Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

Dark Morris: Dancing the Sun Down

If you enjoy energetic activities and want something ENTIRELY different, consider Morris Dance. Morris is a traditional performance dance involving almost athletic moves, marching, and distinctive costumes. These outfits usually include white pants and shirt, black shoes, leather pads covered with large bells tied around each leg below the knee, and brightly coloured ribbons attached at various places. A vest, double-baldric, or suspenders is usually worn over the shirt. The dances are unusual and fun, performed by an eclectic, interesting group of folks – very open to observers and future participants. (They’re happy to dance with no observers; that’s how much fun it is).

A good introduction to Morris dance was watching their celebration of Halloween. This year, as in the past, Chicago’s Ravenswood Morris joined Morris dancing teams all around the world to dance the sun down – an old tradition known as “dark Morris.”

If this unusual celebration has caught your attention, think about getting acquainted with this group and their unusual way of celebrating life through this age-old form of dance. For more information on Morris Dance, see www.RavenswoodMorris.org.

Filed under: The joy of dance, Interesting elsewhere by Skip | October 29, 2007 |


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