City hosts mass meeting of Morris dancers

If the bell-jangling, stick-clashing, hanky-waving antics of Morris dancers give you a headache, then spare a thought for some of those involved.

Christian Reynolds, of Adelaide, may have felt beaten after copping a stray stick to the face during a mass meeting of Morris dancers at the Esplanade at St Clair yesterday, but insisted he would be back for more dancing action.

"It's not unusual to pick up an injury. I dislocated my thumb the other week after being hit and that's only just come right," the member of the Adelaide Hedge Monkeys said, while holding an ice pack to his head.

Hanky-waving, stick-wielding dancers are jumping, wheeling and jingling their way around Dunedin this week as the city plays host to dozens of devotees of the quintessential historic English dance movement.

At St Clair yesterday, there were participants from more than 10 different chapters from New Zealand and Australia, and even a United Kingdom "team".

Twisted ankles, broken fingers and head knocks were common injuries, and some would also argue an eccentric bent was obligatory, dancer David Newman, of Palmerston North, said. Rhythm was paramount and a sense of humour essential, he said.

Often lampooned in sketches and jokes, Morris dancing has a large following worldwide.

The New Zealand fraternity holds an annual "national tour", with Dunedin this year hosting one of the biggest turnouts of enthusiasts in the South Island "for years", co-ordinator David Barnes said.

Many of the teams have colourful names to match their extravagant moves and costumes, such as Bedlam Wellington, the Dunedin Jack Frosts, the Christchurch Tussock Jumpers and the Nelson Suns.

Dunedin enthusiast Jules Mann said teams would be holding public demonstrations during the week.

"It's the most fun and enjoyable way to exercise I've ever done," she said.

Dances would be taking place in the Octagon, at the Dunedin Botanic Garden and at the Otago Farmers market, before the national "End of the Earth Morris Tour" finished this weekend, she said.

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Morris dancing

• Originated in England during the Middle Ages.
• Regions of strength were the Cotswolds, on the Wales-England border, and Lancashire.
• More than 200 traditional dances, each with its own steps and tunes.
• Dancers wave white handkerchiefs as symbols of purity and wear bells to ward off evil spirits.
• Stick-waving dances originated during the English Civil War for village men to practise battle routines and fighting moves without using weapons.

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