Traditional dancers from Wath Morris will return to Wensleydale next month as part of their annual tour – while also appealing for help to revive a lost piece of the area’s folk heritage.
The group will perform across the dale on Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6, visiting villages including Aysgarth, West Burton, Carperby, Redmire, West Witton, Bainbridge, Hardraw and Hawes.
As well as showcasing traditional Cotswold and border morris dances, the side will perform a traditional sword dance and a mummers’ play.
The tour will also include an informal evening of music and songs at Bainbridge Village Hall (Temperance Hall) from 8pm to 11pm on Saturday, with organisers saying everyone is welcome to attend free of charge.
Morris dancing encompasses a range of traditional English dance styles, with many villages and towns historically having their own distinctive dances.
In the Yorkshire Dales, the best-known traditions are the longsword dances, with dances historically recorded in places including Bellerby, Hunton, Arkengarthdale, Gayle, Kirby Malzeard and Redmire.
As part of this year’s tour, Wath Morris is rehearsing the Arkengarthdale Sword Dance, but members are also hoping to rediscover the long-lost Redmire Sword Dance.
The group says the dance was recorded before 1936 by a local folklorist, possibly from Christopher Paycock, who was believed to have been the last surviving member of the Redmire Sword Dance team. However, the manuscript containing the dance has since been lost.
Wath Morris is appealing for anyone with information, photographs or documents relating to the Redmire Sword Dance to get in touch in the hope that it can be reconstructed and once again performed in the village where it originated.
The tour begins at 10am on Saturday, September 5, at The Aysgarth Falls Hotel, before moving on to The Fox & Hounds, West Burton (11.15am), The Wheatsheaf, Carperby (12.30pm), Redmire Village Pub (2.15pm) and The Fox & Hounds Inn, West Witton (3.30pm).
On Sunday, September 6, performances will take place at Sycamore Hall, Bainbridge (10.30am), The Green Dragon, Hardraw (11.30am) and Hawes town centre (1pm).
