard of because he was very, ver) considered much nore h l i v e than we were, but a t t h a t t i m e he was t h e - but he was a very good c o l l e c t i n g f i l e f o r - keep c o n t a c t - JCB: So he was d e f i n i t e l y o l d e r than you who were a l l on t h e same team?

bK; H e was o l d e r than m e because I ' m one of t h e youngest, b u t he was o lde l - he gave t h e impression o f being an o l d e r man and Sharp used t o t r e a t hin with r a t h e r more r e s p e c t thah he t r e a t e d us. H e looked upon us a s h i s ch i ld ren . He looked upon Rabold more l i k e a b ro ther , t h a t s o r t of r e l a t i o n s h i p .

JCB: In 1927, once you f i n i s h e d t h e summer school d i d you G a v e l around e l i t t l e b i t o r d i d yo0 go s t r a i g h t home?

DK: No. No, we did , bu t t h a t - we were e n t i r e l y Mrs. Storrow's personal g u e s t s , and she took u s o f f a f t e r we'd f in i she i i a t Amherst, she took us s t r a i g h t back t o Lincoln and we had - vie took our c h i l d r e n over wi th us , and our c h i l d r e n and t h e Conant c h i l d r e n chummed up toge ther ; and while are were with Mrs. Storrow a t Lincoln our c h i l d r e n were down with Dick Conant and L i l y a t t h e i r house which was r e a l l y near Mrs. Storrow's house; and then s h e took t h e whole l o t of us , Conants and Kennedys, up t o h e r sugar - maple sugar farm a t - oh, t h e name o f t h e p l a c e - oh, a love ly p lace - s h e had a maple sugar farm i n New Hampshire, b u t n o t s o much i n t h e mountains, it was f u r t h e r south - JCB: I don ' t remember.

DK: You don' t remember, you probably wouldn't because t h i s was j u s t - we loved, of course, t h i s . And then s h e took us , l e f t the c h i l d r e n , yes , l e f t t h e c h i l d r e n under t h e Conant's nanny - they had a nanny - s o we l e f t a l l t h e c h i l d r e n a t t h i s p lace and she took u s up to Crawford Notch - Crawford Notch Hotel i n the White Mountains and took u s up Mount Washington and g e n e r a l l y gave us a very good l i t t l e ho l iday there, bu t t h i s was a l l pure family hol iday, t h e r e was no country c o n t a c t wi th any dancing, except we were i n New England she took us t o two t h i n g s - no, i t wasn't t h a t no, I must - I'm a n t i c i p a t i n g , I th ink she d i d take u s t o St i l lwood t group which t h e Smith family were running, a l l Smith family, you know Smith - JCBr Y e s , ,Melvi l le and M i l ton - . a

40

DR: Melvi l l e and, oh, Milton and Everet and everyone and s o on. Well, t h i s was a l o c a l family, a MassachU~etts family, count ry people, and they were involved wi th a l o c a l country dance team doing s t r i n g dances. doing the long ways, American long ways, HU11'8 Vic tory and t h a t sort of thing. And we were very impressed by - M r s . Storrow thought they were a little );it rowdy and d i d n ' t q u i t e approve of -it, b u t we thought t h e y were a b s o l u t e l y the cat's whiskers and of course we hadn ' t seen anything l i k e t h i s i n ~ m e r i c a before, t h e f i r s t tid weSd seen hmerfcan country dancing. W e were abso lu te ly t h r i l l e d . hnd w s a i d , "Well, why a r e n ' t y o u j i d p g more of t h i s ? " you see,

' and Mrs. S t o r r w was puzzled f o r a minute. What d o you mean doing more of it?" We s a i d , "Well, why a r e n ' t you doing more of t h e American Country 6ancing and -- r a t h e r than t h e English', you see . And s h e s a i d , -Oh we think t h a t t h e English have g o t something v e r y s p e c i a l about i t . * We thought t h a t t h e Americans had something very s p e i c a l about it. So t h e y didnVt...But Milton, Milton of course--his was one of t h e s t r o n g e r c h a r a c t e r s of t h e Smith bro thers , he thought. he thought i n a Way, took t h e view t h a t what they were doing was r e a l l y b e t t e r f o r t h e Americans than t h i s English thing, which he was q u i t e r i g h t i n a way. And it took a long. time before t h e Country Dance Soc ie ty began t o r e a l i z e t h a t they c o u l d n ' t oo on wi th t h i s ~ n g l i s h , English, ~ n g l i s b , English. s i t u a t i o n i f they d i d n ' t recognize the.

JCB: Were t h e Smith Brothers a l l involv

DK: Oh ves.ves. In f a c t . vou could. I th ink t h e r e was a Smith team but there wasnit q i i were f i v e of the

JCB: I th ink t h e

DU: Pour of them, yes. W e l l , wa i t a minute, e r e was Albert , t h e b o t a n i s t , who I knew of course1 Everet , t h e school t e r , Melvi l le , who was the musician, Milton, who was t h e e l d e r b ro ther , I always thought of him as. There was another , bu t t h e r e was a fe l low who used t o dance with them. In f a c t , he ' s i n t h a t photo, have you g o t a photograph of t h e f i r s t Amherst school , t h e r e ' s a photogra

JCB: No, I d o n ' t

,DK: I wonder i f I cou t h a t . But t h e chap I used t o th ink was a Smith Brother was--I did discover a f t e r he wasn ' t a Smith s o t h e r e were only four of them. But they were a l l ve ry good dancers and they were a l l very keen on the dance you know, they

FB: When you taught a t Amherst, a t t h a t s t a g e what d id , what d id you t a 'so teach? Were you p r e t t y much s t i c k i n g t o what was p a r t of t h e examinat - precess o r d i d you go beyond t h a t ?

