We are a dance group based in Bishopston in Bristol in the UK. Our dances are lively and energetic, designed to entertain and attract today's audiences, but with their roots in traditional English Morris dancing. We dance regularly in the Bristol area, but also perform at venues around the country and further afield.
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Why Morris dance?
2005
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Next taster session 8pm Friday 26 Sep 2008- £5•
Where do Pigsty Morris perform?•
Programme•
Would Pigsty dance at an event I'm organising?•
So what is Morris dancing?2008
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Contact details•
Links to related sites
Morris dancing gives you a great opportunity to enjoy yourself while keeping fit, meeting other people, touring the country and getting involved in community events, festivals, street entertainment, television - you name it, Morris dancers have been there! Lots of people are natural dancers, but modern life may offer relatively few accessible dance opportunities - Morris is one. There are very few pastimes that combine a really good social life with a rewarding and challenging activity - the chance to travel and the option of getting involved in local events in your home area. Besides, if everyone knew about the free beer and the cut-price festival tickets...
2005
We welcome new dancers, of both sexes, and with any amount of (including no) experience. The best time of year to join is during the Autumn or Winter, when we prepare for the following Summer. We practise on most Fridays from September to the end of April. Dancing lasts for a couple of hours before we retire to the pub. Give it a go this year!
The next taster session will be held onFrid 26 Sep 2008 .
Time:8pm-9:30pm. No need to book- £5.
For more infomation: Contact Dave or Liz on 0117 9427926 or liz@pigstymorris.org.uk
Where:
Kelvin Players Hall, 'Pigsty Hill', Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NY Map
Corner of Gloucester Road and Wesley Road, entrance in Wesley road,
Ring bell marked 'Hall Activities'
Come along and have a go!!!
Most of the events we perform at are in the Summer months (see our
Programme for 2007/8 below). There's no such thing as a typical dance event. Every year, we dance at all or most of the following. People choose the ones they like and you can do as many or as few as you want:Local pubs - generally a relaxing Friday evening at a pub near Bristol - we know a lot of landlords and they welcome us every year.
Festivals - these can be big events, where we are centre-stage, or smaller, community events where we just dance around the town. They can be anywhere in Britain - or further afield.
Fetes - usually organised by schools or villages - a chance to get to know local groups and enjoy the events they have organised.
Morris weekends - organised by other Morris groups in their area (or by us around Bristol) - an opportunity to see somewhere new, and meet old friends.
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Most dancing takes place in the summer - our programme shows you our dance schedule for 2008.
We're currently taking bookings for 2008. If you would like to book us for an event, see our booking details
below
2002
Jan 2008 Tues 1st Jan Ring O Bells Pub, Priston, Bath (BA2 9EE) NOON with City Clickers, Priston Jubilee Morrismen + Apr 2008 Sat 19 Apr Cardiff Ladies Spring Caper day of dance near Cardiff 9:30am-5:30pm May 2008 Mon 5 May (Bank Hol) Henbury Art Show Bristol Fri 30 May The George and Dragon Inn, Felton near the airport Jun 2008 Sat 7 Jun Wessex Folk Festival Weymouth all Day 3 photos Thurs 12 Jun Prince of Waterloo Winford 8pm Sat 14 Jun Council 'Let's get active' event, Blaise Castle 2pm watch or join in! Mon 16 Jun Codrington Arms, Codrington 8pm (with Winterbourne and Somerset) Sat 28 Jun 'Ragged and Old' day of dance, Near Stroud, all day 1 photo Jul 2008 4-6 Jul Two Rivers Festival, Chepstow Thurs 10 Jul Old Lock and Weir, Hanham, 8pm (with Rag Morris) Mon 28 Jul Swan Inn Tytherington, Near Wotton-Under-Edge, 8pm (With Winterbourne Down) Aug 2008 Fri 15 Aug Druid's Arms, Stanton Drew, 8pm Sep 2008 Sat 13 Sep 'Glory of the West' day of dance, Nr Exeter
Photos from 2008 - above Photos from 2007 3 photos from Day of Dance in Bath with Priston Jubilee Morris 3 Photos from Two Rivers folk festival in Chepstow Photos from 2006 8 Photos from Cardiff Ladies' Morris Weekend of Dance 1 Photo from Eastville Park garden opening 1 Photo from Clifton Street Party 1 Photo from charity event on Frenchay common 3 Photos The Fox, Old Down, with Rag Morris and Winterbourne 1 Photo of Weekend of dance with Ironmen and 7 Guilders Photos from 1987-2006 20 'yearbook' photos 1987-2006Photos from previous website 6 photos
We are always interested in dancing at any event - however big or small, and wherever it is located. Apart from events like fetes and festivals, we have performed at formal dinners, danced in schools and old folks' homes, been photographed for an advertising brochure, appeared in plays, danced on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral and (as best we could in the circumstances) in the North Sea off Norfolk, just to name a selection! Please
e-mail us to see if we are available for your event, or phone 0117 942 4957 if you don't have e-mail access. We like as much notice as you can give us - so contact us now to avoid disappointment!
2005
Morris dancing is a general term for any of many sorts of traditional English ritual dance. The earliest records of Morris dancing are only a few hundred years old, though some would have you believe that it's definitely pagan. There are many theories regarding its origin - generally tenuous in nature. Whatever the origins of Morris are (and we may never know), the most important thing is that it does not become preserved as a 'museum piece', but lives and continues to evolve. Of the many forms of dance, Pigsty Morris dance Cotswold Morris - which is characterised by vigorous movements, accentuated by the waving of handkerchiefs, the clashing of sticks, and the ringing of bells tied to the legs.
Detail from 'Dixton Harvesters' 1720 Anon, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum
Much of the Morris dancing you see in Britain today has developed from the material collected about a century ago, which itself had evolved over centuries before that. The collected material made Morris widely accessible, and it spread from the people and areas where it had traditionally been performed. Without this revival, it is quite possible that English Morris would have died out completely. As regards women dancing (as they do with Pigsty Morris and in many other groups), there is evidence that women danced the Morris during the 1800s (as they may have also done before that time), and they were pivotal in its revival in the early 1900s. The widely held stereotype of the Morris dancer as a middle-aged, beer-swilling man has probably only developed since then, as Morris dancing between 1920 and 1970 was very much a male preserve. Hopefully the stereotype is fading; nowadays, men and women of all ages and from all walks of life take part in and enjoy Morris dancing.
If you would like:
• information about Morris dancing in general
• to talk about joining us or contacting a group in your area
• to enquire about booking us for any event
please send us an
e-mail, orphone 0117 942 4957.
2003
If you know anyone under 16 who would like to try Morris dancing, contact
Ashley's Rise, also in BristolFor some other Morris groups around Bristol, see
Rag Morris, Bristol Morris Men and Winterbourn DownFor general Morris information, see the
Morris Federation, the Morris Ring and Open MorrisAnd for something completely different, try
Kelvin Players - the theatre group whose hallwe've practised in for all these years...
or even Swedish folk dance Swedish folk dance/music