Hounds in the News
Just Plain Folkdancing
Reprinted from Syracuse New Times, April 2, 2003.In contrast to our fast-paced society, Morris dancing provides its participants the opportunity to slow down and experience a simpler time. With roots in medieval England, Morris dancing has persevered and weathered the ages. It has survived the minuet, the foxtrot and the twist, and is alive and well in Syracuse. Imagine taking a half-dozen friends to Clinton Square with a tin whistle, an accordion and a spat of sleigh bells strapped on their shins.
The Morris dance "kit," as the costumes are called, consists of white shirts and pants with a colorful waistcoat. Bellpads, decorated with a flourish of bright ribbons, strap around the shins. The dancers lunge, skip and spin their way through playful jigs and upbeat reels, often swinging white handkerchiefs or clashing together three-foot wooden sticks. The rows of dancers move in repetitive patterns.
Morris dancing is a ritual folkdance unrivaled in its festive air. It began in western England between Oxford and the Welsh border, although it is unclear exactly when; scholars believe it was considered ancient when Shakespeare was writing his masterworks in the 16th century. Two forms of the dance are performed today: Border Morris and Cotswold Morris. The Thornden Morris team, an all-female troupe in Syracuse, perform in the style of Border.
You need not be an Anglophile in order to participate. All that is needed is a love of music and a desire for camaraderie. Ann Horan, a member of the Thornden Morris team, joined the group in 1992. "I went to May Day at Thornden Park and was invited to give it a try," she said. "It's great aerobic exercise and wonderful women's therapy."
But women aren't the only patrons of Morris dancing. In Syracuse, the Bassett Street Hounds accept dancers of both genders, and Binghamton fields an all-male troupe, the Binghamton Morris Men.
Tom Keays, the tin whistle player for Thornden Morris, participates in all three groups. As de facto manager for the Thornden team, he paces through their temporary practice space at the Delavan Center on West Fayette Street, eyes glued to a handheld Palm Pilot-like device in which he notes all the dance combinations the group needs to practice. It's a funny juxtaposition, the use of modern technology to manage an ancient dance. When one of the dancers comments that she can't remember when she last practiced a particular dance, Keays pulls out the device and almost instantly can fill her in.
As Keays puts it, there is a certain community aspect of Morris dancing that allows for continuity, but the 150 to 200 Morris teams in the United States aren't revivalists. "This isn't a revival thing," he noted. "It's been done for a while." In addition to performing at various "ales," or Morris dancing festivals, the Syracuse groups dance at May Day in Thornden Park, the Dog Days Ale in Trumansburg from July 12 to 13, and at the Westcott Street Cultural Fair in September.
This spring the teams are also performing on Saturday, April 5, at Tartan Day in downtown Syracuse. If you'd like to try your hand at Morris, practices are held on Tuesdays, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Delavan Center. For more information, call 449-3702. Call the Bassett Street Hounds at 422-8145.
--Lauren Ober