the.com/morris dance
Grown adults in bells, hitting sticks, defending it as living history.
means A traditional English folk dance performed by costumed dancers who wave handkerchiefs or clash sticks, usually accompanied by bells strapped to their legs and accordions nobody asked for.
from First recorded in 15th-century England as 'Morisk' or 'Moorish' dance, likely borrowed from the Continental fashion for 'moresca' dances that were imagined (inaccurately) to imitate Moorish or North African styles. No one is quite sure why the name stuck even after the actual connection faded — the dance itself evolved into something thoroughly, stubbornly English, bells and all.
- origin theory
- possibly named after Moorish dancing, nobody actually knows
- required gear
- bell pads strapped to shins, called baldrics
- first record
- documented in england since the 1400s
- vibe check
- folk ritual that doubles as cardio for pensioners