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There
are historical references to morris dancing in Sussex dating back to the 16th
century. However, by the time collectors such as Lucy Broadwood and Ralph
Vaughan Williams began to document the County's folk traditions at the turn
of the 20th century, morris had died out in the area.
Following the First World War a great folk revival began, led by
the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS). Morris dancing was
promoted as part of this movement, particularly the dances from the
Cotswolds. Sword Dances from North Yorkshire,
County Durham and Northumberland were also
widely propagated. The movement gained much support locally, and led to the
formation of a sword dance team in Arundel in the 1920s.
At the end of the Second World War the revival gained a new impetus. Regular
sword dance classes were held in Arundel and Morris classes at Barnham. These
are described in the diaries of Martlet founder- member Edmund 'Tiggy'
Barkworth. At about this time, the EFDSS also ran a Morris instructional
weekend at Lodge Hill. Public performances during this period however, seem
to have been organised on a somewhat ad-hoc basis.
In 1953 the Martlet Sword & Morris Men were formed from the pool of
experienced dancers living in the south western area of West
Sussex. Three years later the club's prowess was officially
acknowledged when they were made members of The Morris Ring. A year later in
1957 the club received a further boost with the arrival of a young teacher
named Pat Mitchell, at the Lancastrian Boys school in Chichester.
Pat founded and coached a school dance team which was to provide the Martlets
with many young recruits.
The Martlets have hosted Meetings of the Morris Ring in 1963 and 1991,
bringing massed Morris Dancing to the streets of Chichester
(A scene from the 1963 meeting is depicted above). In 2003 we celebrated our
Golden Jubilee with a Day of Dance, featuring guest Morris Clubs from
far and wide.
Moving
forward, July 2009 will again see a number of Morris Dance groups along with
a Folk Dance troupe from Norway joining us on the streets of Chichester for
another Day
of Dance.
For more information on the history of
Morris dancing visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Dance
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