'DK: We had t o i n a way, J i m , because t h e Americans were a l l pursuing I > + C e r t i f i c a t e s , and having s e t t h i s wretched system up we more o r l e s s had to

keep t o the schedule and of course although we were q u i t e prepared t o change t h e dances from time t o time you c o u l d n t t switch over too quickly s o you kept t h e same s y l l a b u s perhaps t h r e e o r four years and then you had to

- .- - - 3 - - 2 . -- --,-.q- ,* - A :*:-*-2*T --- - - -- .-e -- --& "- 1 - c x--- +%?

& 7--2./ w x

hange, t h a t s o r t of thing. So we were a p t t o be t i e d down by our own d o c t i n a i r e arrangements. Otherwise, it wasn't r e a l l y d i f f e r e n t what we d i d a t Amherst a s t o what we d i d a t S t r a t f o r d , except very much any kind of th ing t h a t suddenly came o u t of t h e d i f f e r e n t surroundings t h e r e was a novel ty, b u t i t never was a r e a l novel ty, it's a l l t h e same th ing b u t j u s t d i f f e r e n t because it was p lace and d i f f e r e n t people.

JCB: Did you end up a s a t eacher , q s an ind iv idua l t eacher , d i d you end up emphasizing s t r i c t l y t h e dances o r d i d you teach dancinq o r combination, how d i d you...

DKr I t r i e d t o t e a c from t h e very beginning, I t h i n k from what I ca l l dancing, what you c k 11 dancing now, i n s o f a r a s my s i s t e r and I being ch i ld ren , S c o t t i s h ch i ld ren , we'd both been brought up wi th having been s e n t to o u r l o c a l reel c lub , t h e r e was a very good dancing t e a c h e r i n Edinburgh. An o l d dancing masker, a c t u a l l y , i n t h e o l d school who taught S c o t t i s h vers ions of S c o t t i s h Country dancing, n o t very much S c o t t i s h Country, mostly, mostly Highland f o o t s t e p dancing, you know. She was very good a t it. 1 was thoroughly bad. In f a c t , I was so bad t h a t I pretended I d i d n ' t know anything about it. But then when I joined t h e S c o t t i s h Regiment i n London I went t o jo in t h e Reel Club t h e r e and then I learned again, but i n a much better condi t ion , I was o l d e r then, I was i n my l a t e t eens and a b l e t o pu t it, bu t I s t a r t e d lea rn ing a t t h e worst t i m e f o r a boy when h e ' s j u s t beginning t o be self-conscious, l e g s a l l over t h e place. My s i s t e r , on the o t h e r hand, was consummte, and s o another reason why I d r i f t e d i n the background. But I still had the sense t h a t t h e r e was something of dancing r a t h e r than dances, t h a t t h e r e was an element, and I t r i e d o f f from t h e very beginning t o put my f i n g e r on t h a t and teach t h a t . But what I had t o teach the dances and you t r i e d t o make a s much a s poss ib le , too much of course, the d i f f e r e n c e between one t r a d i t i o n and another . And we s te reo typed Bampton, we s te reo typed Headington, a l though Kimber approved of Headington, he approved of our Headington s t e r e o t y p e which gave u s courage t o go on doing t h i s . We were appal led a t t h e . d i f f e r e n c e between our Bampton and the kind of Bampton t h a t you s e e now, scheduled and nervous. You seem t o watch t h a t t h e r e were r e a l l y two d i f f e r e n t , two d i f f e r e n t * t h i n g s , cha lk and cheese. But we had learned our Bampton through Sharp and ue f e l t t h a t if was what w e made--So Eampton was a l s o a l i t t l e b i t of a d i f f i c u l t y . Fieldtown we hadn't go t a p i c t u r e u n t i l f a i r l y l a t e , a f t e r w e performed it ourse lves i n Oxfordshire, u n t i l t h e Fieldtown people were t h e r e and confirmed what w e were doing enough t o s a t i s f y ourselves. But, of course , we never saw an a c t u a l Fieldtown team. But we d i d t r y , whenever w e had some f e a t u r e we would r a t h e r emphasize it and you know, arms come up t o t h e r e o r t h e s t i c k s , you know, whatever it was, w e se ized on t h a t and t r i e d to , otherwise i t would look j u s t t h e same a s t h e o t h e r ones. Some people d i d n ' t , even mean i f w e g o t t h e d i f f e r e n c e , people s a i d , wel l , they ' re a l l t h e same anyhow.

