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Blackmore Morris Men were formed on 14th January 1970 by a group of young men from Blackmore Folk Club (not far from Brentwood in Essex) who wanted to dance Cotswold Morris. Since then hundreds of men and boys have learnt these traditional English dances with Blackmore Morris. In recent years we have travelled as a group to France, Poland, and Italy.
If you think you might like to try it, come along to one of our practice nights and find out how it's done. New dancers are very welcome. It's fun, moderate exercise, and sociable. If you think it looks hard, don't worry; if you can march in time to music, you can dance.
We practice every Wednesday evening in the winter in Moreton village hall (near Ongar) and later we discuss the finer points of dancing in the Nag's Head. Further details can be had from Adrian. Contact adrian.r.bloom@uk.tesco.com or telephone 01277 233085.
The present side consists of: Rob (squire), Simon (foreman), Adrian (secretary), Eric (treasurer), John, Harry, Myles, Tony, Neil, Chris, John D. and Peter, Duncan and Roy (who still dances with us sometimes despite moving to Devon). The musicians are: Carol, Sue G. and Trevor on melodeon, Sue C. on fiddle and Liz on melodeon and fiddle.
Blackmore Morris dance out at pubs around Essex on Wednesdays from May to September and we have such a good time we sometimes do it at weekends too. We have performed at the South Weald Flower Festival since our earliest days. We would love to do more, as we have to turn down many requests to attend special events, which we could fulfill if we had more members. (Because of this we are not taking any more bookings for school or village fetes in 2009.) Why not join us? For details follow this link
Blackmore like to venture further afield. In recent years we have been to Sidmouth folk week and a couple of years ago we went to the Saddleworth Rushcart weekend. Our foreign visits in the last three years have been to Carcassonne in France, Krakow, and Venice. Look out for 40th anniversary celebrations in 2010.
Blackmore Morris are famous for their post-morris song and music sessions (from around 9.45 till closing time.) They are keeping the traditions alive because they enjoy it. Why not come and try them out? The practice season starts in September. You would be made very welcome.
New offer: Do you have a group (of 6 or more) interested in learning some morris dances later on this year? Contact John at 01277 221123 to discuss.
Morris Dancing: Past and Future
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Essex Folk News: the folk/roots listing magazine for Essex and East London