MORRIS MILESTONE

OLD ENGLISH DANCERS PREPARE TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS SINCE FOUNDING

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NE hundred years of English dancing in Ripley will be marked by a Day of Dance celebrated by men and ladies' Morris dancing groups.

Ripley Morris men and ladies' group, Ripley Green Garters, will dance at the centenary of English Dancing in Ripley on Saturday, September 13.

The celebration, in Ripley town centre, will feature more than 14 Morris sides attending from across the UK.

Clive Sturgess, who plays Ripley Morris Fool a character who serves as a humorous and interactive link between the dancers and the audience - is keen for more people to get involved with Morris dancing.

"We put it down as fun, fitness and fellowship," he says. "We travel, you get to meet new people and make friends. It's really great."

The Day of Dance will start at 10.30am and will be held in pubs, cafes and other pedestrianised areas in the town for the dancers.

Ripley Folk Dance Club was formed in 1925, where the style of dance evolved and became a "distinct entity" in the town, establishing Morris dancing in Ripley.

Years after this, in 1949, Ripley Morris Men was established. During this time you needed a minimum of six dancers and a musician.

The men's group continued until folding in 1963, before the 1970s when there was a resurgence of Morris dancing, which led to 1981 when the men's group was re-founded in Ripley.

The group dances in a Cotswold style of dance, characterised by white trousers and shirt with a crossbelt called "baldicks", a straw hat and bell pads.

"The pictures we've got show people dressed in a very similar style," says Clive. "The dances danced would more or less have been the same. The dancers went on tours like we do. So things haven't changed a great deal since then."

Ripley Morris dancers practise weekly from September to April and spend the summer months performing at local pubs, events and festivals, keeping Cotswold Morris dance routines thriving.