JCB: There's a very i n t e r e s t i n g taped conversat ion, Morris Sunderland h a s a copy of i t , i t was a gehtleman i n Maine in te rv iewing a woman who appbrent ly had taken c l a s s e s from Cec i l Sharp when he was i n Toronto back i n 1917, I be l ieve i t was and t h e gentleman who was interviewing asked her t h e quest ion, a wel l , do you remember what t r a d i t i o n s , d i f f e r e n t s t y l e s t h a t she had done?" and she s a i d "well, a r e n ' t t h e r e on ly two--one with hankies and one with sticks."(rll And s o I thought t h a t was a very--

DK: Very good, very good-

JCB: comment t h a t she had, b u t what--As you came and taught and then of course--what were--how Bi? 6 . 5 2 ~ Conact, what was she l i k e a s a teacher o r Charles Raboid a s a - teacher a s yo& saw them, a s you came over and watched them?

DK: She was yery g o d , Lily, she was l i k e my wife, Helen, who had t h e same--Helen and Naud were very d i f f e r e n t in--Helen was a performer with-- Ee l t every th ing very much here , (Bd. note? the h e a r t , t h e g u t ) Haud a l s o f e l t h e r e b u t thought r a t h e r more than f e l t . J u s t a d i f f e r e n c e i n temperment and c h a r a c t e r , bu t , and L i l y a g t h e r dancing from my Helen and always regarded her a s the epitomy of what she thought. She was very much-- quest ioned what i t f e l t l i k e . And she vould say, "well, now, what does i t f e e l l i k e . f e e l normal, f e e l good." @ut s h e learned a s q u i t e a youngster when she was i n Yorkshire before she came over t o t h e S t a t e s r and she had a tremendous sense of fun and energy i n her movement, i t came ou t i n her movement, I m a n t h e f u n a s wel l a s t h e energy. But she was very c a r e f u l t o g e t th ings j u s t r i g h t , s h e wasn* t s u r e , had s h e g o t it ' j u s t r i g h t o r not , i f i t wasn ' t j u s t r i g h t then what was t o be done. Very consclencious about tha t , b u t I th ink she had more sense of t h e team e f f e c t which w e a l l s t r i v e d f o r , was t h e unanimity which comes from t h e unanimous f e e l i n g which al lows f o r cons iderab le ind iv idua l d i f f e r e n c e i n p a r t i c u l a r s , b u t promotes, a s k t were, the genera l emotional e f f e c t . And she was good a t tha t . And I always think t h e th ings t h a t s h e put on, t h e performances with our childTep orh&he grownups, I never d id see--she always had t h i s sense t h a t t b e *le tp&g was a comp@pn..k&dw, . t h a b ' s npt quite the-yard I. gean, b u t you ; knoiv74 community.,, . . : . - - ,+ i b y 2:

, .-- : : . ? r , ' - - .A * ,- >-.., . . - < '

JCB: Y*- .,:,. .+- ,

5 ts-. JCB: And t h a t t h i s essence of .a--

. - . * &i ,a. . -,.- - . DK: Well, theyi;e a l l ' i n d i v i d u a l s b u t t h e r e was unit of--

,.," . . ,,-. ..- - I - >

JCB: - - t & i m w o ~ of, it-- - . .. . . . . DK: Teamwork, yes , peoRls't$&&k team l i k e , oh, yop m e h s t r a i g h t , . l i n e s and a r r i v i n g a t $he same point. - . .

' 8 25" % T 2 ,

JcB: There l s a tgr? tj?dt G;veb Gme to-use a t a e A . i n ~*qes&i ; , I don% know who else uses i t , w e c a l l i t t h e sense of ensemble.

k. 6 - I

DR: l!hatis i i g h k , a good ensemble, tha ti s .right, it's a:;lkry. goo@, wd1:@, yes.

. 5 -. i

JCB: Again, borrowihg from tne musicians. . :* , s.3 = -. - .i.fL

DK: Yes, t h a t ' s r i g h t , ye*,. yes&-- - . , . c :,.- . , - 3 - . - , ..- .<< . . . . ,.-_- m . . I -

JCB: When Sharp had ask& de; if she wo&d come over , whai kihd -& convincing d i d you a l l do with her?

L-- - --<a :-%-- fi-9 - &

DK: She d i d n ' t need a l o t , she--the only people her paren ts , he r family, she wasn't happy t o l eave her family behind because a t t h a t time Scarborough was being s h e l l e d from t h e North Sea and s o t h a t i n a way s h e f e l t t h a t she might be running away from t h e war, b u t s h e wasn't--she was q u i t e e a s i l y persuaded t h a t t h i s was a job she could, s h e would do and would l i k e t o do. But of course she was very young and i t was a b i g s t e p t o t a k e and we a l l r a t h e r sort sf pushed her i n t o it and d i d n ' t g i v e her a chance t o sort of say, well, w e l l , suppose so and so, we d i d n ' t g ive h e r a chance t o say, suppose s o and s o , we bundled h e r o f f . Very ruccessPu1, I c a n ' t imagine anybody a t t h a t time who'd of done a s w e l l a s she d id . The o n l y mistake she made was t o f a l l i n love w i t b Dick Conant t o o e a r l y , much t o Sharp 's anyoyance.

