Morris dance
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Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins,
Morris dancers with handkerchiefs in York
One of Erasmus Grasser's small Moriskentänzer statues from 1480, showing what would have been termed a "moorish" dancer, where seven of the other nine surviving carvings are fairer-skinned. All wear bells on their legs.
Illustration of William Kempe Morris dancing from London to Norwich in 1600
Morris dancers and a hobby horse: detail of Thames at Richmond, with the Old Royal Palace, c. 1620
Molly dance
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Molly dancing is a form of English Morris dance from East Anglia, traditionally performed by out-of-work ploughboys over the winter. It was especially associated with Boxing Day and Plough Monday. Cro
Seven Champions Molly dancers at Sweeps Festival, 2024.
Joseph Needham collected Molly dances in the early 1930s, as the tradition was dying out
Molly Dancers on Mill Road geograph.org.uk 2189725
Pig Dyke Molly Broom Dance