Border Morris
Border morris dancing is from the English counties on the Welsh border: Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. The dances are usually performed in sets of four to eight dancers.
Nowadays the style is wild and exuberant, with the dancers whooping and clashing sticks with great vigour. Simple ‘single stepping’ is most common, with some teams using a running-style ‘double step’
Cecil Sharp, one of the folklorists who started the 20th Century revival of morris, dismissed border dancing as ‘in a state of decadence’ – a point of pride for today’s performers, perhaps. Some see it as embodying a more primitive form of the dance, closer to its original spirit.
Boggart's Breakfast
Sidmouth Folk Festival, 2025
Photo: Ben Potton