JC8: That apparan t ly happened t b a good many of t h e American--of t h e English w e n who went over , P l o r r i e Warren s tayed and married and L i l y Conant s tayed and married and--

DK: Marjor ie Barne t t v e r y n e a r l y d i d b u t she- -

JCB: She ended up marrying someone--

DR: She married Heffer , she married Arthur Heffer who was one of t h e Morris, English Morris dancers , a genera t ion younger than me . He was i n t h e f i r s t war, he was badly wounded i n the f i r s t war, i n f a c t . t h a t ' s what k i l l e d him. H e d ied of h i s wounds even tua l ly , b u t he g o t along a f t e r t h e war. He came back and he was Cambridge, t h e fami ly have a b i g shop i n Cambridge, t h e Heffer , t h e bookse l le r s , and a f te rwards would have been t h e h e i r apparent , he was t h e h e i r apparent , bu t he had t h i s bad wound. H e then went t o Oxford and danced wi th t h e Oxford group. H e ' s t h e on ly one I know t h a t ' s danced both i n Oxford and, bonafide Oxford and Cambridge a s a Morris dancer. And Barney f e l l i n love w i t h hlm and they g o t married and then very soon a f t e r the marriage he died. So, back Mrs. Heffer , Mrs. Marjorie Barnet t .

JCB: What was she l i k e a s a t eacher , now, she s t a r t e d i n the--

DK: She s t a r t e d i n PT school , she was i n Bedford, s h e was i n Bedford physical t r a i n i n g c o l l e g e and had t h e same dangers of physical--we always warned her , see, you have t o be c a r e f u l , you come o u t of a physical educat ion establ ishment . But she had s o much n a t u r a l vehemence and v o l a t i l i t y h e r s e l f t h a t she could a f f o r d to be, t o a l low a l i t t l e straight laced--she wasn ' t a t a l l s t r a i g h t l a c e d . Very good teacher and mostly by h e r enthusiasm, c a r r i e d everybody along wi th her.

JCB: Now, you would have seen her work i n New York, o r t h e r e s u l t of her work i n New York, and a l s o when she--

DKr A t Rochester, too.

JCB: --and Rochester. Do you r e c a l l any of t h e people t h a t she worked with, l i k e the Smith family genera l ly workea wi th L i l y Conant, who would-- d i d she work wi th Rabold i n New York o r were they sort of separa te?

c a n ' t rememb t h a t Rabold d i d work with any of t h e importea people. I can reco l lec f see ing Marjorie B a r n e t t ' s work a t Rochester because t h e s t u d e n t s t h e r e put on a show while we were there. We gave a performance a t Rochester, p a r t of t h a t t o u r , t h a t 102q tour when what 's h i s n w . w @ s there , the brother of the-- . - . -< . JCB: Melv i l l e *as there , I think.

DK: Melv i l l e was t h e r e , t h a t ' s r i g h t r

JCB: Hb waa t&e one 1 th ink ttho s t a r t e d t h e branch i n ~ochester . ' :

0x1 That's r i g h t , i war Melvi l l e , of course* obbrse, w& t h e head o h t h e school , music schobl , the, t h a t famous Engl i sh family o f musicians.

JCB: Well, t h e school is Eastman School of Music. . -- -- -- q.7 - -- - K.-

DK: Yes, Eastman School of Music. But t h e head of it WisL-we i ¶ a ~ l i ' ' i ~ oboe p layer h e r e i n England, 1'11 g e t h i s name i n a minute, and a sist w* p lays t h e harp who's i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y famous, a l l t h e same family. And t h s man who was t h e head of music a t Rochester, ve ry good conductor, 1 d i d n k l i k e him, bu t he was a good conductor. And 1 thought t h e atmosphere of th$ school a t Rochester was r a t h e r hot , no t h o t a i r , but--overheated. You kno. very- - in te l l ec tua l music, because E v e r t t was s o r t of--Melville, Melvi l le 4 a b i t of an i n t e l l e c t u a l musician, a b i t of an i n t e l l e c t u a l dancer, tood r e a l l y . Do you know what I mean by i n t e l l e c t u a l dancer?

: yes, yes. g~ DK: Rather self-bobscibus. But Marjorie Barne t t g o t an very ell with the geople. I c a n ' t remeinbet the New ~ o r k i n her time, it was a l l very gay atit] go ahead, she had some marvelous charac te rs . A M r s . Chote (ph.) , some rich', r i c h women, e l d e r l y women who were very r i c h and who were very keen on t h i i , on the dancing and took up Marjorie Barnet t . I don ' t remember t h e i r names now, they a l l -re b i g ha t s . Very much--

JCB: In t h e period.

Dk: E l i t e . Yes, a spec ia

JCB: Bow i n 1929 you

&: Came wi th u s , yes.

ZBI --came w ~ t h yod

DFt: And she s tayed

iKB: That ' s r i g h t . teacher , y6u knovt, i t terms bf her s t y l e a 8 compared t o t h e athePP? she eMed up r e a l l y ruhnitsg-m&j e o n t t b l l i n g t h e whClla Cauntry Dance SoCiety f 6 r 6Wh a long time.

