Exeter Morris Men becomes Exeter Morris

In 2018, the membership of the Morris Ring gave overwhelming support to enable any Morris team, whatever its gender make-up, to become a member of The Morris Ring if they support the founding principles of the organisation:

“The object of the Morris Ring shall be to encourage the performance of the Morris, to maintain its traditions and to preserve its history; to bring into contact all the Morris Clubs or Teams.”

In what will be the beginning of a new chapter for them, Exeter Morris is pleased to announce they intend to fully embrace the change to becoming a mixed side, the first in Exeter, and welcome new dancers and members, both men and women.

Morris dancing was thought to be predominantly performed by men, but nowadays, there are as many female Morris dancers as there are male, a trend Exeter Morris aims to encourage.

For the Morris men and women of England, it’s now that time of year when the bells are put away and colourful outfits are hung up for the winter months. It’s also the time of year when many Morris sides are hoping to recruit new members to strengthen their teams.

And after a busy summer, dancing at many of the pubs in the region, the Morris sides of Devon are no exception.

Whilst there are some British traditions that many would argue we could do without, Morris dancing is a very old tradition that’s full of colour, energy and soul and loved by many.

You’ll even find references to Morris dancing in popular culture such as Lego, Marmite, Morph (Aardman Animations) and the Express cartoonist, Giles.

Go to any summer fete, fair or countryside gathering and you’re likely to see that these flamboyant performers will still form a major part of the day’s activities; definitely a tradition that should not be allowed to fade away.

Exeter Morris is therefore inviting anyone who has ever enjoyed watching Morris dancers to come along and try it out for themselves. The side is hosting a couple of Morris dancing ‘Taster Evenings’, 7:30pm on Thursday 29 September and Thursday 13 October, at Ide Memorial Hall, on the South West side of Exeter.

John Armstrong, Squire of Exeter Morris, said, “If you live within our catchment area and you’d like to come along and see what Morris Dancing is all about, we would be very happy to see you at our Taster Evenings. We provide the sticks, but you might want to bring your own hankies.”

Exeter Morris is the oldest established side in Devon, formed in 1951. They dance the traditional Cotswold style of Morris dancing and are anxious to help maintain the English Morris dance traditions for future generations. Their current dancers are aged from their 30s upwards, so younger members will be particularly welcome.

Morris dancing is a very vigorous activity and anyone learning to be a Morris dancer will be surprised by just how energetic it can be and some of the dances can leave you out of breath.

Foreman Graham Wood said, “We often have people tell us they’ve thought of trying Morris Dancing but have never got round to it. Well, if you tap your feet listening to music, we should be able to teach you to Morris Dance.”

Members of the Exeter Morris are not just from around Exeter, but travel from as far as Crediton, Taunton, Honiton and Colyford. And they come from all walks of life with a wide range of occupations represented amongst the dancers and musicians.

Morris dancing is great fun, good exercise and gets you to some of the best pubs in Devon! You too could soon be helping to keep alive one of England's oldest traditions for future generations to enjoy.

Anyone taking up Morris dancing should be warned though, this could be a life changing decision - a wonderful one.