DK: W e l l , when she was young ghe was l i k e Mi& B m n e t t , she was very v o l i t i l e and e n t h u s i a s t i c and bubbled a l l over. A s $he g o t o l d e r she took i t a l l r a t h e r much more s e r i o u s l y and i n s i s t e d o n , c e r t a i n th ings , +came a b i t , , was more pedagogib, everybody tevds t o do t h i s . They g e t t h e i r qwn sort of p i c t u r e and t h e y s t i c k t o t h e i r own r u l e s . I n t h e war, of course, she worked f o r t h e Army, d i d n ' t she?

JCB: The USO, yes.

DK: The USO. And t h a t , I thlnk, made her even more, I suppose, a l i t t l e b i t more--69 ghe became . a b i t h i d e bound i n terms of no t t o s t i c k t o p r a c t i c e s , exactry b u t yf what you, What was done and what wasn't gone. And Lhere aga in I used t o blame myself r a t h e r f o r having been s o p a r t i c u l a r pbotlt t h e t r a d i t i o n s , t o t r y t o make them s o clear. Andcshe b e g a n ' t o i n s i s t on t h a t which I 'd a l r e a d y grown o u t of, I s a i d , y e l l , t h a t r e a l l y i sn ' t - - t h a t was j u s t a phase we went through, you d o n ' t want--but no, t h a t had become the--

JCB: The standard. J.'

bRw: The . So she d3d;r1t l i k e any kind of modificaYion of something t h a t ' s h e ' d s o r t of g o t used to . So a b i t g e t , became: a b i t more set, t h a t , of course , @s she g o t o lder , 1 suppose, g o t even more exaggerated. But she had a tremendous sense of reeponsi>$li ty for what she was doing and she took t h e gre* tps t t r o u b l e over e w y t h i n g t h a t was sqggested t g h e r t h a t s h e thought was important, s h e saw ,t,q It. So s h e made a'gaod org8'h'lzer from t h a t po in t o f v i e w . . a

JCB: When you--you had come i n 1927 and then you d i d n ' t come back u n t i l about l i k e 1939. Had you--

fiK: Oh, , no. 1 had come over , we used t o come over , no, l e t me see . This is where I f i n d my memory is s o bad and I wish I had been a d i a r i s t . I would say t > a t ye c a w . o v p r near ly every year a f t e r 11f29 p n t i l 1939.

-. JCB: Ok.

DK: early every year. And we s tayed a t Long Pond, and thgn u s u a l l y because of my commitments i n England we hadn' t g o t t i m e t o go much f u r t h e r a f i e l d , than perhaps have a l $ t t l e hol iday a f t e r t h e school was over and.we probably s tayed a't Long Pond, o r e l s e d n t somewhere with Mrs. S t o r r w . In f a q t , while she was a l i v e we f e l t t o some.ex\ent, you s e e , she used t o my f o r our pbssayes ac ross . She used to put--she use? t o -fund, r e a l l y , t h e interchange between England and America. And s o we f e l t having gone over and done t h e Long Pond 6cboo1, whatever she wanted t o d o a f t e r thaf 'we were w r y much her w i l l i n g guest*. But we c o u l d n ' t s t a y f o r very long because w e had t o come back and g e t on with th ings here. But every year , I th ink , e i t h e r Maud o r Helen and myself would go and come across . Sometimes a l l t h r e e of us , bu t mostly one o r o ther .

JCB, ' N,y'ai-L'hat ,per iod of t i n e &re+seld," because so&$ere during t h a t W i q d "el & h e (he. e ~ a + m i r m k i o ~ s Dwm@ less $IO lees .e?ph&$zgd. , .

MORRIS DANCING

I

I

THE NINTH TOUR OF THE AMERICAN TRAVELLING MORRICE

and t h e people i n s i d e were r e s i s t i n g i t , But t h e r e was a gradual coming toge ther t h a t went o f f smoothly. I t wasn't--but of course, i n a way t h e Soc ie ty f e l t i t l o s t a l o t of t h e g ~ o d s i d e of having t h e Morris a s p a r t of i t . Now, they a r e d r i e d up on t h a t s i d e and t h e Society a? such I t h i n k is s u f f e r i n g f o r n o t having enough to d o with t h e morris.

JCS: Thinking of--during the 30's here. you've g o t t h e Morris Ring s t a r t i n g a s a male o rgan iza t ion and what n o t , y e t i n American you still have most of your t eachers being female, t h a t a l o t of t h e dancing t h a t even was done i n demonstrations i n t h e United S t a t e s were done, you know, women's s i d e s and men's s i d e s and s t u f f of t h a t s o r t . Did you f i n d i n t h e U.S., obviously s i n c e t h e t e a c h e r s were a l s o women t h e r e was obviously a more wi l l ingness f o r t h e women t o do i t . Did you f i n d t h a t t h e r e was s t i l l a concern about t h e t r a d i t i o n p a r t of i t ? Bow--what d i d t h e Americans t h i n k o f , a s you r e c o l l e c t , about t h e r o l e o f t h e t r a d i t i o n of morris , male versus female, o r a t l e a s t keeping you sets s e p a r a t e sex and how d i d t h a t process g e t reconc i led?

DK: They weren ' t s o p a r t i c u l a r . My f e e l i n g was they weren ' t s o p a r t i c u l a r about t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e sexes as which t h e Morris Ring g o t quickly, you see, t h a t they d i d n ' t want t o have any women doing any of t h i s . The Americans a s f a r a s I could remember were much more p a t i e n t , much more, what 's t h e word, t o l e r a n t . They would, a s long a s they were, t h e men went off with t h e men's Morris i n t h e men's way they were prepared, I thought, from the very beginning t o l e t women go on doing it. And t h a t was what was going on, I th ink , a t Long Pond r i g h t through my c l o s e connection with it. The women were q u i t e con ten t when i t came t o a publ ic day and people were coning i n t o l e t t h e men show o f f t h e men's dances and do country dancing but it wasn't near such a hard and f a e t a t t i t u d e a s i n England.

(Ed. Note: The f i r s t s e s s i o n of t h i s in te rv iew came t o a c l o s e s h o r t l y a f t e r t h i s p a r t was completed. An af ternoon s e s s i o n covered t h e t o p i c s of Melvi l le Smith's dancing wi th t h e Headington Quarry Morris Men, D K ' s 1939 tour of the USA and o t h e r minor p o i n t s of information c l a r i f y i n g e a r l i e r sec t ions . Sect ions l e f t o u t of t h e e a r l i e r p o r t i o n due t o t h e i r incomplete na ture include q u e s t i o n s about t h e 1929 tour of Canada, ques t ions concerning Mary Neal, Mary Ward Hinman and about an o f f i c i a l 1925 v i s i t from someone from England t h a t still remains a mystery. I w i l l c l o s e t h i s interview with one Final ques t ion , t h e ques t ion concerning t h e s p l i t between morris s i d e s and the country dance movement i n both England and America.)

JCB: ... There is one l a s t genera l ques t ion - i n England, you have t h e morris separa t ing from t h e country dance movement s o t h a t i t becomes a separa te e n t i t y i n i t s e l f . In t h e e a r l y s t a g e s around 1924 with t h e Cambridge (Morris Wen) and t h e Travel ing Morris and...

OK: That was t h e year t h a t I...our f i r s t year the Travel ing Morris went ou t and danced anwng t h e morris v i l l a g e s .

I

JCB: And then from t h e r e , you begin t o g e t s e p a r a t e moxris groups t h a t a r e &dependent of t h e country dance branches. Now i n America, you don ' t g e t pepara te morr i s c l u b s u n t i l b a s i c a l l y 1968-1969. This is p r e t t y much opinion I ' m looking f o r on your p a r t , but what do you think was needed f o r t h a t ,separation o r what caused the separa t ion t o happen. Do you know what t h e afngredients seemed t o be t h a t caused t h e morris t o separa te?

W(: I S h i n k I know,> I think I know. My f g l s q fs, .of course, it needh't bee@ ' -w -severs. rt needr)<'t k w d b e e n ' such' a compfete' separa t ton, , and I t h i n & . t ha t i d mny $+ay?d-iFrs 6 pit* ' that 'it happediq' i n bdth p"lluces kor a var ie ty of reasons, but 'the main reasun'why it'&$ essen t i a l hnd perhaps had

qui te a longbtime, f o r two or three year , we were drenched .with fed@nfit , AiM the freed* t o r tl. ~ 6 , it rehi, '~$0 e t away e o i w 1 t a1 l; IITorder b sqp of work out the i f $ a r $ i d u ~ i i ~liai*in£s?ld"$ldni, w&s-d1qsL, YOU know, $deking - f o r a i r . f 'm e x a g g e s t b g - 2 1% t c l e b i t Herhaps,. but- 1 'm !tying t o qivChyou a" dramliAtic g i e t e e . . ,

. >

I t 4?ak 8 dranaFic pfdture. And... so when the question arose a s t o w q ~ l d n ' t it' 3% - a go Pdea i f the men had some f i e l d i n which Ohey covPd opera te %d without th s s u f f o c a t i ~ g atmcid ere'-of.,, &he *men's -point of view - . . .now 1 was rer sympat6eEC" w g b t a d a W , , 1 te! t fa the r n a p i e s ~ w n ' g wifh Lhli . *bw&l&~I& a$@ Tiel& -dt$fi'C ?MIc. eb ' LM saee lsttenk the f a c t t ha t w e wete b$&rwhel~eai Bhepw&tb.&O pl i iased 'd th ' the $act t h a t there was...the Society was roaring to life again a f t e r a period of death o r near depkh that 1 do?~'E t h i W thSt tfi* were - soa&o~her td bp it. I was' very both6rda by it , , -Va 6an Wi3ZEms ull'a6rs500d iCj, But hb didn't l i k e the idea &-the separ l t lon , $uL & &id+&cpilkaQ *?&ever plan wedhad Ee give then a &ariW; so that when fhe-~dmbitfd$yTPaveling k r r i s came back wi?h tnenl saying What:"a marvelous ~eaciptjdn %%om d i f f e ren t *ople i n the morris v i l lages ; kfEh' sohi8 6f old dancers'eomimq forwatd and s o on, t h i s w a s a. t r i ine~dous stlmtrlant to a l l ' theb peb&e-whe fe l t now khdt t h i s is. so mwr& iii? neeLll -we wke* ibe4rd a t i h r lp ' a ld~bne o r t ~ o pe*Hpl.< lire 8 c 6 Z : f a~t l Alex Lnter.'..dnd - n h i ? s t t ,you probably kdbv oaf...who were i n '

themselves not only vrty &khuslM 2 ic but competbnti-"c6mpetent"as teachers, competent as players of t he tunesand s o on, and I should say, _ j u s t to ! &orrekt what' l 4xold~)ieu ~&ekd&y..-.was' S t 9h te rday . or- Phis h&*ing. .i- I ! %old:- Jwu t$i$"@rning .abCru). the b&*lhCh.,eFkh~%& 'an8 SchoEIeld qith ' bid IPW%WWI23s Curlbusly etibhbh, -Wils:$la~&d a -big .part ; and I ' 11 te'i 1 j why. The musicians, anybody who was musi&lly competent, r e a l l y m%Pea l l j competent, who could handle music wd music nota t ion sa id t h a t - Sharp us@ ko say t ha t i'f $ob'want~d kb I ea ' kn~MI tb Y a y thk tune%~proper ly ool) had t o Look a t the music because the 2&sk b i d flu evsrytb nq% Now -fortunately the puaic tells you everything i f you know how. t o reall re@# ~ i p j *sic;- *y ma;fiallr, wwt. gad3 ianc i. t r ~ i h g roxtril 6 d k t - t t i e hl chh't tell p u everything. i't? is t ryin@ t w telT' yo~aometh i t& some;- q~iob Wga kk+ fins aK tor h u b r l f i . pna pr k l - k W ~ i n g ~ - y o u hare ' t* t t W

i~)l t h i r&Mni&l'a~c+sis-1-1 SchAe da.s @I& *aut the 121)4+yas M a * @ t=+ nuli'ik- nide p~di&en.khk"+%&&e,+fh~k the ifipul* oame 4123, -t*e s t eps wouldnl t be pW 'und=r -@he' m~r'l&? &at-hn) as they are no* ilr bbb

. . - -A< ?%-- ,>" - A -

morris books f o r i n s t a n c e , bu t would have been s h i f t e d e i t h e r one way o r t h e o ther , i n o r d e r to br ing the f o o t i n g under t h e space between t h e s t e p r e g i s t r a t i o n . But, of course, when you read music, you s e e t h e no tes f a l l and t h e f e e t f a l l on t h e b e a t , s o t h a t your whole impression i s of t h i s 1234 and 11'9 v e r y - d i f f i c u l g to ,get away from what you s e e a s 1234 and read it a s rC123. Do you see ,wP?t I .ah q e t e i n g a t ?

eyig .- JC&: Yesr .i .... . P. %-

nd t h i s waa hndementai; and you say what does t h i s go t t q do with the Ring and s o &: . vetell, l't was because t h e s e men, Alex Hunter and

e ld , ,~cho'field'pbtticularly, were i n a s t a t e of r e v o l t . "We've g o t t o t t h i s 'quite d leax y~il,sqe." I n o t h e r Words, they had t o have a forum.

They wanted gomeone they &ulU e l k t o and t r y t h i n g s and do th ings without ense t h a t they were W i n g f r a i t m s t o the a u t h o r i t i e s t h a t were there , e. I would be one of t h e k u t h o k i t i e s i n t h i s matter . They were always

o g e t i c of it t o me, t h e Cambridge people and t p e o lder men i n the is- But t h e r e was no doubt t h a t t h i s was the moment and s o uragement was g iven to the formation of the Ring and i n f a c t I persuaded S o c i e t y ' to come i n whole h e a r t e d l y and g ive t h e s q u i r e t h e badge (of

i c e ) and t h e gehera l name and Vaughhan Williams announced i t , so , t h a t t h e reason why. I t was, i t r e a l l y was almost a s u r g i c a l operat ion.

: ... do you ha& a sense of where America was a t i n terms of a r e l a t e d e a t t h e t h t h a t y o q w e r e r e t i r i n g a s t o why morris hadn' t separated a t t h a t point . Was i t still too much i n i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n t r o l or . . .

Well, I th ink , J i m , t h a t I ' d f e l t i t f o r some t i m e be fore I r e t i r e d t h a t t h i n g s i m i l a r would Very l i k e l y happen i n t h e United S t a t e s . The ch ie f i c u l t y there , aq f a r - a s New York was concerned, was t h a t H i s s Gadd was

d ing th ings toge ther , when i n f&ct na ture was asking f o r a s p l i t apar t . t h e r e was a c e r t a i n kind o f a r t i f i c i a l l i h y about t h e Country Dance e t y ' s a t t i t u d e insos,far a s , even though they knew t h e h i s t o r y . f a i r l y c l e a r l y , as,yotr do, what happned i n England, t h a t e i t h e r they *t want such a th ing t o happen i n America, which is ode po l icy view, o r Lt couldh ' t happen soon enough. So I was cdnscious of t h a t element even

r e I r e t i r e d . When 1 went back i n 1976 and saw what was going on, and I coaching the Harvard o r the team t h a t was going t o i l l u s t r a t e my Harvard

lec ture - - i t was a team t h a t was f a i r l y c l o s e l y assoc ia ted with Harvard, I uppose some of your own people, you would know them a l l anyhow. George Pogg nes t o my mind immediately-and I was coaching them, and Miss Gadd was s i d e me, you see , and she s t a r t e d r e f e r r i n g t o some foo t ing , you see , and r a t h e r c a s u a l l y brushed her a s i d e and s a i d 'Now come on Way, t h a t ' s no t a n ement of any importance real ly ." She looked a t me r a t h e r surpr i sed , you e , and I s a i d " r e a l l y , r e a l l y they,ve g o t t h e i r own expressions here. This

t h e i r speech. This is not English. This is American and you d o n ' t t a l k , I n. it 's j u s t l i k e t h e language. I t ' s not t h e same, and they've go t t h e i r

language, and t h e d e t a i l s t h a t you 're t a l k i n g about i a l i k e saying t h a t i r vowels a r e too f l a t o r t!oo sharp o r something l i k e that." That was t h e t of element, and I r e a l i z e d t h a t t h a t t h e break was on too s t rong and her something would g i v e o r Miss Gadd would be h u r t and I think what d i d pen has been ve ty mild and gentlemanly.

51

JCB: Well you s e e i n t h e Mid-West, w e d o n 9 ' t have Country Dance Society Branches any more. People may be ind iv idua l aembers hu t t h e r e g e n e r a l l y is a s t rong i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p betweeen those who a r e e o n t r a dancers or do t h e English country dancing and the morris. I t j u s t s o r x of t i l t e r s bacF and f o r t h . We a l l p a r t i c i p a t e i n the same th ings , ,but yet t h e a c t i v i t i e s a r e kept separa te . I d o n ' t know i f t h a t happens on t h e east coas t . Tha t ' s a whole d i f f e r e n t b a l l game over there , b u t anyway i t ' s i n t e r e s s t h g . .. DK: I should th ink i t ' s probably t h a t occas iona l ly it must happen a t p laces l i k e Long Pond, a t Pinewoads where y ~ y g q t two p o i n t s of view about how th ings should be done and t h a t t h e r e might be a d i f f e r e n c e of op in ion t h e r e as t o how much t h e un i formi ty should be kep t i u s t f a r khe sake o f uglformity and how much can you s "well, we're going t o have h i t k e r e n t costumes, why no t have d i f f e r e n t e x p s s s i o n s of t h e same SO c a l l e d t r a d i t i o n s .

JCB: That answers t h e ques t ions t h a t I had

Footnotes

[ I ] The Harris Dancer, November 1982, No. 14, p. 20. "...I929 was year. ~ m . N e r n o t i a 1 near ing completion; I was t o t ake a team t o ac ross Canada t h a t autumn..."

t21 We were both c o r r e c t . George Baker, a t t h e time of Wright 's and Sharp 's v i s i t s , 1913-1918, was a t Harvard. By t h e t ime bougla6 Kennedy began h i s regu la r v i s i t s t o America i n 1927, Baker had defec ted t o Yale t o head t h e Yale School of Drama.

[31 Further review of a r e g u a l r annual flow of Americans to t h e Surnner Schools occurred, p a r t i c u a l r l y t o t h e Aldebu~gh S e o o l in 1922. This was not a per iod of i s o l a t i o n a s i t o r i g i n a l l y appeared. - I [ 4 ] Taped in te rv iew wi th Dorothpa Murphy a t h e r summer homee i n Maine. John ,

join Us in the Beautihi Pacific Northwest

NOI3KHWEST RITUAL DANCE WEEKEND OCTOBER 24-26,1986

FORT FLAGLER, WASHINGTON 1% hours from Seattle, on the Olympic Peninsula

Instructors will include Tony Barrand and the program will feature:

Cotswold Morris Music for Morris Northwest Morris 3- Rapper Sword Mummers Plays English Clogging C. p .

Longsword

fy English Country and Contra dances in the evenings

1 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Valerie Cohen Laurie Andres 612 N.W. 50th St.

r (206) 7843477

Seattle, VW 98W

I m) m-m

Robert R e d

-I-- - - 1 ---- - --- I----- -- __- --_.--_I- _ _-

Portland Morris a in attenaance. Hollytxq

terestea siW ia, B.C. Wad

!

. - - . - pi:'s+ 3.-?v-.:-.' . ,. .< .;3, . ., , :-'.. :-" ** - t ; ' r e s , ' 2 _ u y , . ' . 3 . ;. i -?as u~de,'p$e& some o~ggnizational changes duq to-*:sbq& - team has change8 lea&ershf~ an& i s coneiderina a name a nge

st $i&&h&aew s e m t l l l r e h b ~ u p . is' pbrf&rrn&g*o tbd%=a4dd C&W orris.^^-%*^: . 'CV - * CT. - . *. . ,** . -, . , o ' l F , i _ u C . .

mummers plays, longsword, Northwest morris and English clog will be among the activities of the action packed weekend. For more information, contact Valerie Cohen, 612 NW 50th St., Seattle, WA 98107 (206)782-2390 or call Laurie Andres aat (206)784-3477.

ed the nation what IT can do it time the Morris Men (sic)

ated by the Traditional Bampton

nal Bampton Morris Dancers

Moxris Newsletter is published three times per year, typically in u m November. Individual ~Ubscriptions are available for $4.00

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5 7

aving distracted the parsimonious publican

revenge and a somewhat mom generous measure of refreshment.